Who Is The All-Time Greatest NBA Champion?
1983 Champs…vastly underrated
If the Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship in June, the team of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett will be considered one of the greatest title teams ever assembled.
With that thought in mind; who do you consider the Greatest NBA Championship Team in your lifetime. Is it the 1996 Chicago Bulls who went 72-10 or was it the 1986 Boston Celtics, the 1985 Lakers or the 1989 Bad Boys of Detroit. Maybe it was my favorite the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers.
Let the debate begin…
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May 19th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
“If the Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship in June, the team of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett will be considered one of the greatest title teams ever assembled”
I don’t have an opinion about whose the greatest team, but I know I disagree with that sentence. LOL
May 19th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
The 1996 Chicago bulls are the greatest team of all time…………why you ask?
Because if a team can win the championship and win 72 games with the cheapest owner in the NBA (Reinsdorf) and one of the most incompetent GMs in all of sports (Krause).
Then you got to be the greatest team of all-time.
And not only that you can argue that MJ was and is the greatest player of all time because of the same reasons.
Its like if Kobe went to the Clippers with their cheap @ss owner and won 6 rings.
Crazy!!!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Trust me neither do I, but I know the MSM will constantly throw that label around.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
The cletics team can’t be considered one of the greatest teams of all because of their not great playoff games.
Its like the lakers team with shaq and kobe. The first championship team struggled very similiar to this Celtics team.
But the second championship team ran right through the playoffs. Even though they didn’t win 67 games like the first championship lakers team.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
You know somebody from New York’s gotta come on here and put the 69-70 Knicks on record, Willis Reed hobbling out of the tunnel and all that.
So there, now I’ve done it.
Actually, I like the 72-73 Knicks better, even though Clyde and Holzman flat out refused to let Black Jesus walk on water… but that team was clearly flawed and cannot be considered among the best ever.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
TLP-I was waitin’ on you to come through for your Knicks!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Not the ‘83 Sixers. As great as that team was, I’d have loved to see what might have happened against a healthy Laker squad. Norm Nixon, Bob McAdoo…out. James Worthy (broken leg). Moses Malone was the absolute truth but each of those games was a replay of the first. The Lakers were either competitive or leading until the second half.
Philly pulled away in the 2nd half of every game as their superior depth became a critical factor in the series. That Laker team was excellent and while Philly was on a mission, that sweep was the result of injuries. I can’t say the Lakers would’ve won that series, but losing McAdoo, Nixon and Worthy was too much to overcome.
I suggest putting another picture up there. Someone might think y’all are on some home town bias isht!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
They might be on some hometown bias ish. I say wear it on your sleeve proudly!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I gotta go with Ron…buy hey…I’m Philly biased. Moses, Doc, Cheeks and Andrew Toney made the all star squad…Doc MVP…with a sick azz boof on Artis Gilmore.
One of my favorite all star games…and it just wasn’t because of the Sixers for Marvin killed it.
I thought this team was going to win 70 but Billy Cunningham pulled off the throttle at the end of the season. They didn’t lose back to back until very late in the year.
Adding Moses pretty much guaranteed a championship even with Magic and Bird trying to run away and cement their legacies.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Hey man hey…leave the Iladelph outta this
I think that team would have smashed the Lakers regardless..they lost that one game to the Bucks late…fo five fo.
With that ark..Macadoo’s missed jumpers would have padded Doc’s stats..He led the league in dunks that year.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I agree with CoCo. This Celtic team isn’t even in the conversation unless they start BLOWING PEOPLE OUT on a regular. Seven games in consecutive series against seriously deficient teams is a sign of trouble. For me, they’d need to beat Detroit in 5 - by about 15 to 20 in every game — and do the same to the Lakers (or Hornets or Spurs). I’d be most impressed, though, if they did it to the Lakers because of their size, depth and relative youth.
This Celtic team, from a personnel standpoint, is grossly deficient with respect to personnel. Garnett could have started for any of the elite championship teams (including the Celtics and Lakers) - but that’s not the point. I don’t know that he would have been on the floor at the end of games because of his offensive reticence. Closers like Worthy and McHale would probably have him riding the pine. (Worthy often played the 3 - but did his best offensive work on the baseline (spin moves anyone?) and on the wings with that mid-range jumper.
Ray Allen would not have started for the Bulls or Pistons. He probably would have started ahead of Danny Ainge in Boston (I hope so) and ahead of Byron Scott in LA…but, I suspect that Michael Cooper would’ve snatched those minutes come clutch time in LA. His defense and deep shooting would render Ray secondary.
I guess Paul Pierce would make out okay. Strictly bench in Boston, Chicago. Possible pine rider in Detroit with elite scorers like Aguirre in the fold - but Pierce’s defense might get him some love from Chuck Daly. Aguirre still sneezes when he hears the word. He’d have been pressed for minutes in LA too - with Worthy often playing the 3 - a position he inherited from Jamaal Wilkes…and Silk was the real deal. Young guns might not remember that the Lakers and Magic didn’t “make” him. He came to LA with a ring won under the strong leadership of Al Attles in GS.
So, this Celtic team may have won a ton of games, but the post-season is not proving to be an affirmation of their talents. To quote Joe Namath, they are “strugg-u-liiiing!” With no Suzy Kolber to kiss, and no bar to drown their sorrows, the C’s are going to have to duke it out.
I’m not even going to discuss Rajon Rando and Kendrick Perkins or that sorry-ass bench or the coach. I cannot imagine this team facing those 1980’s frontlines in Boston or LA — let alone the 3 guard rotation of the Pistons or the nightmare of Jordan and Pippen.
Damn - and I actually like them.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Temple - I am definately on some hometown bias ish. When the Flyers lost last night, that brought the number of seasons in Philly since the last championship to 100!
You better believe I’m biased
May 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
If I recall correctly, Nixon was injured in Game 3. McAdoo and Worthy missed the entire series. Not sure. I don’t know how you can discount those three players. In terms of production, that would be like taking Maurice Cheeks off the team — and the rest of it isn’t even comparable because that Philly team didn’t have big men who scored like McAdoo and Worthy.
The glow of a ring makes mediocrity invisible. Clemon Johnson, Earl Cureton, Marc Iavaroni, Mark McNamara. You gotta be kidding me!
Andrew Toney and Moses killed the Lakers. They had no answers and without their depth, they couldn’t match the firepower of that team - and still, most of those games were very competitive.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Philly Crew:
I ain’t mad at y’all. What are you supposed to do? Concede the point? Hell no. Fight for yours. Big up!
That still don’t change a thing. One hunnit and countin’ - damn!!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Those shorts are tooooo short. It’s a little disconcerting.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
“One hunnit and countin’ - damn!!”
OUCH!
It’s that damn Rocky Statue, it was built in 1983. Nuff said!
Philly’s greatest sports hero is a friggin’ tomato can!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Yeah I’m squirmin’ looking at those shorts.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
TBR
You know I had to do it!
But if you really want to see some bias come out, let me point you in the direction of some more recent Knicks teams that went to the Finals but came up short: the 94 Knicks with Pat, Oak, Mase, Walker, and umm that light skinded dude who shot 2-17 and whose name I still cannot utter; and the 99 Knicks who were Black America’s team led by Spree, A Houston, and Camby.
Remember when Spree amazingly found redemption in Gotham after choking that white dude? Who has ever gotten away with choking a white man like that? I know he suffered, he left the league prematurely, and now he is reportedly broke… but for a while there, damn! Brothas could actually choke the shit outta whitefolk and live to tell about it!
That’s got to be worth a GOAT vote or two!
May 19th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Philly has problems. I know y’all know, but the idea of permanently memorializing a mythical “white” boxer in a city that has been home to so many legends (Black and white) is simply absurd - and it illustrates the depth of the city’s inferiority complex.
Stuck right between New York and Washtington - no longer the political or economic center of the nation - and stuck with a large immigrant population characterized by their venom and their unwillingness to move on - geographically or ideologically.
During the primary, some of the demographers talked about how Pennsylvanians who are born in the state tend to stay in the state (work and live and die) more than any other state in the union. I’m not entirely hating on Philly - after all, I went to high school outside of Philly. I recognize that Philly has some incredible unique characteristics that are worthy of national notoriety.
Philly always gets the short end of the stick - and part of that is because they’re “authentic” champions are always eclipsed by someone else. Wilt was eclipsed by Russell. Frazier was eclipsed by Ali. Even Pete Rose had his greatest moments in Cincinnati. Moses was an import - and didn’t stay long. Doc was Philly - but he was also New York and New Jersey.
Aside from Villanova and Rocky, it’s been a long, hard walk.
Perhaps the hockey teams have been the best embodiment of the city. The Broad Street Bullies symbolized the city - and when Philly hoped for a rebirth with those huge front lines led by Eric Lindros, they were routinely bitch slapped by Scott Stevens and the New Jersey Devils.
I do feel your pain. I can’t say it’s going to get better…but I feel it. It won’t get any better until Philly learns to do better by its native sons - starting with lots of unconditional love for Maurice Cheeks. We’ll see. You probably get it when you deserve it…or you could just make a deal with the devil like we do in New York.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Tell me how you made the deal!!!!!(Rubbing hands feverishly, grinning like Tyrone Biggums) Cause quite frankly, I’m out of answers
May 19th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
The scary part is fans are starting to adopt this generation of coming thisclose as some badge of honor.
I look at how they look at the Cubs fans and America’s heart goes out to those guys.
They look at us and it’s like “Yeah they deserve it.”
Philadelphia Sports Fans - America’s stepchild!
May 19th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Burn Rockywood Burn (not the city, just the statue).
May 19th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
da pistons, 02, words.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Funny how everybody forgets to mention Marc Ivaroni in that ‘83 starting line-up… but moving on!:
Keep your Phile bias… Right City, wrong team: The 66-67 Sixers. Wilt had real teammates and he drastically adjusted his game. Wilt probably put together the most dominant all-around season by averaged 24 points, 24 rebounds, and 7.8 assists (no misprint) while shooting a ridiculous 68%. Hal Greer… Chet Walker… and a young Billy Cunningham coming off the bench… In the semifinals they dethroned the Boston Dynasty in 5 games as Wilt averaged 22 points, 32 rebounds, and 10 assists.
While they won 68 games, they had to face the 60-win Celtics and 9 other teams nine times each. The 72 win Bulls were a product of a super light eastern conference where they faced each team 4 times at most and the tougher west teams only 2 times each.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I know about the 66-67 76ers, I was born 6 years later; so it would really be hometown bias if I chose them. But by most accounts that I’ve heard that team is arguably the greatest.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:58 am
I’ve been beating the drum over on the Eagles’ message board that having that Rocky statue is nothing but bad karma for all the Philly pro teams and athletes. Even Smarty Jones couldn’t pull it off when leading in the third race of the Triple Crown in ‘04, the Eagles by three to Pats that same year, and even the Sixers being the only team to even notch a win against the Lakers a couple of years before that. Keep the statue if it makes some mooks proud but put up memorials to Doc, Michael Jack Schmidt, Wilt the Stilt and Smokin’ Joe too and the karma will turn.
To quote Miss Celie: Until you do right by me…
May 21st, 2008 at 11:56 am
I did a piece somewhere on the whole Rocky Statue thing. HD, I’m going to revisit my thoughts on this thing.
It’s sad when the hopes of a major city with 4 major sports teams looks to a horse to boost fan morale.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I love debates like these. But are we talking about the most dominant champion of a particular season, or like I was thinking the championship team that would win a series against all the others? If so I think the 66-67 76ers would get annihilated by more recent teams. Some teams I was thinking would be ‘77 Blazers (one of the most well-rounded teams ever) though they would probably lose, ‘83 Sixers who were legit beasts, ‘86 Celtics (greatest front court of all time w/Bird, McHale, Parish, Walton) ‘89 Pistons (greatest back court of all time w/Thomas, Dumars, Johnson) or maybe the ‘01 Lakers. But if I had a gun to my head I would choose one of those early-90s Bulls teams. MJ at his absolute prime and a highly-underrated supporting cast.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:35 am
i’ve seen them all since the bucks in 71 and let me say first that if you could move the bulls of the 90’s back 10 years into the 80’s, i don’t believe they’d win more than 1 ring. if that.
i can’t pick just one but here’s my top 3. 83 sixers, 86 celtics, 87 lakers.
June 1st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
http://www.nba.com/playoffs2004/challenge_bracket.html
true that
June 18th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
The 2008 Celtics would be top 5 easy!
The teams from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s wouldnt have the speed or strength to compete today. If you took those teams and applied modern technology to their training and defence it may be a different story.
The lakers, Celtics and 76ers from the 80’s would also struggle. Again I doubt these teams could keep up or score against todays celtics.
Jordans Bulls (any of them) never had to face defence like the 2008 Celtics play. Pippen would be invisible and Jordan would be lucky to score 25 per game. Boston also has much more depth in their roster. The Bulls had Jordan and Pippen - that is it. The celtics have 3 superstars plus a really strong bench!
Kobe and shaq’s Lakers would also get smashed. They dont have the scoring depth or defence. Phile Jackson had no ansers this series! Remember what happened to the Lakers against a Detroit team with great defence? They got smashed 4-1! And Boston is much better than that Detroit team.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
If Moses Malone more than held his own against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar what do you think he would do to Kevin Garnett who doesn’t play half as physical as Moses did.
Back to the basket - Garnett is no match for BIg Mo!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
These Celtics in the top 5. Hell no! They wouln’t have beaten teams that haven’t even won titles. Besides they played horrible at times from the first round on. I don’t think that can be said about any other NBA champion. They were blown out too many times.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
The NBA playoffs were a huge disappointment this year with all of the poor road play and blow outs. Elite teams of the past did not get blown out in the first round. They were doing the blowing out and keeping it movin.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
True the Celtics were pretty average in the first two rounds, but they were never in danger of losing a series. Jordans Bulls were often pushed in many first and second round series.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Dale,
Being pushed and getting blown out on the road are two diffferent things. The Celtics were blown out more then once. I can hardly put them in a conversation about greatest champions for that reason.