Top 20 Greatest NBA Teams

[Mazzocchi]

According to 'Whos #1?' on ESPN...

20- 1992 USA Olympic Team
19- 1976-1977 Washington Bullets
18- 1956-1957 St. Louis Hawks
17- 1993-1994 Houston Rockets
16- 1976-1977 Portland Trailblazers
15- 1952-1953 Minneapolis Lakers
14- 1970-1971 Milwaukee Bucks
13- 1989-1990 Detroit Pistons
12- 1969-1970 New York Knicks
11- 1991-1992 Chicago Bulls
10- 1960-1961 Boston Celtics
9- 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers
8- 1979-1980 Los Angeles Lakers
7- 1982-1983 Philidelphia 76ers
6- 1963-1964 Boston Celtics
5- 1983-1984 Los Angeles Lakers
4- 1969-1967 Philidelphia 76ers
3- 1985-1986 Boston Celtics
2- 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers
1- 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls

Now most of the time I Disagree with their lists, but this time... I STILL disagree with their list.
No WAY the 96 Bulls could stand up to the Showtime Lakers, The Bird Celtics, The Dr. J-Moses 76ers or (dare I say?) The 01 3x Lakers.
Ok 72 Wins is pretty good, But the 72 wins was a result of a watered-down NBA that year. The Bulls played Defence, nobody else really did. The Bulls played Offence, nobody else really tried. MJ was MJ, Scottie was.... there, Rodman was from another planet, it was a great accomplishment... but its not as great as everyone makes it out to be.

But IMO The 96 Bulls shouldnt have been #1. What does everyone else think?

[J@3]

OMFG U N00B U POZTED IN DA WRONG SEKTION!

[Jugs]

OMFG U N00B U POZTED IN DA WRONG SEKTION!

I think the Bulls were Great.....

[J@3]

Can't really argue with those picks since I don't know much. I'd put the Olympic team a bit higher though, despite the fact that it isn't an NBA team.

[Fenix]

But IMO The 96 Bulls shouldnt have been #1. What does everyone else think?

(Arguably) the best post defender and rebounder of all time in Rodman+(arguably) the best perimeter defender of all time and one of the 50 best players in Pippen+the best player EVAH in Jordan+a lot of great role players.Perimeter D? Post D? Post presence? Perimeter shooting? Passing? Stealing? They could do better job at blocking, but still... You say someone could do better than that?

[maes]

I'd put both the Bulls and Bird's Celtics over Showtime.

I don't see the Lakers putting up enough defense to win a playoff series vs the Bulls. The Bulls were basically a total defense shutdown team, with MJ as their 1 offensive guy. Lakers were the opposite, all offense and 1 defensive guy, Michael Cooper, the only Laker to have ever won DPOY.

MJ & Pip were the best defenders at their position, but 3 headed monster of the Bulls C positions were underrated. Johnny Bach, their defensive coach, was a WWII Navy pilot who flew combat missions into Okinawa. Cartwright's elbows were infamous throughout the league, he caught Hakeem in the face with one of them and Hakeem wore a mask for the rest of the season. It got ugly in there, and the Bulls had no problem giving up 18 bone hard fouls per game to physically break their opponent's best inside player.

The NBA these days is very big money and systematic and primadonna. The Bull's defense and Bach were remnants of the older days, when a guy's qualifications to caoch defense was that survived dogfights over Japan.

When the Bulls entered the playoff, while other teams watched tapes of plays, the Bulls watched Full Metal Jacket.

"I love coach," proclaims Tyson Chandler. "He always has a saying when he comes in, like 'Fellas, today's a great day to die!' -- Tyson Chandler

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

OMFG U N00B U POZTED IN DA WRONG SEKTION

Andrew? Is it really u? Andrew Bynum??? OMFG, I finally meet ya... you'z my idol, you gonna be a gr8 entrapenour!!!

[Mazzocchi]

OMFG U N00B U POZTED IN DA WRONG SEKTION!

My bad

[galvatron3000]

I wouldn't rank the Bulls over the Lakers or Celtics(maybe Phil '83) either but I find it hard that people credit the Pistons for dethroning the Shaq a & Kobe Lakers when the 2003 Spurs did that, and why I rank them higher than the 2000-2002 Lakers. (Shaq, Kobe, Malone,Payton never won a ring)

I rank the 1991-1993 Bulls higher than the 1995 -96 Bulls because the League wasn't nearly as watered down. I respect the '96 Bulls for what they did but I respect the other Bulls more for doing so with (arguably) better competition. Rodman is not the best rebounder ever nor the best post defender.

Russel, Bill
Chamberlain, Wilt

for starters, cause when you average 20 boards compared to 15 there is no comparison and in most cases they never kept a record on those two back then. Russell is by far the best defender ever to play the game(arguably)

[Jeffx]

According to 'Whos #1?' on ESPN...

20- 1992 USA Olympic Team
19- 1976-1977 Washington Bullets
18- 1956-1957 St. Louis Hawks
17- 1993-1994 Houston Rockets
16- 1976-1977 Portland Trailblazers
15- 1952-1953 Minneapolis Lakers
14- 1970-1971 Milwaukee Bucks
13- 1989-1990 Detroit Pistons
12- 1969-1970 New York Knicks
11- 1991-1992 Chicago Bulls
10- 1960-1961 Boston Celtics
9- 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers
8- 1979-1980 Los Angeles Lakers
7- 1982-1983 Philidelphia 76ers
6- 1963-1964 Boston Celtics
5- 1983-1984 Los Angeles Lakers
4- 1969-1967 Philidelphia 76ers
3- 1985-1986 Boston Celtics
2- 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers
1- 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls

Now most of the time I Disagree with their lists, but this time... I STILL disagree with their list.
No WAY the 96 Bulls could stand up to the Showtime Lakers, The Bird Celtics, The Dr. J-Moses 76ers or (dare I say?) The 01 3x Lakers.
Ok 72 Wins is pretty good, But the 72 wins was a result of a watered-down NBA that year. The Bulls played Defence, nobody else really did. The Bulls played Offence, nobody else really tried. MJ was MJ, Scottie was.... there, Rodman was from another planet, it was a great accomplishment... but its not as great as everyone makes it out to be.

But IMO The 96 Bulls shouldnt have been #1. What does everyone else think?

I agree with you. Top to bottom, the 84-85 Lakers(which aren't on the list) and the 85-86 Celtics would have beaten the Bulls(in a tough seven-game series). Along with the 82-83 Sixers, those are my three best 80's teams.

I'm surprised there was no love for the 78-79 NBA champion Sonics. Very talented team, led by Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson, "Downtown" Fred Brown & Jack Sikma. They went to two straight Finals, losing to the Bullets in 1978

[beau_boy04]

You say the Nba was all watered down on 1996? well that really doesn't matter because the Bulls managed to be ahead of everybody. One thing is to have the talent available around you and other thing is to make it work. The Bulls made it worked for them and therefore the 95-96 Bulls is the best team ever assembled besides the 92' Dream Team.

[GloveGuy]

Mazz, I hate to call you out on it, but you stole those opinions from the two radio guys who analyze the list at the end of the show. Also, you realize that those two are just there to play "Devil's Advocate" -- not once have I heard them agree with the number one pick.

Greatest coach in Phil Jackson.
Greatest player, competitor, and second greatest perimeter defender in Michael Jordan.
Greatest perimeter defender in Scottie Pippen.
Greatest rebounder and most versatle defender in Dennis Rodman.
Greatest T-E-A-M.

[Shakes]

Say the league was waterred down all you like. As they say, you can only play against the competition that's presented to you. The 95-96 played better against the competition given to them than any other team in history, and therefore deserve to be considered #1.

[COOLmac©]

i was a bit shocked the rockets team made it

[Do']

the bulls with jordan,pippen,rodman,kukoc was the best team ever,and the second i think is abdul jabar and magic

[Kemp]

72-10 record, the best team ever assembled in sports history! The best rosters I always enjoyed watching in the 90's on videos. I watch the game over and over again and never get sick of it. Why? This team can play good offence and it is the best defensive team I seem out of any other teams today. You think there is no competitions in that 1995-1996 season! No, its not true at all! There is the Magic with Shaq and Penny, Sonics with Kemp and Payton, Jazz with Malone and Stockton, the 2 time champ Rockets, Spurs with Robinson and Elliot, Suns with Barkley and KJ and many more.

Thankyou Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc, Harper and Kerr. You are the best!

[J@3]

Mazz, I hate to call you out on it, but you stole those opinions from the two radio guys who analyze the list at the end of the show.

Mazzocchi strikes again.

[Jeffx]

I'll still take the 85 Lakers or 86 Celtics starting five over the 96 Bulls.

To me, basketball was much better(and tougher) in the 80's.

[Jeffx]

I wouldn't rank the Bulls over the Lakers or Celtics(maybe Phil '83) either but I find it hard that people credit the Pistons for dethroning the Shaq a & Kobe Lakers when the 2003 Spurs did that, and why I rank them higher than the 2000-2002 Lakers. (Shaq, Kobe, Malone,Payton never won a ring)

I rank the 1991-1993 Bulls higher than the 1995 -96 Bulls because the League wasn't nearly as watered down. I respect the '96 Bulls for what they did but I respect the other Bulls more for doing so with (arguably) better competition. Rodman is not the best rebounder ever nor the best post defender.

Russel, Bill
Chamberlain, Wilt

for starters, cause when you average 20 boards compared to 15 there is no comparison and in most cases they never kept a record on those two back then. Russell is by far the best defender ever to play the game(arguably)

Good post.

[Andrew]

I disagree with the "watered down league" argument. For one, the views on each era seem to vary depending on what you want to prove. For example, the 80s were either a tougher, more physical league (downplaying the Bulls' six championships) or a league that played no defense (downplaying MJ's statistical accomplishments). Both statements cannot be true.

The other thing is, if the league was watered down - if - the whole league was watered down, including the Chicago Bulls. They were a victim of expansion as much as the next team. Top to bottom, the Bulls weren't the most talented team in the league during the mid 90s. Yet they were the best in the league year after year.

And if you're going to use that argument against the Bulls, you might as well disqualify the Celtics. No Celtics championship team featured fewer than two future Hall of Famers. The 1961 team boasted 7 (plus Red Auerbach who's in there as a coach and president Walter Brown).

Say the league was waterred down all you like. As they say, you can only play against the competition that's presented to you. The 95-96 played better against the competition given to them than any other team in history, and therefore deserve to be considered #1.

Agreed. Furthermore, if the league is so watered down and 72 wins is so easy...why aren't more teams doing it?

[galvatron3000]

The other thing is, if the league was watered down - if - the whole league was watered down, including the Chicago Bulls. They were a victim of expansion as much as the next team. Top to bottom, the Bulls weren't the most talented team in the league during the mid 90s. Yet they were the best in the league year after year.



Agreed. Furthermore, if the league is so watered down and 72 wins is so easy...why aren't more teams doing it?

I agree but I do think the league was somewhat watered down, which is why I rank the 1991-93 Bulls higher. If we used the ranking system of the team who did the most regardless of the competition then the '96 Bulls would not be number 1, it would be the Celtics that won 13 Titles, the regular season accomplishments pales in comparison to Finals, Playoffs. Now if I had to pick a team in my lifetime that was the greatest it would be the Dreamteam. If I had to pick an NBA franchise it would probably be the Lakers or Celtics, and I'm a Spurs fan. We have to use more than that. 72 wins in a season is great, you can't take that away from the Bulls, they are probably the most versatile champions to play in the NBA with guys capable of playing and guard multiple positions. They still rank in the top ten and in my opinion top 5 due to their versatility. I just regard the first three peat Bulls higher in regards to what they did against probably (arguably) better team competition. It's a toss up in that regards though. I respect every champion that has won whether I like them or not. ::cough:: Detroit "Bad Boys" '88-90 ::cough::

[Mazzocchi]

Mazz, I hate to call you out on it, but you stole those opinions from the two radio guys who analyze the list at the end of the show. Also, you realize that those two are just there to play "Devil's Advocate" -- not once have I heard them agree with the number one pick.

yeah I know, I'm just agreeing with them

[Andrew]

I understand where you're coming from galvatron, but I think an 87-13 record, regular season and playoffs, is pretty impressive. It's not easy to storm through the whole year from beginning to end, especially given they weren't the most talented team on paper and two of their key players played 64 games or less. It's rare to sustain such excellence and exert such dominance over the rest of the league from start to finish.

[galvatron3000]

no doubt, I must agree

[Sauru]

this is easily the worst list i have ever seen in my life. imo you either leave out the dream team and count only nba teams or you put that team number 1. the dream team would easily beat any team on that list even without a full season to get to know each other. this reason alone is why i think this is the dumbest list ever.

actually after looking at it some more and not counting the dream team, i still think the list is way off. i am agree with the bulls taking the top spot, but the rest of the list is absolute garbage.