10 Greatest NBA Teams Ever

With changing styles and parity, determining the best NBA teams of all time is not an exact science — especially narrowing it down to specific seasons. The ten legendary teams presented below don’t collectively represent the scope of the league’s history which dates back to the late 1940s, but at least gives respect to the time periods they played in. One major qualification: to be on this list, you needed to have won it all (sorry, 72-win Warriors).

It’s hard to believe that in terms of single-year team greatness, the Boston Celtics of Bill Russell, Red Auerbach, and more don’t make it here. From 1957-69, the Celtics didn’t win the NBA championship twice. It took one of the upper-echelon seasons in basketball history to knock Boston off the mountaintop.

The 76ers didn’t just edge out the Celtics, they dominated them. A four-games-to-one triumph in their Eastern Conference Final series asserted their prominence. Then a Finals victory over the San Francisco Warriors cemented a year in which they began 46-4 and went on to a then-record 68 wins.

Newly-acquired Wilt Chamberlain complemented his individual talents with team success, improving his assists while leading the league in rebounds and blocked shots. Hal Greer, Chet Walker, and Billy Cunningham each averaged around 20 points a game.

The landmark date was March 19, 1969. It was a coin flip to determine who would get the number one pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. The Bucks, born just a year ago, won it. The prize: Lew Alcindor.

Milwaukee improved significantly in his first season and even more in his second as the center from UCLA was quickly showing little trouble adapting to the pros. The future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won league MVP as the top rebounder at 16 a game and the top scorer at 31.7 per outing. Alongside him was one of the all-time scorers, Oscar Robertson, acquired from the Cincinnati Royals in the hopes he could get his first ring.

The Bucks won 66 games to just 16 losses. They went on a 20-game win streak. They went 12-2 in the playoffs and swept the Baltimore Bullets for the title to become one of the fastest expansion teams in North American professional sports history to win a championship.

Of all the great teams over the history of the Lakers, this might still be the best. Their 69 wins were the high-water mark for all NBA franchises until 1996. Their 33 wins in a row is a record that still stands.

Los Angeles didn’t lose from November 5th through January 9th, including 16 straight away from The Forum. That dominance carried over to a five-game triumph over the New York Knicks to capture the first title since moving west from Minneapolis.

The Lakers, under first-year head coach Bill Sharman, finished the season with the highest point differential in NBA history at 12.3 thanks in part to Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and leading scorer Gail Goodrich. Chamberlain was a menace on the boards, averaging 19.2 rebounds, while West was just shy of a 10 assist-per-game rate.

Their center, Moses Malone, proclaimed this team would sweep through the playoffs. Or, as he put it, “Fo. Fo. Fo.” The Sixers almost did that, losing just once to cap off a dream season that saw its most prominent player, Julius Erving, win his first NBA title.

Erving wasn’t at the same high level that had elevated him to become the league’s most spectacular player. He didn’t need to be. With Malone in the post, Maurice Cheeks at the point, Bobby Jones being an elite defender off the bench, and Andrew Toney putting up 20 points on a regular basis, the Sixers cruised to 65 wins.

Not even the defending world champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, could stop them. Philly swept LA as Erving led a late run in Game 4 to secure the trophy.

Their mark on NBA history was accomplished with a 40-1 home record. It’s still the best by any team in a single season.

The Boston Garden had always been a daunting opponent for road clubs, made tougher by the presence of Larry Bird at his peak. Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish formed a frontcourt “big three” as good as any. That, plus the addition of veteran Bill Walton, who would be the Sixth Man of the Year, added a new element to a team that was already good enough to win.

Walton was one difference between this Celtics team that took down the Houston Rockets to win franchise title No. 16. Boston went 67-15 in the regular season and 15-3 in the playoffs with balanced scoring and remarkable teamwork in its offensive execution.

After claiming championship number one, there was no sign of a letdown or being affected by opponents giving them their best shot. Having Michael Jordan is a good way of preventing either.

The clear best player in the game won his second straight MVP and his sixth straight scoring title. Scottie Pippen got even better, solidifying himself as an elite talent as well.

These Bulls improved their win total from 61 to 67, a club-high (for the next four years). They also won a then-record 31 times on the road and tied a franchise-best with a 36-5 mark at venerable Chicago Stadium.

The toughest challenge on their road to back-to-back titles was New York. A rough and tumble seven-game tilt in the Eastern Conference Semifinals only staggered Chicago. It came back stronger with convincing series victories over Cleveland and Portland, coming back in the deciding Game 6 to raise the trophy at home.

The best player, the best sidekick, the best head coach. To some, they made the best team ever. Adding extra incentive for Michael Jordan, the Bulls were coming off a playoff loss to Orlando. Jordan, who hadn’t fully calibrated himself after coming out of retirement, was determined to be even better in his second stint.

The Bulls, who added Dennis Rodman to control the boards, now had no weaknesses. Their record indicated that — setting a regular-season high with 72 victories while besting the league in both offensive and defensive net rating. Jordan played every game and averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 steals. Scottie Pippen complimented him with 19.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. Rodman, Tony Kukoc, and Steve Kerr rounded out a brilliant mix coached by Phil Jackson.

The Bulls went 15-3 in the playoffs, outscoring opponents by 12.1 points per 100 possessions. They swept Miami, beat New York in five, swept Orlando, and then took care of the Seattle Supersonics in six.

This is the third straight entry coached by Phil Jackson. After taking a year off from the Bulls, Jackson returned to lead another Hall of Fame duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to their first three championships.

Both Kobe and Shaq developed brilliantly under Jackson’s watch. O’Neal won the regular season MVP unanimously by averaging 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks to fully justify his transfer from Orlando a few years earlier. The 21-year-old Bryant, drafted out of high school in 1996, was selected to the All-NBA Defensive First Team and emerged as a superstar.

It came together in the Western Conference Finals, along with the help of the collapsing Portland Trail Blazers, to rally from 15 down in the fourth quarter to win Game 7. In a six-game NBA Finals versus Indiana, Kobe was the difference in Game 4 with a defining performance while Shaq took the series MVP.

Of LeBron James’ four seasons in South Beach, this was the most complete version of Heat everyone had both envisioned and feared. When Miami formed a super team in 2010 with LeBron and Chris Bosh joining Dwayne Wade, championships were sure to follow.

The 2010-11 season ended with the Heat being upset in the Finals by Dallas. They won it all the next year and were even better for 2012-13, setting franchise and personal bests. Miami lost 16 times and at one point won 27 straight to threaten the ’71-’72 Lakers streak. LeBron also became the youngest player to score 20,000 points

But it all would’ve gone up in smoke if not for Ray Allen. His three-pointer to send Game 6 of the Finals into overtime and help force a deciding contest with San Antonio is arguably the most clutch basket in NBA history.

It would have been surprising, yet somewhat understandable, for the Warriors to have a letdown in the aftermath of a season in which they set the wins record, led the Cavaliers 3-1 in the Finals, and ultimately relinquished said lead in a dramatic Game 7.

It did not happen. Adding Kevin Durant is a good way to ensure that. The Warriors came up six games shy of their historic 2015-16 regular season but lost only once in the playoffs and were able to reach the 16 wins necessary for the title — beating Cleveland in the process. The 16-1 postseason mark bested the 2000-01 Lakers.

Steph Curry led the league in scoring average and free throw percentage. The only reason he didn’t top everyone in three-point percentage was because of his teammate Klay Thompson. Draymond Green became the first player in franchise history to win Defensive Player of the Year. Durant, meanwhile, fit in beautifully with his new teammates — scoring 25.1 per contest (slightly behind Curry for the NBA-high) — and taking the Finals MVP.

In terms of regular season win-loss records, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors hold the all-time mark at 73-9. The most successful team that went all the way to the NBA championship was the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who won 72 times during the regular season and ended with the fourth of their six titles during the decade.

They have a very strong case. With Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Rober Parish leading a dominant frontcourt, Boston went 67-15 and barely broke a sweat on its way to another championship. The 67 wins is not a record, but the 40-1 mark at Boston Garden still is.

Since dominance is a subjective designation, there are many ways to measure it. If we were to judge this by point differential, that title would go to the 1971-7 Los Angeles Lakers at 12.28.

Join our Sports Reference Community

Of Statheads:

Subscribe to Stathead, the most powerful research tools in sports, and find any player, team, season, game, and any play. With over 80 different search tools for baseball, basketball, football, and hockey, you’ve got infinite answers at your finger tips.

With Our Email Newsletters:

Sign up for our newsletter and get curated stats, recaps, and more from the Basketball Reference to your inbox every morning. No commitment, unsubscribe at any time.

On Social Media:

Stay connected with Basketball Reference on social media! Bringing you stats, trivia, and more on all our channels daily.

Twitter – Instagram – Facebook – TikTok – YouTube – Reddit – LinkedIn

Follow the rest of the Sports Reference sites on social here.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 22nd, 2023 at 4:54 pmand is filed under Top 10 Lists.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.Both comments and pings are currently closed.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o63SpJytmpGhuW6%2BxJ%2Bcq52emLJvr86mZpuaomKvrbvGaGlpamNkfnN7kGlkoKqVlsGmv9NmpZuZXamyornSZpyvnaJk