Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
With the NBA on TNT enlisting fans to help in selecting their All Decade Top Performances, the The Hoop Doctors thought it was the perfect time to announce our very own All Decade Award Winners. We will be honoring the decade’s best individual players, teams, and performances that were simply the best over the past 10 seasons(2000-2009). This will be a multi-part series with periodic entries showcasing this era’s top moments and players. Check back often for each new installment such as Franchise of the Decade, All Decade Teams by Position, Player of the Decade, and Dunk of the Decade.
Part One – Franchise of the Decade
Selecting the best franchise over the past 10 years wasn’t a tough choice. There were only two teams which have won multiple NBA Championships over the decade – LA Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. In the 2000’s the Lakers and Spurs were clearly the decade’s best teams with a total of 7 out of the 10 NBA Championships being won by either squad.
The Spurs were technically the more consistent team by winning 3 titles in ’03, ’05, and ’07 and made the post-season every year of the decade. They just missed two other chances of winning an NBA title by making it to the Western Finals in two other seasons(’01 and ’08). In the end, the Spurs are our NBA bridesmaids since the Lakers won 4 NBA Titles in the decade.
As the NBA’s 2nd winningest franchise in history(15 Titles), the LA Lakers in the 2000’s were once again back to “Showtime”, albeit with a different cast of characters than the legendary Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The more recent dynasty of the 2000’s also included future Hall of Fame players like Shaquille O’Neal in his prime and Kobe Bryant, who took his game to another level in the early part of the decade. The roster was also filled with some of the All Time best role players like Robert Horry and Derek Fisher.
The Y2K version of “Showtime” was almost as magical as the 80’s version. Although only a handful of players remained intact, like Kobe, Derek Fisher, and Coach Phil Jackson, from two distinct segments of the decade, the Lakers won an average of 53 games per season, which included a disappointing 34 win season in ’05. The group of talented players led by Shaq and Kobe became one of the few squads to ever win 3 straight NBA Titles from ’00-’02. The newer group, led by Kobe, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol as sidekicks won another title in ’09. The franchise overall went to the NBA Finals an amazing 6 times in 10 years, winning 4 times and made the playoffs in 9 of the 10 seasons.
The early part of the decade featured Shaquille O’Neal at his career best. From ’00-’02, he averaged 28.5 ppg, 12.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, while shooting .575% from the field. During the playoffs, he upped those numbers to an amazing 29.7 ppg, 14.6 rebs, and 3 blocks and regularly registered games of 30 points and 20 rebounds.
We’ll mention a few other squads who were good but in the end, missed the final cut.
Detroit Pistons – A lot of people forget that the Pistons were arguably the league’s most consistently good franchise for the better part of the decade by making it to the Eastern Conference Finals an amazing 7 straight seasons from ’03-’08. As the NBA’s version of the Atlanta Braves, they won only 1 title in ’05, under Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown. The Pistons were the most feared team on the defensive side of the ball until their dismantling over the past 2 seasons.
Dallas Mavericks – Based on wins and losses, the Mavs are the decade’s most successful team by winning more than 70% of their games under Don Nelson, Avery Johnson, and Rick Carlisle. They have made the postseason in 9 of the past 10 seasons making it all the way to the Finals in ’06, but lost to the Miami Heat. Ultimately everyone is judged by winning titles.
Phoenix Suns – The uptempo Suns have had the luxury of having 2 of the game’s best point guards of All-Time in Jason Kidd and Steve Nash running the show in Phoenix. The franchise won more than 65% of their games and made the playoffs in 7 of the 10 seasons, even making it to back to back Western Finals in ’05 and ’06. Once again, they haven’t won a title.
