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, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks and Wizards correspondent, and his own blog, Hoops Haven.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

Starting Lineup: Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longely
Impact Bench Players: Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, Jason Caffey, Randy Brown, Bill Wennington
Regular Season Record: 72 – 10 Playoff Record: 15 – 3 Finals: Beat Supersonics 4 – 2
Individual Awards: Jordan – Reg Season MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star, All Star Game MVP, All NBA 1st Team, All NBA Defense 1st Team, Scoring Champion Pippen – All-Star, All NBA 1st Team, All NBA Defense 1st Team Rodman – All NBA Defense 1st Team, Rebounding Champion Kukoc – 6th Man of Year Coach Jackson – Coach of Year

#1 – ’95-’96 Chicago Bulls

After realizing he wasn’t cut out for professional baseball, Jordan returned to the Bulls late in the ’95 season. Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc welcomed MJ back in hopes of another Bull run to their 4th NBA Title. It wasn’t to be as the Orlando Magic, led by Shaq O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway, knocked the Bulls out of the playoffs in the semi-finals.

Not used to losing, Jordan and the Bulls organization reshaped their lineup and trained aggressively to once again get back to the NBA mountaintop. Bulls management sent Will Perdue to San Antonio for 4 time rebounding champ with baggage, Dennis Rodman, in hopes of replacing Horace Grant, who had been the rebounding and low post defender for previous Bulls championship teams. Free agent Ron Harper was signed to help guide the offense in a similar role to BJ Armstrong, who was picked up in the expansion draft. Steve Kerr was now their 3 point specialist, and Bill Wennington provided spot up jumpers and frontcourt defense.

The ’95-’96 NBA season was set up to be the comeback tour for Michael Jordan, and he didn’t disappoint. The Bulls started the year going 41-3 before losing back to back games, which was their biggest and only losing streak, riding numerous double digit winning streaks, finishing 72-10, the best regular season record in history. Chicago swept most regular season awards, led by Jordan(30.4 ppg), Pippen(19.4 ppg), Rodman(14.9 rebs), and Kukoc(13.1 ppg). They finished #1 in both points scored and points allowed.

The Bulls in the playoffs, were just as dominating. They swept the Miami Heat(3-0) in the 1st round by more than 18 ppg. They then bested the Patrick Ewing led NY Knicks(4-1), and blew out Orlando by more than 25 ppg in the Eastern Finals(4-0), avenging last season’s defeat. This set up a Finals matchup against the Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp led Seattle Supersonics, who won 64 games and got by Sacramento, defending champ Houston, and Utah to get to the Finals for the first time since ’79.

Although Seattle was a great team and had only 8 less wins than Chicago during the regular season, Jordan and the Bulls were heavily favored. The Sonics proved worthy opponents in Game 1 by trailing Chicago by only 2 points late into the 3rd quarter before the Bulls defense took over, holding Seattle to 5 of 18 shooting, and pulled away for the win, 107-90. Chicago was led by Jordan(28 pts), Pippen(21 pts), and Kukoc(18 pts) off the bench. In Game 2, the Bulls were led by Rodman’s 20 rebounds(11 offensive which is still a Finals record) and Kukoc, who after a scolding by Jordan, totaled 29 pts, 6 rebs, and 8 assists in a 92-88 win. Moving to Seattle for Game 3, the Bulls played probably their best game in the series, led by Jordan(36 pts), Luc Longely(19 pts), Kukoc(14 pts, 7 rebs, 7 assists), and Pippen(12 pts, 8rebs) in blowing out the Sonics 108-86. Seattle finally got back into the series in Game 4, winning 107-86. Their win was a total team effort led by Kemp(25 pts, 11 rebs), Payton(21 pts, 11 ast), and Hersey Hawkins(18 pts). The series got even closer(3-2) after Seattle won Game 5, 89-78. Payton(23 pts) did his best to slow down Jordan, limiting him to only 9 pts in the second half. Dennis Rodman led the Bulls in Game 6, with 19 rebounds, 9 pts, and 5 assists and was his usual self defensively, drawing numerous personal fouls on Kemp, bringing the United Center crowd to their feet, as the Bulls won 87-75. The win gave the Bulls their 4th NBA Title out of 6, over 8 seasons. Jordan became the first player to win Finals MVP for the 4th time. This team could very well be the best defensive team of all time.

The Bulls ’95-’96 season forever sets the bar for other teams. Phil Jackson after the win was right when he stated, “We have established a new level of play, and it is something all teams will have to chase.”

Series Conclusion

Which team is the Greatest NBA Champion in the modern era? The debate will always rage on whether Larry’s Celtics were better than Magic’s Lakers, or Michael’s Bulls were better than Dr. J’s Sixers. In my opinion, a team with a dominant big man like Kareem, or Moses may have had a chance against the Bulls, since center was their one weakness, as either Bill Cartwright or Luc Longely manned the middle for their 6 titles. But would the backcourt play of Jordan and Pippen prove to be to athletic and dominating defensively against Magic, Worthy, Bird, or Erving? I assume that most arguments would have the ’84-’85 Lakers ranked higher than #8, but the numbers and playoff record put up by the ’00-’01 Lakers has me placing the Kobe-Shaq led three-peat team higher. It was also tough to keep off one of the back to back Houston Rockets teams led by Hakeem Olajuwon in the mid 90′s but I think most would agree that the Bulls may have won 8 straight titles if MJ didn’t retire. Thus the ’95-’96 Bulls are my choice for Greatest NBA Champion in the modern era.

Game 6 footage of Bulls – Sonics:

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, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks and Wizards correspondent, and his own blog, Hoops Haven.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

Starting Lineup: Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Julius Erving, Mark Iavaroni, Moses Malone
Impact Bench Players: Bobby Jones, Clint Richardson, Clemon Johnson, Franklin Edwards
Regular Season Record: 65 – 17 Playoff Record: 12 – 1 Finals: Beat Lakers 4 – 0
Individual Awards: Erving – All-Star, All Star MVP, All NBA 1st Team Selection Malone - All-Star, Reg Season MVP, Finals MVP, Rebounding Champion, All NBA 1st Team Selection, NBA All Defensive 1st Team Jones – 6th Man of Year, NBA All Defensive 1st Team Cheeks - NBA All Defensive 1st Team, All Star Toney - All-Star

#2 – ’82-’83 Philadelphia 76ers

After the ’81-’82 Sixers lost to the LA Lakers in the Finals, they decided that they needed another piece if they were ever going to get past annual NBA powerhouses like the Lakers out West, and their rival Celtics in the East. Since 1976, Philadelphia had perhaps the best player in the game in “Dr J” Julius Erving, but lacked the inside game to compliment him and match up against the better big men, like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Robert Parish, that were in their way of winning an NBA title. The Sixers season had ended in either the Eastern Conference Finals or the Finals every season since 1976.

Owner Harold Katz made big changes before the ’82-’83 season by trading Caldwell Jones to the Houston Rockets in exchange for perennial All-Star Moses Malone and made room on the roster by shipping Darryl Dawkins and his backboard breaking dunks to New Jersey. Philadelphia Coach Billy Cunningham finally had his dominating low post presence to match the Lakers and Celtics.

The Sixers started the regular season by winning 10 of their first 11 games and had multiple double digit winning streaks to finish a NBA best 65-17 record. They had a very balanced attack by finishing 7th in both team scoring(112.1) and points allowed(104.4). They were led by Malone(24.5ppg) and the “Doctor”(21.4ppg) in scoring, Malone in rebounding at an amazing 15.3 rebounds per game, and the reliable Mo Cheeks(6.9 assists, 2.3 steals). They accumulated a multitude of awards led by Malone, winning his 3rd regular season MVP and landing spots on the NBA 1st Team Offense and Defense. Erving, Malone, Cheeks, and the “Boston Strangler” Andrew Toney all represented Philly in the All-Star Game.

During an interview leading up to the playoffs, Moses Malone uttered his now famous prediction about their chances in the postseason by stating,”Fo, fo, and fo”, meaning the Sixers would sweep 12 straight games against their opponents right onto the title. It was a bold prediction which almost came true.

Sure enough, in the first round they swept through the NY Knicks to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Finals. They swept the first 3 games before stumbling by losing Game 4, 100-94. They quickly won Game 5 to return back to the NBA Finals for the 2nd straight, and 3rd out of 4 seasons.

In the Western Conference, the Lakers finished 58-24, and once again were the class of the conference led by Jabbar, Johnson, and a high scoring rookie named James Worthy, fresh off winning a NCAA title at UNC. Philadelphia caught a break because Worthy sustained a leg fracture with one week left in the regular season and was unavailable for the playoffs.

In Game 1, the Lakers Norm Nixon suffered a separated shoulder as the Sixers won at home 113-107. With the Lakers Bob McAdoo also hurt, the Sixers easily won Game 2 in LA, 103-93. Game 3 became a blowout after Nixon sustained another knee injury and 4 stiches to his chin as Philadelphia took a commanding 3-0 series lead by winning 111-94. The Lakers showed some fortitude by leading Game 4, 106-104 late in the 4th quarter when Erving took over with a dunk off of a steal, a 3 point play, and a one handed jumper in Magic’s face in consecutive possessions to win 115-108. What made the 4 straight losses so hard to take for LA is that in every game they had the lead at halftime only to be overpowered by the 76ers down the stretch. The win gave Dr. J his first and only title in the league after winning twice while with the Nets in the ABA.

When both coaches were asked why the Sixers were so dominant compared to last season, they both simply said,”Moses was the difference“. They were exactly right since he upped his regular season numbers to 26.0 ppg and an amazing 15.8 rebs during the playoffs, including one of the All-Time best performances in a Finals game with 24 points and 23 rebounds in the clinching Game 4. In the Finals, he flat out dominated Kareem, especially on the boards by a 72-30 margin, which earned him Finals MVP.

The Sixers during the late 70′s to mid 80′s could have been considered a dynasty, except for the fact that they won only one title. Between 1976, when they acquired Erving from the Nets, through 1987, they won 50+ games 9 times, 60+ twice, made it to the Eastern Finals or better 7 times, while making the playoffs every season. Until the ’01 Lakers ran through the playoffs with a record of 15-1, Philadelphia’s 12-1 playoff run was the most dominant until the league expanded the playoffs for another round.

Here is a recap of the Sixers 1983 Season:

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, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks and Wizards correspondent, and his own blog, Hoops Haven.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

Starting Lineup: Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish
Impact Bench Players: Jerry Sichting, Scott Wedman, Bill Walton, Sam Vincent, Rick Carlisle
Regular Season Record: 67 – 15 Playoff Record: 15 – 3 Finals: Beat Rockets 4 – 2
Individual Awards: Bird – MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star, All NBA First Team Walton – 6th Man of the Year McHale – All-Star, All NBA Defensive First Team Parish – All-Star Johnson – All NBA Defensive Second Team

#3 – ’85-’86 Boston Celtics

The ’85-’86 Celtics had a season for the ages. Coming off of a stinging loss to their arch rival Lakers in the ’85 Finals, Boston made a questionable move by trading Cedric Maxwell to the Clippers for talented but oft injured big man, Bill Walton. Walton had once been one of the NBA’s best centers, anchoring the Blazers frontcourt and helping Portland win a NBA title in ’77. Numerous injuries had derailed the dominating big man’s career before accepting a role off the bench with what some considered the best team in history. He shocked everyone by playing in an amazing 80 regular season games, providing valuable minutes off the bench for a dominating frontcourt of McHale and Parish.

The Celtics, in the regular season, were led once again by Larry Bird, who averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals, while leading the league in FT%(.896), 3 Pt Attempts and made, earning him his third straight regular season MVP award. Their roster was also loaded with talent in the frontcourt with Hall of Famers McHale and Parish. The backcourt was led by defensive stalwart and floor general, Dennis Johnson and scrappy, former baseball player, Danny Ainge, with help from the bench from Sichting, acquired from the Pacers, Wedman, and young draft pick, Sam Vincent.

They rolled through the regular season finishing with one of the best single season records in history at 67-15, including an astounding 40-1 at the Boston Garden. They were very balanced, finishing 8th in points scored at 114.1 and 3rd defensively at 104.7 points allowed. Bird, Parish, and McHale were rewarded with mid season All-Star selections.

Both the Celtics and LA Lakers, by winning 62 regular season games, seemed destined for an ’85 Finals rematch, which was won by the Lakers. In Game 2 of a first round sweep of the Bulls, the Celtics survived an offensive explosion by MJ who dropped 63 points at the Garden, still a playoff record. They then bested a Dominique Wilkins led Hawks team 4-1, the highlight being a Game 5 blowout 132-99. In the Eastern Finals they went up against one of their conference rivals at the time in Coach Don Nelson and the Bucks. Nelson had criticized Ainge of being a “dirty” player during their previous playoff matchups in ’83 and ’84. Boston swept Milwaukee to return to the Finals. The Lakers didn’t follow Boston back to the Finals by losing in 5 games to the Houston Rockets.

Even though the Rockets had won far less games during the regular season, finishing 51-31, they had an imposing frontcourt of their own with their “Twin Tower” pairing of 7’4 Ralph Sampson with 7’0 Hakeem Olajuwon. With Sampson in early foul trouble in Game 1, Olajuwon picked up the slack by tallying 33 points and 12 rebounds but couldn’t overcome the Celtics torrid shooting of over 65%, led by Bird’s 21 pts, 13 assists and constant double teaming, and had Boston thinking sweep, by winning easily 112-100. In Game 2 it was more of the same. Even though Sampson rebounded with 18 pts, Bird totaled another 31 points as Boston won easily 117-95. When the series switched to Houston, the Rockets rebounded to win Game 3, 106-104, led by Sampson’s 24 points and 22 rebounds. Game 4 was Parish’s turn to dominate by both shutting down the Rockets frontcourt and totaling 22 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a late 3 pt shot by Bird, and a Walton offensive board putback, giving Boston a 106-103 win. The now infamous Game 5 was marred by the famous Sampson(7’4) vs Sichting(6’1) fight. With Sampson ejected, Olajuwon had 33 pts, 14 rebs, and 8 blocks, leading Houston to a 111-96 win. With a lead in the series at 3-2, Boston was confident coming back home to the Garden, where they were 49-1, including the playoffs. Larry Legend showed why he was the best player in the league during the season by tallying a triple double with 29 pts, 12 ast, and 11 rebs, leading Boston to a Game 6 win and Boston’s 16th NBA Championship.

Bird was a unanimous selection for Finals MVP by averaging a triple double at 25 points, 10 rebs, and 10 assists. With this Championship, the ever competitive Bird and his Celtics now matched his rival Magic Johnson and his Lakers with 3 titles. The mid 80′s Celtics team were matched only by the Lakers by making 4 straight Finals appearances between ’84-’87 and finished either 1st or 2nd in the Atlantic Division for 9 straight years from ’80-’88. One of my personal All-Time favorite teams, the ’86 Celtics come in #3 in the Greatest NBA Champions since 1980.

Here is some footage of Jordan’s Playoff record 63 points at the Boston Garden:

Here is footage of Larry Bird’s triple double in Game 6 to win title #16

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, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks and Wizards correspondent, and hoopsworld4.wordpress.com.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

#4 – 1989 Detroit Pistons

Starting Lineup: Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Mark Aguirre, Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer
Impact Bench Players: Vinnie Johnson, Dennis Rodman, James Edwards, John Salley
Regular Season Record: 63 – 19         Playoff Record: 15 – 2          Finals: Beat Lakers 4 – 0
Individual Awards: Thomas – All-Star          Dumars – Finals MVP, NBA All Defensive 1st Team    Rodman – NBA All Defensive 1st Team

The ’88-’89 Pistons set out to avenge a 7 game loss to the repeating NBA Champion LA Lakers in the ’88 Finals, and prove they were the NBA’s best team. Detroit used their rough and intimidating defense, for which they earned the nickname “Bad Boys”, to play good but not great basketball, but struggled offensively, early in the season. It wasn’t until management traded Adrian Dantley, an 18 ppg scorer, to acquire Mark Aguirre, a former friend of Isiah Thomas, to run a more uptempo full court attack. The move was a perfect fit, with Aguirre averaging 15.5 points and 4 assists over the final 36 games along with Isiah leading the team in scoring at 18.2 and assists at 8.3, earning Detroit’s only All-Star Game representative. The Pistons finished the regular season with a sparkling 63-19 record which was best in the NBA. They finished with the #16th ranked offense at 106 points per game and a #2 defense, allowing a surprisingly high 100.6 points.

The “Bad Boys” steamrolled through the early early rounds of the Eastern Conference by sweeping Boston(3-0) and Milwaukee(4-0). They ran into an up and coming Chicago Bulls team led by 3 time, regular season scoring champion, Michael Jordan who averaged 32.5ppg. The Bulls were good, but not good enough to get past the defending Eastern champion Pistons, who executed a set of defensive principles devised by their Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, called the Jordan Rules, to shut down the game’s best player. Detroit bested the Bulls by the rough and sometimes considered dirty play of their frontcourt led by Laimbeer(10.1ppg), Rodman(10rebs/gm), and Mahorn(5 rebs in only 21 mins played) who intimidated the Bulls frontcourt of Pippen and Grant. Detroit beat Chicago 4-2, for a return trip to the Finals, which turned out to be their only 2 losses of the postseason.

Coming into the Finals, the Western Conference champions, led by regular season MVP Magic Johnson, were so confident they would win that they were already printing up “three-peat” t-shirts. They also wanted to send their captain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar into retirement, which he announced prior to the season, with a 7th NBA title. The Lakers got a dose of reality when Byron Scott injured his hamstring before Game 1, and were without his services for the first two games. He was missed defensively as the Detroit guards, Thomas, Dumars, and “The Microwave”Vinnie Johnson scored a combined 63 points and won Game 1, 107-97. Things got worse for LA in Game 2, when Magic injured his hamstring in the third quarter, and an unknown star who was emerging, Joe Dumars scored 33 points, leading Detroit to a 108-105 win. A resilient Magic tried valiantly to return for Game 3 but played only 5 minutes. Without their leader, the NBA’s All-Time leading scorer, Jabbar, reminded us of his younger days by scoring 24pts and pulling down 13 rebs. The effort wasn’t enough to offset 19 rebounds by Dennis Rodman and another 31 points and a heroic late game block with 13 seconds left by Dumars as the Pistons won 113-110. Detroit survived LA’s James Worthy’s 40 points as Detroit won Game 4, 105-97, giving Motown it’s first of consecutive NBA titles with Joe Dumars emerging from Isiah Thomas’ shadow to win Finals MVP.

The Pistons used and impressive 15-2 playoff run, one of the All-Time best, to win the franchise’s first NBA title. Over a 4 year span from ’88 through ’91, the Pistons were arguably the league’s best team by winning back to back titles in ’89 and ’90, and making it to the eastern Finals in ’88 and ’91. We will always remember the image of Isiah Thomas crying into a towel next to Chuck Daly when it was apparent Detroit would win before shooting two late free throws in Game 4 of their sweep of the Lakers.

Here’s some Game 4 footage of Kareem’s last game and the Pistons celebrating their first title:

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, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks correspondent, hoopsworld4.wordpress.com, and Helium.com.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

Starting Lineup: Ron Harper, Kobe Bryant, Horace Grant, Rick Fox, Shaquille O’Neal
Impact Bench Players: Derek Fisher, Brian Shaw, Isaiah Rider, Robert Horry, Tyronn Lue
Regular Season Record: 56 – 26 Playoff Record: 15-1 Finals: Beat Sixers 4-1
Individual Awards: O’Neal – All-Star, All NBA First Team, All Defensive 2nd Team, Finals MVP Bryant – All-Star, All NBA Second Team, All Defensive 2nd Team

2001 Los Angeles Lakers

Although the ’99-’00 Lakers squad won more regular season games(67), this Lakers team had perhaps the best postseason run in history, going 15-1. The only blemish was the now infamous AI dropping a late jumper and stomping over a shook Tyronn Lue from the corner in a loss to the Sixers in Game 1 of the Finals. Many may also feel that the ’85 Lakers title team was deeper and should be ranked above this team, but no one can doubt that the ’01 Lakers team was as dominant a force as any in NBA history when it comes to playoff runs.

Around the league, ’01 marked the end of an era in NY as Patrick Ewing was traded to Seattle before the season and Allen Iverson won the MVP and his 2nd scoring title. The defending champion Lakers faced much more adversity in their 2001 attempt to repeat. The coaching staff had to deal with free agency losses, injuries, and the beginnings of the now famous Shaq-Kobe feud. Coach Phil Jackson brought in NBA veterans like 3 time champion Horace Grant and bad boy and Slam Dunk champion Isaiah Rider to help offset the loss of several key players from last season’s team like Glen Rice and AC Green.

The Lakers were good but not great during the regular season, which sometimes happens to teams trying to repeat, but finished strong by peaking at the right time by winning their final 8 games heading into the playoffs. They finished 1st in the Pacific and 2nd in the Western Conference to the Spurs. As a team they sparkled offensively averaging 100.6 points, ranking 3rd in the NBA with O’Neal(28.7) and Bryant(28.5) placing 2nd and 3rd in the scoring race, but only 23rd in points allowed.

In the Playoffs, LA showed why they were defending champs by remaining a perfect(11-0) while blowing through Portland, Sacramento, and San Antonio setting up a matchup with the Eastern champion 76ers in the NBA’s version of David vs Goliath. Philadelphia who made a splash by trading for Dikembe Mutombo in midseason swept the regular season awards with Iverson winning MVP, Motumbo Defensive Player of the Year, Larry Brown Coach of the Year, and Aaron McKie as 6th Man of the Year.

The upstart Sixers showed some pride by besting the Lakers 107-101 in overtime of Game 1 behind AI’s 48 points and unknown Raja Bell’s late game heroics, giving the Lakers their only postseason loss. LA survived Shaq’s foul troubles and some inspiring play by Iverson in Game 2 in Los Angeles to win 98-89. Kobe then made his now famous statements about going back to his hometown for game 3 in Philadelphia to “Cut their hearts out.” Kobe and Shaq did just that by sweeping the next 3 games to win the franchise’s 13th championship and forever making Bryant a villian to his native Philly.

O’Neal earned his 2nd straight NBA Finals MVP by averaging an impressive 33 points and 15.8 rebounds. In terms of winning percentage, the Lakers postseason was the best in NBA history with a record of 15-1, besting the ’83 Sixers 12-1 run. This was the second in a row of three consecutive NBA titles for the Lakers dynasty. I wonder how many more this dynamic duo, which rivaled Jordan-Pippen, Bird-McHale, and Magic-Worthy, could have won, if they could only have coexisted.

Here is the top 10 plays from the ’01 NBA Finals by NBA TV:

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, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks correspondent, hoopsworld4.wordpress.com, and Helium.com.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

#6 – 1991 Chicago Bulls

Starting Lineup: BJ Armstrong, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright

Impact Bench Players: John Paxson, Craig Hodges, Will Perdue, Stacy King, Cliff Levingston

Regular Season Record: 61-21 Playoff Record: 15-2 Finals: Beat Lakers 4-1

Individual Awards: Jordan – Regular season and Finals MVP, All NBA 1st Team, All Defensive 1st Team, All Star, Scoring Champion Pippen - All Defensive 2nd Team

Michael Jordan gave us many memorable moments that are forever stuck in our minds in his illustrious NBA career. Maybe the most memorable image in my head is MJ sobbing uncontrollably while clutching his first NBA Championship trophy. Many fans forget that Jordan, before ’91, was criticized in much of the same fashion that Lebron James does today. His Airness finally let all of his emotions and frustrations over the criticisms go when handed the golden globe of basketball. The year was 1991, and it was the beginning of the Chicago Bulls dynasty that would continue throughout the latter part of the decade.

The ’90-’91 Bulls were finally starting to gel after retooling their lineup to better compliment their All World shooting guard Jordan. In the previous two seasons, the Bulls had proven to be good but not great, by having their seasons ended by the Bad Boys of basketball, the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs. Over those two offseasons, they traded rebounding and defensive force, Charles Oakley, to the Knicks for scoring big man Bill Cartwright and a draft pick which wound up being Will Perdue. BJ Armstrong and Stacy King, who was a big time scorer at Oklahoma, were brought in through the draft, and Doug Collins was replaced at coach with Phill Jackson. That Bulls team was the perfect example of a team gelling at the right time by winning 11 in a row and then 20 of 21 games from mid February through the Finals in June. The Bulls ranked 7th in offense at 110 points per game and 4th in defense led by All NBA Defensive Team selections Jordan and Pippen.

Heading into the playoffs, Jordan had just won his 5th straight scoring title by averaging 31.5 points. Chicago was absolutely dominating in the early rounds by besting Ewing and the Knicks 3-0, Barkley and the Sixers 4-1, setting up a rematch with their nemesis, Detroit Pistons. In the Eastern Finals, the Bulls finally figured a solution to the Jordan Rules, which were a set of rules to shut down MJ and designed by the Pistons, by sweeping Detroit 4-0. The team from Motown was so ungracious that the entire team left the court before the final 8 seconds were off the clock in game 4 and refused to congratulate the Eastern Champion.

The Finals were billed as a matchup of the game’s two biggest stars in Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. While Magic used his 29th career playoff triple double to get the early series lead by winning game 1, the Bulls behind Pippen’s defensive lockdown of Magic and Jordan’s amazing highlight reel switch of the hands layup over Sam Perkins won Game 2 in a blowout 107-86. The Bulls swept all three games in LA and the clinching Game 5 back at home which was made easier by an injury to Worthy. Chicago got great help from its supporting players like Scottie Pippen who averaged 20.8 pts, 9.4 reb, and 6.6 assists and John Paxson who averaged 13.4 points and shot a blistering 65% from the field with perhaps none bigger than his now famous long range jumper which broke a tie late in Game 5. Jordan was the unanimous MVP of the Finals by averaging 31.2 pts, 11.4 assists, and 6.6 rebounds. Many fans viewed this as Magic and the team of the 80′s( Lakers) passing of the NBA torch to Jordan and the team of the 90′s(Bulls). By riding one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history at 15-2, which rivals the ’01 Lakers(15-1) and the ’83 Sixers(12-1), the Bulls won their 1st of 6 NBA Championships.

Here is some footage of da Bulls in the clinching Game 5 of the ’91 Finals:

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, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks correspondent, hoopsworld4.wordpress.com, and Helium.com.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

Starting Lineup: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins

Impact Bench Players: Glenn Davis, Eddie House, James Posey, Leon Powe

Regular Season Record: 66-16

Playoff Record: 16-10

Finals: Beat Lakers 4-2

Individual Awards: Garnett – Defensive Player of Year, All NBA 1st Team, All Star Starter Pierce – Finals MVP, All NBA 3rd Team, All Star Allen – All Star

After the Boston Celtics of ’07 had one of their worst seasons in their storied history, finishing 24-58, GM Danny Ainge set a plan in motion to surround team captain Paul Pierce with a championship caliber supporting cast. By virtually gutting the roster and starting from scratch, he assembled one of the better defensive lineups and one of the best trio of star players to ever play on the same team. First, Boston acquired Ray Allen, a 7 time All-Star, along with Glenn Davis from the Sonics, then signed Kevin Garnett, the former MVP and 10 time All-Star to be paired with Pierce, a 5 time All-Star himself, which made Boston the immediate odds on favorite on paper to win the ’08 championship.

The new Celtic trio brought back memories of Bird, HcHale, and Parish during the regular season by winning more than 60 games for the first time since ’86. They dominated the Atlantic Division by besting 2nd place Toronto by 25 games and accomplishing the biggest turnaround in NBA history with a 42 game increase in wins from’07. The fans loved the new Celtics as well by selling out every game at home, renewing the Boston home mystique. The trio of superstars led the team offensively by all averaging between 17-20 points, Garnett leading in rebounding at 9.2, and 2nd year point guard Rajon Rondo leading in assists at 5.1 and steals with 1.6. For his dominating defense during the season, Garnett was honored with the Defensive Player of the Year Award and All NBA First Team Selection. Garnett, Pierce and Allen were all All-Stars. While most fans remember this team for the 3 superior offensive players, the real factor in Boston’s title run was their stifling team defense, finishing in the top 5 among all NBA teams defensively.

In the playoffs, Boston road to the Finals had a few bumps by surviving against Atlanta 4-3, outlasting Cleveland 4-3, and besting the defending Champion Pistons 4-2 in the Eastern Finals setting up a matchup against the NBA’s two winninest franchises, the Celtics and Lakers. While during the regular season Garnett dominated, it was Pierce’s turn in the Finals. After severely injuring his knee by falling into teammate, Kendrick Perkins in Game 1, and having to be carried off the court, he returned later in the game in vintage Willis Reed fashion and immediately hitting consecutive 3 pointers in leading Boston to the win. Led by Pierce’s inspiring play, Rondo’s all around great point guard play, and suffocating team defense on regular season MVP Kobe Bryant, the Celtics beat LA by 39 points in Game 6, 131-92, setting a record as the largest clinching game margin of victory in Final history. It was the Celtics 17th NBA Championship, and first since ’86, extending their NBA record for most titles by an single NBA franchise. The trio of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen is one of the best in modern history and still is today by annually vying for another title, barring any injuries.

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.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era(post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

Starting Lineup: K. Abdul Jabbar, M. Johnson, J. Worthy, B.Scott, M. Cooper
Bench: B. McAdoo, J. Wilkes, K. Rambis, L. Spriggs
Reg Season: 62-20 Playoffs: 15-4 beat Celtics in Finals 4-2

During the 1980′s the Los Angeles Lakers brand of basketball was famously known as “Showtime”. During that span the Lakers reached the NBA Finals 8 times, winning 5 titles. The 84′-85′ Laker team was my pick as the best during that era. Although other Laker teams have had better regular season records, this team was the most dominant of the group during the 80′s. They boasted 5 future Hall of Famers, three in the starting lineup( Jabbar, Johnson, Worthy), along with Bob McAdoo off the bench, and Coach Pat Riley.

In a regular season where a dazzling rookie named Michael Jordan started his legacy, the Lakers dominated the Western Conference finishing 62-20, winning the Pacific Division by 20 games over second place Portland. They were led by Kareem averaging 22 points and 8 rebounds and Magic Johnson averaging 18 points and 12.6 assists, which ranked 2nd in the NBA. The Lakers ran through the playoffs by sweeping Phoenix 3-0, besting Portland 4-1, and Denver 4-1 in the Western Finals, setting up a rematch of last season’s Championship loss with the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics, because of a better regular season record, had home court advantage. In one of the series’ most memorable moments, the Celtics destroyed the Lakers 148-114 in Game 1, which was forever dubbed “The Memorial Day Massacre”. Until 2008, this was the biggest margin of victory in Finals history. In the game, Jabbar was limited to only 12 points and 3 rebounds. Kareem, and the rest of the team, redeemed himself, by averaging 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists in the remainder of the series earning him Finals MVP, becoming the oldest player to do so at age 38. Magic Johnson averaged an amazing 15.2 assists throughout the playoffs. They key to the Lakers winning their 8th title, and first over the rival Celtics, was Cooper’s defense on Larry Bird and the depth of their bench. It was also the first and only time an opposing team had won an NBA title in the Boston Garden. This Lakers team may by some, be considered to have been one of the best in NBA history but they come in #8 in the list of Greatest NBA Champions since 1980.

Here is some footage of the Lakers winning Game 6 and celebrating at the Boston Garden:

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.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era (post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

Starting Lineup – Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, R. Nesterovic, Tony Parker
Reg Season Record - 59-23 Playoffs – 16-7 Finals – beat Pistons 4-3
Individual Awards – Tim Duncan – All NBA 1st Team, All Defensive 1st Team, Finals MVP Bruce Bowen – All NBA 2nd Team

Although the 04′-05′ NBA season’s most memorable moment will forever be the infamous brawl between the Pistons and Pacers, the Spurs ran through the NBA with the perfect mix of efficient offense and absolute shut down defense. In the regular season, the Spurs breezed through a tough Western Conference with a record of 59-23, finishing 2nd overall behind the NBA’s highest scoring team, the Phoenix Suns. San Antonio was led by future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan who averaged a workmanlike 20.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. The coming of age of a pair of 2nd and 3rd year players named Ginobili(16ppg) and Parker(16.6ppg and 6.1apg), along with Duncan, and an experienced mix of veterans off the bench like Robert Horry, Brent Barry, and Glenn Robinson was the perfect mix to roll through the playoffs as well. The Spurs allowed only a stingy 88.4 points per game ranking 1st in many defensive categories. They held teams to under 70 points a record 8 times.

Led by defense, the Spurs rolled past the Nuggets (4-1), Sonics(4-2), and in a show of defensive intensity, dominated regular season MVP Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns(4-1) setting up a showdown between the previous two NBA Champions, Spurs(03′) and defending champion Pistons(04′). In terms of competitiveness, it was regarded by many as one of the best NBA Finals match-ups in recent history by going the full 7 games. The Spurs set a NBA Finals record by holding the Pistons to under 80 points in 3 of their 4 wins in the series. In Game 5, Robert Horry hit another of his patented game winning shots which shifted momentum towards San Antonio for good. The win gave Horry his 6th NBA title tying Jordan and Pippen. It was the third time that Tim Duncan won his 3rd Finals MVP.

The trio of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker is still one of the best trios of players to win titles in recent history by winning another in 2007. This team is considered the best of a Spurs dynasty which would go on to win 4 titles over a 9 years span(99′, 03′, 05′, and 07′) and still challenge for more titles through 2010 and beyond.

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.

With this season’s NBA Finals behind us, I decided to take a look back and rank the greatest NBA Championship teams in the modern era (post 1980). This will be a ten part series with a new entry each week. Which teams had the most dominating seasons and playoff runs in the last 30 years? How would they stack up against each other? Which teams had the most Hall of Fame players or coaches? The rankings were limited to two teams per franchise in the top ten. Let the debate begin.

#10 – 2004 Detroit Pistons

Regular Season Record: 54 – 28, Playoff Record: 16 – 7, Beat Los Angeles Lakers 4 – 1 in the NBA Finals
Impact Players: Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace
Individual Awards: Ben Wallace – All NBA Second Team, Chauncey Billups – Finals MVP

In the year in which we were introduced to “King James” in NBA arenas, the Detroit Pistons were the class of the league. GM Joe Dumars re shuffled his ’02-03 squad by firing Coach of the Year Rick Carlisle and replacing him with Hall of Famer Larry Brown, acquiring Chauncey Billups from Minnesota, and inserted into the starting lineup, second year player Tayshaun Prince. But after struggling through most of the regular season, he made one of the best trade deadline deals ever by acquiring Rasheed Wallace, instantly getting his unique toughness, swagger, and 13 ppg. Sheed fit like a glove, adding his hard nosed defense to a team which only allowed a NBA best 94 ppg during the regular season, as well as averaging more than 43% on threes. This team made us remember back to the Pistons’ “Bad Boy” championship teams of ’89 and ’90 with stifling team defense, especially by Ben Wallace who was 2nd in the NBA with 12.4 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. During the regular season, they became the first team to hold an opponent under 70 points in 5 consecutive games.

In the playoffs, the Pistons were “firing on all cylinders” with Rip Hamilton leading offensively by coming off of screens to average 21 ppg and Chauncey Billups, who became known as “Mr Big Shot” by hitting seemingly endless clutch and game winning shots. In the Finals, they embarrassed a heavily favored and revamped 3-time Champion Lakers team 4-1, led by Kobe, Shaq, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton. The Pistons were so dominant that the series became known as ” The Five Game Sweep”, with the Lakers winning only Game 2 on Kobe’s game tying shot in regulation, sending it into overtime. They essentially ended the Laker dynasty since the team was dismantled in the off-season with only Kobe left behind to rebuild. Many experts agree that this was one of the best defensive teams of all-time. They were so dominant that they went back to 4 more Eastern Finals, making it back to the ’05 Finals, only to lose to another dynasty, Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs.