GREATEST TEAMS OF ALL TIME
Warriors in the conversation when it comes to hypothetical best ever
The old-timers are lining up to denigrate the Warriors. Magic Johnson feels his “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s were superior. Julius Erving figures his best 76ers team would prevail. Those who saw Michael Jordan’s Bulls teams up close won’t hear of any challengers.
They’re demanding that people get off their lawn, but those yards are long-since parched and abandoned. Eras pass, the game changes, and certain teams rise well above the rest. So it goes with the Warriors, who absolutely belong in the discussion of the all-time greatest teams. To place them within the top five, it says here, is entirely plausible.
This column comes from the standpoint of perspective. Throughout the 1960s, in Southern California or locally, I never missed an appearance by Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics or a chance to watch them on television. I’ve lived through Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor, Willis Reed and Dave Cowens, Isiah Thomas and Kevin McHale. If one thought prevails above all, it’s that analytic comparisons seem inappropriate.
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” said Draymond Green, “nor do I get into it. Those teams were great in their time, we’re great in our time. Just respect that.” Added Stephen Curry: “The hypothetical game is never one I’ve played.”
The NBA has changed too drastically to sort out the matchups. There was no such thing as a three-point shot before 1979, and now it’s a prerequisite for nearly everyone on the floor. There was a time when aggressive hand-checking was allowed on defense, as opposed to today’s freedom of movement. And the center position has become almost unrecognizable — especially in the Warriors’ case.
As we recall teams that won multiple championships within a five-year period — that’s the criterion here — such names as Russell, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan come to mind. How do the Warriors compete with that as they alternate Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and David West?
More to the point, take a hard look at the five players on the court when the Warriors need their best: Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Green and Andre Iguodala. You could put all five of them on the U.S. Olympic team without much outcry. Each of them, in his own way, has a legendary brand of status in the league. How often have we seen that before?
With that as a launching point, here are the teams to be remembered above all:
1962-63 Celtics: Russell, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones, Tommy Heinsohn and Satch Sanders, with John Havlicek, K.C. Jones and Frank Ramsey on the bench. Those were the eight players who appeared in the climactic Game 6 win of the Finals over the Lakers — and all of them wound up in the Hall of Fame. Moreover, with essentially the same cast year after year, the Celtics won eight straight titles and 11 of 13 in the Russell years. For sheer numbers and accomplishment, they stand alone. Also noteworthy: Celtics head coach Red Auerbach, oblivious to skin color, pioneered the expansive use of African American players (fielding the first all-black starting lineup in 1964) at a time when teams were reluctant to employ more than one or two.
1972-73 Knicks: Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, with Jerry Lucas, Dean Meminger and Phil Jackson (in his gangly youth) off the bench. This lineup rivals the Warriors’ in every respect except outside shooting; Bradley and DeBusschere would have been the best from three-point range. And those starters are five of the most storied, decorated players in the game’s history. They moved the ball in dreamlike fashion, totally surrendering the notion of self. They certainly couldn’t run with the Warriors, and they wouldn’t try. Recalling this team in a halfcourt set completely buries the images of LeBron James’ Cavaliers.
1985-86 Celtics: This marked the culmination of the Larry Bird era, knocking off the fabled Lakers in the Finals and going 40-1 at home in the regular season. Aside from the lineup of Bird, McHale, Parish, Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson, Bill Walton came off the bench in his last great season, joined by Scott Wedman and Jerry Sichting. The Warriors have faced some down-low threats during their three-year run, but nothing close to this team’s inside scoring ability. Bird’s passing and ingenuity have never been surpassed. McHale had the most reliable post-up moves of any forward in history. Put Walton in there, and the ball movement moved critics to tears. Curious: Once the Celtics came up with a plan (however effective) to stop Curry and Thompson, what would they do with Durant? 1986-87 Lakers: Magic has called this his favorite Lakers team, joining Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott and A.C. Green in the starting lineup, with Michael Cooper, Mychal Thompson (Klay’s father) and Kurt Rambis off the bench. This was the fourth of five champions in the Magic era, and a team that rivaled the current Warriors for uproarious fun. In terms of talent, Scott and Green don’t match up with, say, Klay Thompson and Durant. But the Warriors wouldn’t have a prayer of stopping Kareem’s sky-hook, and nobody ever masterminded a fastbreak like Magic. For certain: It wouldn’t be a Lakers sweep, as Magic claimed the other day. No chance. 1995-96 Bulls: This team went a best-ever 87-13 overall (.870), including a 72-win regular season that stood as the all-time record until Golden State posted 73 wins last season. Monday night’s Game 5 clincher left the Warriors at 83-16. But enough with the numbers. This is a matter of picturing the contemporary champs against Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper, Dennis Rodman and Luc Longley, with Toni Kukoc, Bill Wennington and Steve Kerr (looks like Mike Brown would coach the Warriors in this fantasy game) in reserve. Nobody touches Jordan, ever, for allaround magnificence. The Rodman-Green battles would be historic. Pippen, the league’s best defensive forward in his day, would take on Durant. Good lord, the drama.
For my money, that’s the top five Golden State would have to penetrate, with a second tier featuring Detroit’s back-toback champions (1989-90), the Shaq-Kobe Lakers of the early 2000s and the 2014 San Antonio Spurs, who dispatched James’ Miami Heat in five games. Erving’s 1982-83 76ers don’t qualify, as that core group won just one title, but it’s worth taking note of Erving, Moses Malone, Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney and Maurice Cheeks. The same goes for the 76ers of Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Chet Walker in 1966-67, the only year they could break through against Boston.
And we’ll leave it at that. Opinions and perspective welcome. Send your cards and letters to Ridiculous But Fun, 2821 Mythical Way, Nebulous, CA