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Too be clear I don't think they are better than the 1996 Bulls

I'm talking about raw talent.

Wait… The 2016 Warriors?

mdonnelly1989 wrote:Too be clear I don't think they are better than the 1996 Bulls

I'm talking about raw talent.

Do you mean the 2017 Warriors? Because that I would agree with.

2016? Are we forgetting KD wasn't on that team? I think OP got his years mixed up.

2017 Warriors had the most talent ever, '86 Celtics are right behind them.

I'll go with Wilt, Baylor (temporarily), West, and Goodrich on the 72 Lakers. Three all-time greats instead of two.

In terms of amount of talent, the 1999-2000 Blazers deserve an honorable mention as one of the deepest teams.

In their prime:

• Rasheed Wallace, Age 25
• Damon Stoudemire, Age 26​​
• Brian Grant, Age 27
• Steve Smith, Age 30.

​

End of prime:

• Scottie Pippen: Age 34
• Greg Anthony, Age 32
• Stacey Augmon, Age 31

Young, up and coming

• Jermaine O’Neal (C), age 21​
• Bonzi Wells (SG), age 23

Declining, but savy/ productive vets:

• Arvydas Sabonis (C), Age 35
• Detlef Schrempf (SF), Age 37

Not as top heavy as the Warriors or Bulls, but that's a deep 11 man rotation. Jermaine O’Neal could barely get minutes on that Blazers squad and was All NBA two years later with Indiana.

Iwasawitness wrote:

mdonnelly1989 wrote:Too be clear I don't think they are better than the 1996 Bulls

I'm talking about raw talent.

Do you mean the 2017 Warriors? Because that I would agree with.

Yes I got mixed up between regular and playoff

hauntedcomputer wrote:I'll go with Wilt, Baylor (temporarily), West, and Goodrich on the 72 Lakers. Three all-time greats instead of two.

Yeah but don’t forget about Klay and Dray

As the 3rd and 4th best players

Mean_Streets wrote:2016? Are we forgetting KD wasn't on that team? I think OP got his years mixed up.

2017 Warriors had the most talent ever, '86 Celtics are right behind them.

The '86 Celtics roster was insane.

Bird - Best player in the league. MVP winner.
McHale - Entering his peak, unstoppable during the postseason that year. Top 5 player in the league.
Parish - All-Star center. Gave you 16/10 a night & reliable defense.
DJ - One of the best defensive guards ever. Still in his prime, was an all-star the year prior.
Ainge - Entering his prime. versatile 2 guard who is one of the best role players ever
Walton - 6MOY award winner that season. Best back up center in the league
Wedman - Former All-star, now role player. Known for his shooting
Sichting - Like Wedman, known for his shooting. Pesky defender who never seemed to miss a mid-range shot.

mdonnelly1989 wrote:

hauntedcomputer wrote:I'll go with Wilt, Baylor (temporarily), West, and Goodrich on the 72 Lakers. Three all-time greats instead of two.

Yeah but don’t forget about Klay and Dray

As the 3rd and 4th best players

They also had Iggy who had better impact numbers than any of Lebron's big3 superteam-mates after 2012

So:
offense: prime Curry, KD, Klay - 3 of the best shooters of all time who were also positive to good defenders, swept MVPs of the 3 previous years before joining
defense: prime Draymond (reigning DPOY who is also great on offense) + rotation of Iggy, Zaza, David West

+ some of the best synergy ever for a stacked team

won 12/17 playoff games by double digits

just an interesting side note on JaVale McGee due to only 10min/game:
2017 peak JaVale led the entire NBA in 2-pointers and blocks per 100 and then led the entire NBA in playoff TS%, FG% and eFG% - put up 30/15 +5 blocks per 100 at 74%TS and an 138 ORtg
probably also led the NBA in % of capital letters in his name (36%!!!)

2003 Kings. Webber & Peja were MVP-level players, Bibby was the Jamal Murray of his time, Christie was the best perimeter defender in the NBA, Vlade was Jokic-lite, and their bench was nothing but 6MOY candidates. B-Jax, Pollard, Turkoglu, Jim Jackson, Keon Clark.

They had the rare combo of overwhelming talent & unparalleled chemistry. In most parallel universes, they're a multi-title dynasty.

I don't see any team that had more. It's so hard to match the shooting, spacing and scoring from a Steph, KD and Klay trio. Then you have a DPOY caliber player in Draymond and a Swiss army knife glue guy like Iguodala to complement them.

West and Livingtson were also smart vets off the bench.

karmew32 wrote:2003 Kings. Webber & Peja were MVP-level players, Bibby was the Jamal Murray of his time, Christie was the best perimeter defender in the NBA, Vlade was Jokic-lite, and their bench was nothing but 6MOY candidates. B-Jax, Pollard, Turkoglu, Jim Jackson, Keon Clark.

They had the rare combo of overwhelming talent & unparalleled chemistry. In most parallel universes, they're a multi-title dynasty.

They don't stack up with KD and Steph.

They made the reigning champs who beat a 73 win team just the year before look like afterthoughts. Two superstars in their prime with an absolute elite supporting cast that consisted of two other all stars, and one of if not the best 6th men at the time..and probably one of the best 7th men at the time in livingston.

Only the old school lakers/celts/and bulls teams would compare to me.

they might not even be the most raw talented team KD has played on.

KD + Russ + Harden + Ibaka = 3 future MVPs + another DPOY level player

KD + Harden + Kyrie = two previous MVPs and a previous #1 overall pick. Blake Griffin and Lamarcus Aldridge were on those team too. That's 4 top 2 picks + Harden who was a top 5 pick.

KD was the only player on that 2017 team who was even a top 5 pick. Reducing them to raw talent discredits how good of chemistry they had and how their unselfish play style allowed them to become greater than the sum of their parts.

ball_takes23 wrote:they might not even be the most raw talented team KD has played on.

KD + Russ + Harden + Ibaka = 3 future MVPs + another DPOY level player

KD + Harden + Kyrie = two previous MVPs and a previous #1 overall pick. Blake Griffin and Lamarcus Aldridge were on those team too. That's 4 top 2 picks + Harden who was a top 5 pick.

KD was the only player on that 2017 team who was even a top 5 pick. Reducing them to raw talent discredits how good of chemistry they had and how their unselfish play style allowed them to become greater than the sum of their parts.

Who cares that Steph wasn't a Top 5 pick. He's been more impactful than any player you've listed including KD.

mdonnelly1989 wrote:Too be clear I don't think they are better than the 1996 Bulls

I'm talking about raw talent.

well that's very unclear. you gotta define raw talent

is it the talent you get when you strip away all the years of training???? what's in your dna

is it the SKILL or athleticism

is it Olympic talent of strength and speed

is it PURE talent ONLY as you can't do anything else but,,,,,,? like if the grandmaster used his melting stick on you all that would be left is a basketball. or maybe ayton who has the body but not the brains

ball_takes23 wrote:they might not even be the most raw talented team KD has played on.

KD + Russ + Harden + Ibaka = 3 future MVPs + another DPOY level player

KD + Harden + Kyrie = two previous MVPs and a previous #1 overall pick. Blake Griffin and Lamarcus Aldridge were on those team too. That's 4 top 2 picks + Harden who was a top 5 pick.

KD was the only player on that 2017 team who was even a top 5 pick. Reducing them to raw talent discredits how good of chemistry they had and how their unselfish play style allowed them to become greater than the sum of their parts.

Warriors got 2 of the current top 3 players in the planet that time plus the best defender in the entire NBA plus a two-way top 5 shooter of all-time at worst in SG then one of the best two-way player in the league who won Finals MVP just 2 years ago. Basically 4 All-NBA and elite two-way player 5-man line-up. That team will never stop winning championship regardless who's their bench and coach was if KD and Klay didn't get hurt. KD+Kyrie+Harden played in just 16 games together in Nets while KD+Russ+Harden all under 24 years old when they played in OKC. This is not even close in terms of level of competition in comparison to the league they are playing against that time, atleast the showtime Lakers clashed against Bird Celtics dynasty and bad boys Pistons to even the field.

1983 Sixers have to be in the discussion.

Moses Malone
Julius Erving
Maurice Cheeks
Bobby Jones
Andrew Toney

That team is actually the most analogous to the 2017 Warriors of any other team, in that a team lost in the Finals and then added an MVP winner in his prime and completely steamrolled the playoffs.

lessthanjake wrote:1983 Sixers have to be in the discussion.

Moses Malone
Julius Erving
Maurice Cheeks
Bobby Jones
Andrew Toney

That team is actually the most analogous to the 2017 Warriors of any other team, in that a team lost in the Finals and then added an MVP winner in his prime and completely steamrolled the playoffs.

Great mention of the 83 Sixers. I've been watching the NBA for 50 years, and that team is still the most overwhelming favourite throughout the season that lived up to the hype in the playoffs. Untouchable for that season.

Still, I'd give the nod to the 2016-17 Warriors for having more talent; Erving was at the very tail end of his prime in 83, and the Warriors also had more depth as well.