1.In the 80s, outside of all the powerhouses - Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Sixers - who all won titles, there weren't really any really 'great' teams that almost did but didn't. Maybe those Rockets teams from 81 and 85, but I am not very familiar with them. There's also the Bucks of the 80s who made a career of winning 50+ games and being utterly unthreatening in the playoffs.
2.In the 70s, there was no dynasty, no powerhouse, and so a lot of different teams won titles. As a result, there weren't any teams of that calibre that didn't actually win a title in the decade.
3.I am just too young(23) to have a clear perspective on what the teams of the 50s and 60s were really like. I know the legends, I know who the great championship teams were, but I've never watched a full game from those days.
Therefore, I've decided to make this the 'Best Team Of The Last 25 Years Never To Win A Title' Thread, rather than try to pretend I know about things that I don't. So, I've created a list of teams that ought to be considered. I've written my own comments for each - I hope you'll take the time to read. I'd like to think the more you put into a post, the more you get out of it. If I've forgotten a team I should have put, vote other and post about it. Also note that I can only put 10 options on the poll, so not all of the teams mentioned can be there. Again, you can vote other and say so. Without further ado...
1990-1992 Portland Trail Blazers
Head Coach:
Rick Adelman
Starters:
C-Kevin Duckworth
PF-Buck Williams
SF-Jerome Kersey
SG-Clyde "The Glide" Drexler
PG-Terry Porter
Bench:
Cliff Robinson, Danny Ainge, Alaa Abdelnaby, Robert Pack, Mark Bryant
Best Finish:
Lost 1990 NBA Finals to Detroit Pistons, 4-1
Lost 1992 NBA Finals to Chicago Bulls, 4-2
Best Record:
1990-91: 63-19
My Comments:
I don't really think this team is even close to being on the top half of this list. Looking at that roster, you have to give Clyde Drexler and Rick Adelman a lot of credit. Drexler's supporting cast wasn't that great - no disrespect to Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey, who I consider good-but-not-great players. I think this Blazers team is a team that kind of came along at the right time. The Showtime Lakers were on their last legs, and the great Western teams of the 90s(Jazz, Rockets, Sonics, Suns) were still a couple years away from competing, so it was an ideal time for the Blazers to win the Western Conference twice in three years. Had they come along even two years later(than 1992), I think they would have had trouble getting by the any of the four teams I just mentioned. A very good team, but I have trouble saying they were a great team.
1992-95 Phoenix Suns
Head Coach:
Paul Westphal
Starters:
C-Mark West
PF-"Sir" Charles Barkley
SF-Cedric Ceballos
SG-"Thunder" Dan Majerle
PG-Kevin "KJ" Johnson
Bench:
Tom Chambers, Richard Dumas, Danny Ainge, Oliver Miller, Frank Johnson, Danny Manning(1994-95), A.C. Green(1993-94, 1994-95)
Best Finish:
Lost 1993 NBA Finals to Chicago Bulls, 4-2
Best Record:
1992-93: 62-20
My Comments:
The Suns had gone four consecutive seasons prior to the 1992-93 season winning 50+ games and had reached the Western Conference Finals twice, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. They were a very good team, but they couldn't get over the hump. They were one of those 'We're a star player away from winning it all' teams. Enter Charles Barkley in the 1992-93 season. Let's be honest: The 92-93 season is the only reason why anyone outside of the Suns fanbase remembers this group so clearly today. Although it was the group's first season with Barkley, it was clearly their best. You know the story - they were the 'team of destiny'. They won 62 games and got all the way to the finals and were one John Paxson three-pointer away from forcing the Bulls into a game 7 on the road, which they very possibly could have won. Unfortunately, that group never got past the second round again...In 93-94 and 94-95 both, despite acquiring Danny Manning and A.C. Green, they fell to the eventual champion Rockets in seven games in the second round, and in 95-96, Barkley's last year in Phoenix, they weren't even good at all. The age of the group that had been together for years before Barkley arrived had caught up to them. So that 1992-93 team is the only one that really gets remembered, even though those Suns/Rockets series' are classics. Because the 92-93 team was a great team, and because those aforementioned series' were so good, this Suns team makes the top half of my list.
1992-1995 New York Knicks
Head Coach:
Pat Riley
Starters:
C-Patrick Ewing
PF-Charles Oakley
SF-Charles Smith
SG-John Starks
PG-Doc Rivers
Bench:
Anthony Mason, Derek Harper(1994, 1995), Greg Anthony, Hubert Davis, Herb Williams, Gerald Wilkins(1991-92), Xavier McDaniel(1991-92), Mark Jackson(1991-92)
Best Finish:
Lost 1994 NBA Finals to Houston Rockets, 4-3
Best Record:
1992-93: 60-22
My Comments:
Ah, the Knicks. Despite the current state of the franchise, they were once a fierce, proud machine, and arguably the second best Eastern team of the 90s. The kind of team you hate when they're playing but years later you look back at them with a grudging respect. They were consistently in the mix during the 90s, but they weren't a pretty team like the Bulls or the Magic or the Sonics....they were ROUGH and TOUGH. The played a kind of defense that is basically extinct in today's NBA. If you could somehow transplant that Knicks team into today's NBA, the whole team would foul out before the end of the first quarter of every game because of the rough 'real' defense they played that is no longer within the rules(note that I am referring to the 1992-1995 teams only, and not the Knicks' teams of the late 90s w/Houston/Spree/Camby/etc). They peaked in 1993 and 1994, going to the Eastern Conference Finals and the Finals respectively. As a Bulls fan, I really hated them back then, but now I think we could use a team or two like them in today's game. They commanded respect, and they had one of the great mental games in recent NBA history - they were intimidated by NO ONE. Predictably, one must give Patrick Ewing and Pat Riley a lot of credit. Ewing is a legend and was responsible for most of the Knicks' offense, whether by scoring or by drawing the defense on himself(whether inside or outside since he DID have one of the great mid-range games in the history of NBA centers), and Riley pulled off what I think is one of the great versatility acts any NBA head coach ever has, going from the flashy, running, razzle-dazzle Showtime Lakers teams to the big, rough, slow, defensive Knicks of the 90s. Props. These Knicks are near the very top of my list.
1994-1996 Orlando Magic
Head Coach:
Brian Hill
Starters:
C-Shaquille O'Neal
PF-Horace Grant
SF-Dennis Scott
SG-Nick Anderson
PG-Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway
Bench:
Brian Shaw, Donald Royal, Scott Skiles, Anthony Bowie, Jon Koncak
Best Finish:
Lost 1995 NBA Finals to Houston Rockets, 4-0
Best Record:
1995-96: 60-22
My Comments:
This Magic team was a flash-in-the-pan team if ever there was one. Funny how timing can be everything in sports - The Magic were just one of the new kids on the block in the NBA, a 1989 expansion team, and they went through their first three years struggling mightily. And the year they got the #1 pick just happened to be the year that Shaquille O'Neal was coming out of college. The next year they get ridiculously lucky and get the #1 pick AGAIN, which eventually ended up being Penny Hardaway(who is one of those sad cases of injury turning what looked to be a superstar for years to come into a premature cripple). And the offseason after THAT they lured Horace Grant away from the Bulls. And just like, in only their sixth year of existence, they got to the NBA finals, defeating just-returned Michael Jordan and the then-former-three-time champion Chicago Bulls on the way, no less. And the next year, they won 60 games and were considered the second best team in the East(this was the 95-96 season, the year the Bulls won 72). I remember vividly watching the final minutes of the last game of the Magic's second round series vs the Hawks that year. Up to that point, the Magic had only lost one game so far in the playoffs, and their crowd knew that the Magic had beaten the Bulls the year before. So they started chanting 'BRING ON CHICAGO, BRING ON CHICAGO'. And then the Bulls promptly swept the Magic, Shaq bolted to LA that offseason, Brian Hill was ran out of town, Penny got crippled with injuries, and all that was once right with the Magic was suddenly very wrong. In the two years that they were contenders, they were a fun, fun team to watch. Shaq was obviously something special, although in those days people questioned whether or not he could lead a team to a title, and Penny looked like he was going to be a straight stud for years to come. They truly were a team that ended prematurely. However, because they got swept by both Houston and Chicago - the two teams that combined to win 8 out the 10 championships of the 90s - I am not sure that they belong in the top half of my list.
1993-1996 Seattle SuperSonics
Head Coach:
George Karl
Starters:
C-Sam Perkins
PF-Shawn "The Reignman" Kemp
SF-Detlef Schrempf
SG-Hersey Hawkins
PG-Gary "The Glove" Payton
Bench:
Vincent Askew, Ervin Johnson, Frank Brickowski, Nate McMillan, Eric Snow, Kendall Gill(1994-95), Ricky Pierce(1993-94)
Best Finish:
Lost 1996 NBA Finals to Chicago Bulls, 4-2
Best Record:
1995-96: 64-18
My Comments:
These Seattle SuperSonics teams of the mid-90s often don't get as much respect as their peers, the two-time champion Houston Rockets and perennial contender Utah Jazz. But I remember clearly that those teams - especially the Rockets - feared the Sonics simply because the Sonics were long and athletic and fast, whereas the Rockets and Jazz were slower, halfcourt teams. Gary Payton was the second best point guard of his generation(second only to Stockton) and one of the great defensive point guards to ever play the game, and Shawn Kemp was player who was absolutely destined to be a top 10-20 PF of all time(the way he pissed his career away is just really sad, but that's another topic) - he could block shots, rebound, run, jump, and score(he finished in traffic in a way few others have). The two of them led a team that was as smooth, balanced, and efficient on offense as it was tenacious, fast, and long on defense. The result was that they ran fastbreaks that are a thing of legend. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Detlef Schrempf, an oft-underappreciated European legend who worked beautifully as a third option on that team, the guy who would hit all the open shots when Kemp and/or Payton would get doubled. Today's Hornets remind me of those Sonics teams somewhat - all-star point guard, white european guy with long-distance range at the 3, all-star power forward(although West isn't as athletic as Kemp was), defensive-minded center, and their fastbreak isn't quite as smooth as Seattle's was. Anyway...to this day I can still go on YouTube and watch 'Shawn Kemp finishing in traffic' mixes or 'Gary Payton making defensive plays and leading fastbreaks' mixes and ooh and aah at them like a child. They were truly an entertaining team.
1995-1998 Utah Jazz
Head Coach:
Jerry Sloan
Starters:
C-Greg Ostertag
PF-Karl "The Mailman" Malone
SF-Bryon Russell
SG-Jeff Hornacak
PG-John Stockton
Bench:
Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson, Antione Carr, Greg Foster, Adam Keefe, Chris Morris
Best Finish:
Lost 1997 NBA Finals to Chicago Bulls, 4-2
Lost 1998 NBA Finals to Chicago Bulls, 4-2
Best Record:
1996-97: 64-18
My Comments:
There isn't much to say that everybody doesn't already know. Malone&Stockton are both Top 5 all time at their position, they were one of the great duos to ever play the game, they played their style of game(read: pick and roll) probably better than anyone else ever has, they had one of the great(and most underrated, underapprecated) coaches the game has ever known, they were perennial contenders all decade long, everyone respected them, and by these three seasons(don't forget that the Jazz were one game away from beating the Sonics and advancing to the Finals in 1996 as well) they had a good enough supporting cast led by Jeff Hornacak, were a well-enough oiled machine, had enough playoff experience, and just plain finally had enough luck, to be real contenders. I was a Bulls fan at the time so I had to hate them, but looking back, those two Jazz teams were really great basketball teams. It is often said that they were the toughest opponent the Bulls faced in the finals. I have a lot of respect for how good John Stockton was, and while Karl Malone the person appears to be somewhat questionable, as far as I'm concerned he's a top 2 PF of all-time(I still rank him at #1 and Duncan at #2), and is practically the proto-type for what is considered a PF in the NBA today. That Jazz team of the late 90s is my personal pick for 'Best Team Never To Win A Championship'.
1995-2000 Miami Heat
Head Coach:
Pat Riley
Starters:
C-Alonzo Mourning
PF-P.J. Brown
SF-Jamal Mashburn
SG-Voshon Lenard
PG-Tim Hardaway
Bench:
"Thunder" Dan Majerle(1996-2001), Kurt Thomas(1995-1997), Isaac Austin(1996-1998), Keith Askins, Clarence Weatherspoon(1998-2000), Anthony Carter(1999-2000), Rex Walters(1997-2000)
Best Finish:
Lost 1997 Eastern Conference Finals to Chicago Bulls, 4-1
Best Record:
1996-97: 61-21
My Comments:
The Heat of the late 90s were quite talented, but they were a team that never quite make the leap from 'good' to 'great'. Their competition in the East was was formidable, with the Bulls, who were in their second threepeat in this Heat team's best years, the perennial contender Pacers, and of course the late 90s knicks. They lost to the Bulls twice(96 first round, 97 ECF) and the Knicks three years in a row(98 first round, 99 first round, 00 second round). Their defeat of the Knicks in the second round of the 1997 playoffs was the only time they ever defeated the Knicks OR the Bulls, and the only time they advanced past the second round(and they nearly got swept by the Bulls in the ECF). Mourning was good enough to be the fifth best center in a decade full of HOF-caliber centers(fifth after Hakeem, Ewing, Shaq, Robinson), Hardaway was a arguably the third best point guard of his generation behind Stockton and Payton(although the 2-3 years Penny Hardaway was dominating before he got hurt could push Tim to #4). Mashburn was one of the most talented wingmen of his generation. They had solid role players in PJ Brown, Voshon Lenard, old Dan Majerle, and young Kurt Thomas. They had a HOF coach in Pat Riley. But despite all of that, they just were never able to be more than 'very good', and they always had to fight hard to get as far as they did go in the playoffs. They may had a couple more years of contention had Mourning's kidney condition not arose, and knowing now how weak the East was in 2001 and 2002, they may have had a real shot at getting to the finals in those years. But still, Hardaway and Majerle, who was one of their main bench guys, were getting old, and that team was going to have to at the very least re-tool anyway even if Mourning's kidney condition never came to be, but since it did come to be, it was the beginning of a full re-build(they traded Mashburn and PJ Brown to the Hornets for Eddie Jones, they acquired Brian Grant, Hardaway left after the 2001 season, etc). They never came close to winning anything, but because they had a great amount of talent, I have to decided to give them a section here.
1994-2000 Indiana Pacers
Head Coach:
Larry Brown 1993-1997 Larry Bird 1997-2000
Starters:
C-Rik Smits
PF-Dale Davis
SF-Derrick McKey
SG-Reggie Miller
PG-Mark Jackson
Bench:
Antonio Davis, Travis Best, Jalen Rose(1996-2000), Chris Mullin(1997-2000), Austin Croshere(1997-2000), Al Harrington(1998-2000), Haywoode Workman(1993-1997)
Best Finish:
Lost 2000 NBA Finals to Los Angeles Lakers, 4-2
Lost 1994 Eastern Conference Finals to New York Knicks, 4-3
Lost 1995 Eastern Conference Finals to Orlando Magic, 4-3
Lost 1998 Eastern Conference Finals to Chicago Bulls, 4-3
Lost 1999 Eastern Conference Finals to New York Knicks, 4-2
Best Record:
1997-98: 58-24
My Comments:
The Pacers of the 90s didn't have a tremendous amount of raw talent. What they did have is one of the highest collective basketball IQs of any team in recent NBA history, imo. They were as fundamentally sound a basketball team as any, especially in the earlier years. This should come as no surprise since Larry Brown was their first coach. I am no Larry Brown fan, I dislike him and his personality generally leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but of all the teams he's coached, this Pacers team is easily my favorite. One should note that they became somewhat more offensively diverse when Bird took over - Chris Mullin was acquired and he replaced Derrick McKey in the starting lineup, Jalen Rose and Al Harrington were youngins that worked their way into the lineup. But Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Rik Smits, and Dale Davis remained the core. All throughout their years together, the Brown years and the Bird years alike, they just played smart, sound basketball. There's only one team in today's NBA who plays 'fundamental' basketball the way those Pacers did, and I think we can all guess which team that is. These Pacers were the most underappreciated team of the 90s, and it's not even a contest. This is a team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals five times in seven years - 94, 95, 98, 99, 00(en route to the Finals). Five times. There was only one team that went the conference finals of EITHER conference as many times, the Utah Jazz(92, 94, 96, 97, 98) and only one team that went to the conference finals of EITHER conference MORE times in the 90s, and that team is obviously the Bulls(90, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98). Yes, it took them five tries to finally WIN the Eastern Conference Finals(and after that 2000 finals, that era of the Pacers was effectively finished as Mark Jackson left Indiana, Dale Davis was dealt for Jermaine O'Neal, and Bird quit as coach), but still five conference finals in seven years is no small feat. And yet these Pacers generally aren't that regarded today. They are as underappreciated a team as I can remember. As an aside, I always wondered why Bird quit coaching after only three years. He was good - he got to the ECF all three years.
1999-2000 Portland Trail Blazers
Head Coach:
Mike Dunleavy
Starters:
C-Arvydas Sabonis
PF-Rasheed Wallace
SF-Scottie Pippen
SG-Steve Smith
PG-Damon Stoudamire
Bench:
Detlef Schrempf, Bonzi Wells, Brian Grant, Jermaine O'Neal, Greg Anthony
Best Finish:
Lost 2000 Western Conference Finals to Los Angeles Lakers, 4-3
Best Record:
1999-00(Well, duh, it's the only year I'm covering here): 59-23
My Comments:
This team is a story of two seasons. In the shortened 98-99 season, they got the Western Conference Finals before being swept by the eventual champion Spurs. In the offseason, they acquired six-time champion and Top 50 player Scottie Pippen, top second-tier 90s guard Steve Smith, and previously mentioned European legend Detlef Schrempf going into this season. This was added onto Rasheed Wallace and Arvydas Sabonis(although he was well past his prime when he got to the NBA, I've heard/seen a bunch of people say he was as good as Hakeem in his prime), plus Damon Stoudamire, Bonzi Wells, Jermaine O'Neal before anyone knew who he was....the team was INSANELY talented. The 99-00 team won 59 games and easily got back to the Western Conference Finals. They pushed the Lakers to the limit, and they were one fourth-quarter choke job away from a championship(they would have beaten the Pacers). Unfortunately, that loss kind of destroyed the team. They all got older, Rasheed wasn't fit to lead, Jermaine got traded for Dale Davis, and they had the bad luck of drawing the Lakers in the first round two years in a row, and Lakers owned them after the 2000 choke job. They deteriorated into the jail blazers and the rest is history. But they were good enough in 99-00 that they belong on this list, imo.
2001-2004 Sacramento Kings
Head Coach:
Rick Adelman
Starters:
C-Vlade Divac
PF-Chris Webber
SF-Peja Stojakovic
SG-Doug Christie
PG-Mike Bibby
Bench:
Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, Scott Pollard, Gerald Wallace, Jimmy Jackson(2003), Keon Clark(2003), Lawrance Funderburke, Mateen Cleaves
Best Finish:
Lost 2002 Western Conference Finals to Los Angeles Lakers, 4-3
Best Record:
2001-02: 61-21
My Comments:
This is another team that had a ridiculous amount of talent but could never get it done. Nobody was beating the Lakers in 2001, so you can't fault the Kings for that. Their two chances at contention were 2002 and 2003. The 2002 WCF series is an all-time classic. The 6th game is the worst-officiated game I've ever seen, but the Kings still choked away the 7th game all on their own. I would imagine Robert Horry's game 4 buzzer beater is still one of the most painful shots in Kings history(they would have been up 3-1). The Kings had bad luck with injuries. Peja was hurt for most of that Lakers series and when he came back he was far from 100%. Furthermore, the following year, in the second game of the second round against Dallas, Webber blew out his knee, he had subsequent microfracture surgery, and his prime was effectively finished prematurely. He was never the same. A combination of bad luck injuries and choke jobs prevented the Kings from getting the job done. But they were undeniably one the most talented teams in recent NBA history. They were also, imo, one of the best passing teams in recent NBA history.
2001-2003 Dallas Mavericks
Head Coach:
Don Nelson
Starters:
C-Raef LaFrentz
PF-Dirk Nowitzki
SF-Michael Finley
SG-Adrian Griffen
PG-Steve Nash
Bench:
Nick Van Exel, Raja Bell, Shawn Bradley, Avery Johnson, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Eduardo Najera
Best Finish:
Lost 2003 Western Conference Finals to San Antonio Spurs, 4-2
Best Record:
2002-03: 60-22
My Comments:
I know this Mavs team is generally considered to be inferior to the other Mavs team, but I personally found them much funner to watch, and since they were a fundamentally different team from the other Mavs team(the only two things they had in common were Dirk and a glaring lack of mental toughness), I decided to give them their own entry here. I just loved it when they played those Raef/Dirk/Finley/NVE/Nash lineups in the playoffs...the kind of lineup that was fun as hell to watch but you knew they couldn't realistically win anything. Still, they were very good and highly entertaining team and I would still pick them over the current Mavs to watch any day, if not to win. Let's not mention the two years between this Mavs team and the other Mavs team - Jamison and Walker should never have been brought to Dallas.
2005-2008 Dallas Mavericks
Head Coach:
Avery Johnson
Starters:
C-Erick Dampier
PF-Dirk Nowitzki
SF-Josh Howard
SG-Jason Terry
PG-Devin Harris
Bench:
Jerry Stackhouse, Desagana Diop, Marquis Daniels(2004-2006), Keith Van Horn(2004-2006), Deavan George(2006-2008), Jason Kidd(2008)
Best Finish:
Lost 2006 NBA Finals to Miami Heat, 4-2
Best Record:
2006-07: 67-15
My Comments:
This team had/has all the talent in the world. Their best years are behind them and they failed to capitalize because they just could never learn to be really mentally tough, and in the one year they did get all the way to the Finals, they got screwed over by the refs. They've had their chances but they are over the hill now, as a team, I think. The Kidd trade could have worked out better if Avery Johnson had adjusted to it better, I don't think there's any question about it, but that doesn't change the fact that the Mavs had their best chances in 06 and 07. Sadly, I think this team is destined to be remembered more for their mental weakness than for anything else.
2005-2008 Phoenix Suns
Head Coach:
Mike D'Antoni
Starters:
C-Amare Stoudemire
PF-Boris Diaw
SF-Shawn Marion(2004-07, first part of 2007-08)
SG-Raja Bell
PG-Steve Nash
Bench:
Leandro Barbosa, Joe Johnson(2004-05), Quentin Richardson(2004-05), Kurt Thomas(2005-2006, 2006-07), Shaquille O'Neal(2008), Grant Hill(2007-08)
Best Finish:
Lost 2005 Western Conference Finals to San Antonio Spurs, 4-1
Lost 2006 Western Conference Finals to Dallas Mavericks, 4-2
Best Record:
2004-05: 62-20
My Comments:
I don't really need to say anything, do I? Fast-paced, showtime offense, very average defense, known to disappear in the big moments. Had their best chances in 05 and 06. They have gotten older and less deep as the years have gone by. Their time is about up, I think.
Major props.
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