History.
Everyone wants to make history, whether it be with an MVP, random record, championship ring, or more. Simply put, there are many ways to make history, especially in the NBA.
Let’s flashback to the 1990s because that is history. Some of the greatest players to touch a basketball peaked this decade: David Robinson, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and -- of course -- Michael Jordan. His six rings and overall legacy is arguably the greatest ever, making the Chicago Bulls one of the league’s best historical franchises.
Since the 1998-99 season, the Bulls first season without Michael Jordan since his first retirement, the Bulls have made a singular Eastern Conference Finals. Jordan was a game-changer. Every season from 1991 to 1998 where he played for the full season, the Bulls were champions. He defined an era.
Since then, the 21st century has seen dominance by multiple teams, not just one like the 1990s. As a result, Digits found interest in looking back at the past 24 seasons and reflecting on the top five franchises in that time-span, including looking at the current rosters’ future outlook and how they can add to the franchises’ resume.
5th: Boston Celtics
Since the 1999-2000 season, the Celtics have a singular NBA championship (2007-08), rather underwhelming to be on a list of top five franchises over the past two and a half decades. However, that was one of the best teams over that stretch of years, and the Celtics have a good resume beyond that anyway. They have reached two other finals (2009-10, 2021-22) and seven total Eastern Conference Finals, most recently 2021-22. The ‘08 Big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, along with players like Isaiah Thomas and Jayson Tatum, have been the biggest contributors since the turn of the century.
Right now, the Celtics are clear-cut contenders for the 2023 title. Although they are not as hot as they were at the beginning of the year (where they had the best offense of all time for a period), they still sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 35-15 record. Jayson Tatum is one of the league’s best players, and there’s no doubt that the Celtics supporting cast is also really darn good with Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Al Horford, and others. They could certainly represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals once again this year and potentially walk away with the victory this year. They should be able to compete for years down the line, too.
4th: Golden State Warriors
The Warriors didn’t make a ton of noise -- in fact, they made zero noise -- until the 2014-15 season, when they won their first ring of four before solidifying themselves as a dynasty. Their four rings have come in the 2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2021-22 seasons. They made and lost an additional two finals, those being in the 2015-16 season and 2018-19 seasons. All of this is without mentioning their 73-9 season, breaking the NBA record for regular season wins (although, 73-9 don’t mean a thing without a ring!). Of course, the main contributors to the Warriors success are obvious: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Steve Kerr deserves a shoutout, too.
It seems unlikely as of right now that the Warriors add a fifth ring to the dynasty, let alone a seventh Western Conference Finals appearance. They are currently 24-24 and sit at the 9th seed, a Play-In spot. Despite retaining the same core as last year’s run, the Warriors haven’t been the same this season, partially due to injuries and partially due to the fact that it’s hard to stay on top when everyone wants to take the Warriors down. With Steph Curry aging, questions should arise if the Warriors will be adding another ring to the collection because it seems as if that may be in doubt.
3rd: Miami Heat
The Heat have sustained a competitive team for nearly the entirety of the 21st century, whether it be Pat Riley or Erik Spolestra at the helm. The franchise has three rings, all of which have come in this century (2005-06, 2011-12, 2012-13), along with three other finals appearances that were losses (2010-11, 2013-14, 2019-20). In total, they have made eight Eastern Conference Finals appearances, advancing in six. Of course, 3x NBA champion Dwyane Wade is the greatest Heat player ever, although LeBron James is the greatest player to put on a Heat uniform. Jimmy Butler and Chris Bosh are huge contributors to this franchise, as well.
Right now, the Heat are 27-22 after being as bad as 11-14 at one point. They were struggling to make the Play-In picture, but now, they are the six seed in the East. Last season, they were one shot away from a Finals appearance but have shown signs of regression this season, although -- as mentioned -- they are beginning to turn their season around. Even if the Heat don’t win it all this season (which is more likely than not), there is hope for the coming seasons with the development of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, as long as Jimmy Butler doesn’t regress quickly.
2nd: Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers at the beginning of the 2000s are some of the most iconic teams in NBA history. The Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal duo won three straight rings (1999-00 to 2001-02) and nearly won four rings in five years but lost in the 2003-04 Finals. Just four years later in 2007-08, despite having no Shaq, the Lakers were back in the Finals but lost. That didn’t matter; Kobe and Pau Gasol went back-to-back in 2008-09 and 2009-10, putting the Lakers at five rings in 11 seasons. And of course, the bubble ring in 2019-20 went to the LeBron James-led Lakers. For those counting, that is six rings and eight Finals appearances. They’ve had some seriously good players.
The Lakers are 23-26, 13th in the West. At one point this season, they were 2-10 .It’s been a rough year for the LakeShow. Luckily, however, they are only 1 GB from the Play-In and 2.5 GB from the 6th seed, so there is certainly hope for the Lakers, who just got Anthony Davis back from injury. There are certainly question marks of how long the Lakers championship window is open for with LeBron James’ age and Anthony Davis’ health concerns. But when they’re both on the court right now, no team will want to face them, especially in April. Those two alone can make a playoff push.
1st: San Antonio Spurs
Yes, the Spurs only have four rings and haven’t done anything significant since the 2016-17 season. That is true. However, their consistency for 15 straight seasons is nearly unmatched in NBA history. So, although their resume may be worse than the Lakers with only 4 rings, 5 Finals appearances, and 9 Western Conference Finals appearances, their consistency makes their placement here viable. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are a historic Big 3. They had countless high quality role players to contribute, too. They also have had arguably the greatest coach ever in Gregg Popovich, too.
And the Spurs future is certainly more bleak than any team on this list. Sure, they have promising young pieces like Devin Vasell, Keldon Johnson, and Jeremy Sochan, but none of these players project to be All-NBA caliber players to lead them to a title. That is certainly an archetype that they are currently searching for. With a 14-34 record, the fourth worst in the league currently, they could find ‘their guy’ in this upcoming NBA draft with Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson if they get lucky in the lottery. Truthfully, that’s what they have to hope for; otherwise, they gotta keep waiting to find the guy.
Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst