The NBA is out with a list of the 10 best teams in the league's history, although it avoided controversy by declining to rank them in order.
The 10 teams were chosen by a panel of media who regularly cover the league. As part of the NBA's 50th year celebration, voters were asked to select the top 10 teams without ranking them.The winners combined to average 66 victories for an .805 winning percentage. Three teams were selected from the 1960s, one from the 1970s, four from the 1980s and two from the 1990s.
Selected were the:
- 1964-65 Celtics, led by Bill Russell, Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Tom Sanders and Tom Heinsohn, who broke their own league record for most victories in a season, posting a 62-18 record, and went on to win the franchise's seventh consecutive NBA title.
- 1966-67 76ers, with Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham, who began the season 46-4 and finished with a record of 68-13 before ending the Celtics' run of eight consecutive championships.
- 1969-70 Knicks. Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley and Cazzie Russell captured New York's first NBA title, defeating the Lakers in the finals.
- 1971-72 Lakers. Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Jerry West, Jim McMillian and Happy Hairston brought the Lakers their first championship of the Los Angeles era and broke Philadelphia's record for victories with a 69-13 record.
- 1982-83 76ers. Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones led Philadelphia (65-17) to its first title in 16 seasons and lost just one game in three playoff rounds.
- 1985-86 Celtics. Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge and Bill Walton led Boston to the best record in franchise history, 67-15, including a 40-1 mark at Boston Garden, the best home winning percentage (97.6) in NBA history.
- 1986-87 Lakers. "Showtime," spearheaded by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Bryon Scott, A.C. Green and Michael Cooper, posted a 65-17 record in regular season, won 11 of their first 12 games in the playoffs, then defeated Boston 4-2 in the final.
- 1988-89 Pistons. Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, Mark Aguirre, Vinnie Johnson and Dennis Rodman combined for one of the strongest defensive teams in the modern era as Detroit (63-19), lacking a dominant center, went 15-2 in the playoffs, including a 4-0 sweep of the Lakers in the final.
- 1991-92 Bulls. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, B.J. Armstrong, Bill Cartwright and John Paxson paced the Bulls to a 67-15 record. They beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the final.
- 1995-96 Bulls. Jordan, Pippen and Rodman led Chicago (72-10) to the most victories in regular-season history after starting 41-3. Ron Harper, Luc Longley, Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr rounded out the squad that won 87 of 100 games, including the playoffs.