NationStates Jolt Archive


What is the Greatest Basketball Team Ever

IDF
11-12-2006, 08:09
I'd answer with the 1995-1996 CHICAGO BULLS!!!


Putting personal biases aside, I still think they are the greatest ever. They won an NBA record 72 games during that season and dominated teams to begin what was their 2nd three-peat of the 90s.

The Bulls deserve it for numerous reasons

Let's begin with the obvious. "From North Carolina, 6'6, at guard, MICHAEL JORDAN!" The man is arguably the greatest basketball player in the history of the game.

Scottie Pippen would've been the number 1 player on any team in the league, that is except the Bulls. Even though Michael was #1, Scottie still managed to shine in Chicago as a Forward. He was possibly one of the greatest defenders ever in NBA history. During the 1991 Finals, MJ couldn't cover Magic Johnson. Phil Jackson put Scottie Pippen on him and the rest is NBA History. We willl never see that D again though since the NBA has changed their rules to increase scoring and revive interest that was lost when MJ an Pippen retired.

Dennis Rodman: He was obviously the bad boy of the team. I used to love to see what color he would die his hair. (My favorite was the green with a red bullseye) When he wasn't kicking photographers, he was leading the NBA in rebounds. His defensive and offensive rebounds made it easier for Jordan and Pippen to score.

Ron Harper: I'm not sure too many non-Bulls fans will remember him, but he was also a starting forward. No one on the team could even come close to outdunking him.

Luc Longley: He may've not been a star, but his size was crucial. He was a great rebounder. He may've not scored a lot, but he got a good amount of assists.

Toni Kukoc: I don't think I'd be going out on a limb here in saying he was the greatest 6th man in the history of the NBA. For some reason, his play would suffer when he started, but when he came off the bench, he'd light it up.

Steve Kerr: I'm not too sure many people remember him, but he was a bench player. He may not have made the fade-away shots or lay-ups Jordan did, but no man could shoot 3s better than Kerr. If he shot from outside the arc, it was going in for 3.

Phil Jackson: Yes, he's the greatest coach in NBA history. The fact that his hands are covered in rings proves it without a doubt.

Given all of this, I think the 1995-1996 Bulls could even beat the Dream Team if they played them. There is no doubting that the Bulls were the best ever and it's a shame we will never see such a team again.

BONUS REASON: The starting line-up video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYFlzJyxWlw
Too bad this one doesn't show the whole video, but it gets the lineups.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-BuF_Yv7BVM
New video with fireworks

AND NOW!!! The Starting line-up for your World Champion CHICAGO BULLS!!!! At forward from Central Arkansas, 6'7, SCOTTIE PIPPEN!!! A 6'6 forward from Southeast Oklahoma State, DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!! The man in the middle from New Mexico, 7'2, LUC LONGLEY!!! A 6'6 guard from Miami Ohio, RON HARPER!!! FROM NORTH CAROLINA, AT GUARD, 6'6 MICHAEL JORDAN!!!!"
Almighty America
11-12-2006, 08:12
There is no point to this thread. You started and ended it :D
Delator
11-12-2006, 08:13
The original Dream Team from the '92 Barcelona games.

---

Team roster

* Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns
* Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics
* Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers
* Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks
* Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers
* Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls
* Christian Laettner of Duke University
* Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz
* Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors
* Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls
* David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs
* John Stockton of the Utah Jazz

Coach: Chuck Daly of the New Jersey Nets

---

Results at the 1992 Tournament of the Americas in Portland

* USA 136 Cuba 57
* USA 105 Canada 61
* USA 112 Panama 52
* USA 128 Argentina 87
* USA 119 Puerto Rico 81
* USA 120 Venezuela 80

Results at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona

* USA 111 France 71 (Pre-Olympics in Monte Carlo, Monaco)
* USA 116 Angola 48
* USA 103 Croatia 70
* USA 111 Germany 68
* USA 127 Brazil 83
* USA 122 Spain 81
* USA 115 Puerto Rico 77
* USA 127 Lithuania 76
* USA 117 Croatia 85

---

I think those results speak for themselves.
Almighty America
11-12-2006, 08:15
The original Dream Team from the '92 Barcelona games.
I stand corrected :D
Delator
11-12-2006, 08:16
I stand corrected :D

That's OK...I give that answer in damn near every B-Ball thread I see. :p
IDF
11-12-2006, 08:25
That's OK...I give that answer in damn near every B-Ball thread I see. :p

There is a key player missing from the 92 Dream Team, that would be Dennis Rodman. I know the obvious reasons they wouldn't want him representing the USA, but he was still a great player.
PsychoticDan
11-12-2006, 08:38
Lakers '01. Playoffs 15-1. Sweep, sweep, sweep. Lose 1 win four in a row. Title.

Lakers. Half of all NBA finals in history have been between the Lakers and someone else.
IDF
11-12-2006, 08:40
Lakers '01. Playoffs 15-1. Sweep, sweep, sweep. Lose 1 win four in a row. Title.

Lakers. Half of all NBA finals in history have been between the Lakers and someone else.

Yes, but they did it in an era with considerably less NBA talent than during the 1990s.
Arthais101
11-12-2006, 08:41
It's both been mentioned. But if we are allowed superteams, it's the 92 olympic dream team.

If normal sports teams not assembled for the purposes of "let's beat a team that can beat any other team on the planet", then yes, the 95-96 bulls.

Pipen, Rodman, and Jordan. Singular best league team there ever was.
Delator
11-12-2006, 08:55
There is a key player missing from the 92 Dream Team, that would be Dennis Rodman. I know the obvious reasons they wouldn't want him representing the USA, but he was still a great player.

Great rebounder certainly, a good defender as well...but I wouldn't call him a great player, and I certainly wouldn't have put him on the '92 Dream Team when compared with the others who did make it.
Zilam
11-12-2006, 09:50
The Celtics with Larry Bird...I think?
The Phoenix Milita
11-12-2006, 10:06
The Harlem Globe Trotters 1940-49
Free Soviets
11-12-2006, 10:39
AND NOW!!! The Starting line-up for your World Champion CHICAGO BULLS!!!! At forward from Central Arkansas, 6'7, SCOTTIE PIPPEN!!! A 6'6 forward from Southeast Oklahoma State, DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!! The man in the middle from New Mexico, 7'2, LUC LONGLEY!!! A 6'6 guard from Miami Ohio, RON HARPER!!! FROM NORTH CAROLINA, AT GUARD, 6'6 MICHAEL JORDAN!!!!"

i can still hear exactly how that goes in my head, complete with intonation changes and name lengthenings
Monkeypimp
11-12-2006, 10:39
AND NOW!!! The Starting line-up for your World Champion CHICAGO BULLS!!!! At forward from Central Arkansas, 6'7, SCOTTIE PIPPEN!!! A 6'6 forward from Southeast Oklahoma State, DENNIS RODMAN!!!!!!! The man in the middle from New Mexico, 7'2, LUC LONGLEY!!! A 6'6 guard from Miami Ohio, RON HARPER!!! FROM NORTH CAROLINA, AT GUARD, 6'6 MICHAEL JORDAN!!!!"

Luc Longley was from Australia..
BackwoodsSquatches
11-12-2006, 10:46
The Harlem Globe Trotters 1940-49

Nonsense.

The Globetrotters that had thier own cartoon series and ocassionally hung out with Scooby Doo, were clearly thet better team.

I mean...they had SUPERPOWERS, man!
Delator
11-12-2006, 12:36
Luc Longley was from Australia..

NBA teams usually announce the players college...not their hometown.

Luc Longley attended the University of New Mexico.
Ifreann
11-12-2006, 12:57
Nonsense.

The Globetrotters that had thier own cartoon series and ocassionally hung out with Scooby Doo, were clearly thet better team.

I mean...they had SUPERPOWERS, man!

They're the best at everything, not just basketball.
IDF
11-12-2006, 18:31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGYN2-tAJSI

Watch that video. Michael Jordan's top 10 plays. He's being fouled on almost every single one yet still makes it. Number 3 has to be my favorite when he changes hands in mid-air while doing a lay-up.
PsychoticDan
11-12-2006, 18:37
Yes, but they did it in an era with considerably less NBA talent than during the 1990s.

Every era wasn't as good as the last one according to the people who watched it. That's true in the NBA, NFL, MLB, music, literature, televisions. Evryone always says things used to be better. As to the playoff record run, even if the talent across teh NBA wasn't as good, the teams they beat on the way there were as good a spread of teams as any: They swept Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio and then lost one to the Sixers. Not like they played the Clippers, Golden State and the Nuggets on their way there.

As for half of all NBA finals being played between the Lakers and someone else, that's been true since 1964. The lakers have missed the Playoffs three times in over forty years.
Imperial Black
11-12-2006, 18:46
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPAxD9ckBnQ

;)
Undivulged Principles
12-12-2006, 00:56
Any of Bill Russel's Celtics, if you are talking about NBA teams, though I would emphasize his last team. They would have spanked Jordan and the Bulls. Bill Russel gets the short end of the stick on most of these threads. The Lakers of 1987 and the 1986 Celtics were both better than any of the Bulls' teams. I don't consider the Bulls teams' opposition to be of the caliber of any of the teams opponents mentioned above.

AS FAR AS ANY BASKETBALL TEAM: 1992 US Olympic Team, by far. Rodman would only have been better than Laetner on that team, and there are other all around better players than Rodman that were not placed on the team. I do respect Rodman's defensive skills and believe he was better than Scottie Pippen, who I find to be highly overrated.
Sumamba Buwhan
12-12-2006, 01:01
The Harlem Globetrotters

They make basketball worth watching.
Gorias
12-12-2006, 01:39
dont know anything about this sport.
Linus and Lucy
12-12-2006, 01:57
The 1995-1996 Indiana Pacers...the only team to go undefeated against the Chicago Bulls that year.
Undivulged Principles
12-12-2006, 02:06
The 1986 Celtics had a better starter at every position other than shooting guard and had a deeper bench. I don't think it would have been too close of a contest over a 7 game series.

Parish>Longley
McHale>Rodman
Bird>Pippen
Ainge<Jordan
Johnson>Harper

I know it is more about the team than the individual player but those Celtics had an extreme team attitude, much like the Lakers of the following year. Bill Russel's Celtics epitomized TEAM, which is why they won so many titles against quality opposition.
New Stalinberg
12-12-2006, 02:10
Besides Hazeem?

The Bulls.
Delator
12-12-2006, 09:11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGYN2-tAJSI

Watch that video. Michael Jordan's top 10 plays. He's being fouled on almost every single one yet still makes it. Number 3 has to be my favorite when he changes hands in mid-air while doing a lay-up.

What I find most impressive about that video is he is not even LOOKING at the basket as he releases his shot on at least 4 or 5 of those clips...yet they still go in.

Sick...just sick. :D
Unabashed Greed
12-12-2006, 09:19
Well, I would have to say it's the Minneapolis Lakers (1950's). They, or more accuratly a player for that team, George Mikan, are the very reason why the NBA has things like the foul lane is 12' instead of 6', and why we have a 24 second shot clock, the over and back rule, etc.