Seven NBA teams crack list of '25 Greatest Sports Franchises of the Last Quarter Century'; number 1 is debatable
Who's the best NBA team of the 2000s? How does that team stack up to every other franchise in every other major North American professional sport?
Those are weighty questions. Bleacher Report tackled the task this week, ranking the "25 Greatest Sports Franchises of the Last Quarter Century," from the NBA, NFL and NHL. The NFL's New England Patriots, whose regular-season and postseason success is without peer in any league, came in at number 1.
The number-2 spot on the list went to an NBA team that has one division title in the last 12 years, one championship since 2010, and seven head coaches since 2011.
The number-3 spot on the list went to a franchise that has endured five straight losing seasons, hasn't won the NBA Finals in a decade, and have been an NBA Draft lottery team the last two years.
Suffice it to say, the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers will be moving down the list before they move up.
The Lakers, at number 2, have made eight NBA Finals appearances this century, winning six. The Spurs, at number 3, have made five Finals appearances, winning four, but have the vastly superior regular season winning percentage (.635 to .551).
At least San Antonio has an obvious franchise centerpiece (Victor Webanyama) to build around going forward. With all due respect to Bronny James, the Lakers are presently riding the past glory of his father and Anthony Davis into a flavor of mediocrity fans in Los Angeles won't tolerate for long.
The Miami Heat (#4) have been a consistent presence in the Finals, if a little short on rings. The same could be said for the Golden State Warriors (#6), who only suffer by virtue of being mostly unwatchable during the 2000s, before Stephen Curry emerged as the game-changing force he would become. The Boston Celtics (#13) recently ended their streak of 14 playoff appearances in 15 years without winning a title.
There's a steep dropoff on the list from there to the next NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks at #23, who only have one title to show for a century of winning regular season basketball.
The last NBA team to crack the list? The Cleveland Cavaliers snuck in at number 25 despite having a losing record this century. Their inclusion hinges entirely on LeBron James showing up, then leaving. As noted by author Kerry Miller:
"For the 11 seasons James was on his hometown Cavaliers, they were 218 games above .500 and won 21 postseason series. In the other 14 seasons of the quarter century in question, they were 289 games below .500, and just last season won their first James-less postseason series since 1993."
- Bleacher Report
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