harveycmd Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 (edited) Someone asked me what I think is good basketball. I'll say the best basketball I've ever seen was by the 2001 Lakers in May-June 2001. Specifically, their run through the Western Conference playoffs with eleven wins and no losses is the best stretch basketball I've ever seen. They ran a real offense (not just dribble and shoot like you have now) and played excellent defense. Portland, Sacramento, and San Antonio weren't just good, they were all excellent teams. The Lakers had time off before the Finals and took a couple of games to get back on track against the 76ers. Kobe saved the title by hitting a 30 foot three pointer to send game two to OT after a first game loss. He should have been the MVP of the playoffs and the regular season. He was still fighting against negative media nonsense at that point in his career, but his performance against the Kings and Spurs that year was unbelievable. When you realize he was 21 at that time, it was incredible. He was clearly the best player in the world, but the media was hell bent on dissing him. They gave the regular season MVP to Iverson and Finals MVP to Shaq. Pure BS. Nothing these days compares. Edited March 28 by harveycmd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkInAustin Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I am too old for this conversation. Several iterations of the 60s Celtics, the 72 Lakers, the 80s Lakers and Celtics, Jordan's Bulls, the 2014 Spurs...all were great teams. They all had great stretches and great teamwork. Not dissing the the 2001 Lakers at all. Just suggesting it is not really possible to pick one. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveycmd Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 (edited) 6 minutes ago, MarkInAustin said: I am too old for this conversation. Several iterations of the 60s Celtics, the 72 Lakers, the 80s Lakers and Celtics, Jordan's Bulls, the 2014 Spurs...all were great teams. They all had great stretches and great teamwork. Not dissing the the 2001 Lakers at all. Just suggesting it is not really possible to pick one. I've watched the NBA playoffs live since 1979 when I was seven. I've watched the Celtics, Lakers, and Nicks teams on video from the late 50s onward. My favorite all time team is the 1985 Lakers. I stand by the 2001 Lakers as the best. I would go with the 1986 Celtics as second. 1996 Bulls as third. Edited March 28 by harveycmd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coot Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Absolutely no doubt about it! Baseball - '27 Yankees Football - '72 Dolphins Basketball - '64 Celtics And da rest of youse can go jump ina lake. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan91 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Jordan 96 Bulls. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryJames Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 1992-1993 Friendswood 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gerry Hamilton Posted March 29 Moderators Share Posted March 29 1 hour ago, HenryJames said: 1992-1993 Friendswood That was my vote! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gerry Hamilton Posted March 29 Moderators Share Posted March 29 That Lakers team for that stretch was tremendous ... at the end of the day, Shaq caused a major rule change in the NBA. He forever changed the game. The Golden State Warriors with Steph, Klay, KD and Draymond is the best offensive basketball I have ever seen on a court. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachBobbyFinstock Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 1990 Texas BMW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Moore Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 (edited) 97/98 Langham Creek Lobos. Next question Edited March 29 by John Moore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirhornsalot Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 The Lakers with Magic, Kareem, Worthy, etc., were pretty decent, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkInAustin Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 On 3/28/2024 at 4:48 PM, harveycmd said: I've watched the NBA playoffs live since 1979 when I was seven. I've watched the Celtics, Lakers, and Nicks teams on video from the late 50s onward. My favorite all time team is the 1985 Lakers. I stand by the 2001 Lakers as the best. I would go with the 1986 Celtics as second. 1996 Bulls as third. I have been watching NBA live and on TV since 1957, when I was in HS. It is actually easier to recall fantastic performances then streaks. Gerry certainly is correct about the firepower of the Twins, KD, Draymond team in the three point era. Personally, I never saw that team have a single game like Jordan and the Bulls had against Stockton and Malone, or the clincher the Spurs had in 2014, or the game I watched live in Houston as Magic led the Lakers by making 46 absolutely correct decisions with the ball with no TOs. I only watched Magic in that game and kept count. But the greatest single performance by a team in a game for me was in the western conference championship of 1972 which I watched on TV. The Lakers led the league in rebounding, assists, and scoring. The assists were the golden key to how smooth the team was on offense. The rebounding and blocked shots were the keys on defense. Against Kareem and Oscar, Wilt blocked Kareem 17 times in the series. He was 35, but perhaps the greatest athlete who ever lived, with measured 48" hops in the NBA and a track and field background at Kansas. He unselfishly gave up scoring to West and Goodrich and McMillan and West led the league in assists with about 10 per game while being among the scoring leaders and a great defender and athlete in his own right. In one of those games, Wilt blocked Kareem's skyhook from near the foul line toward the baseline, Kareem got the deflected shot and put up another skyhook which Wilt then blocked to a teammate. You have to understand how often Kareem was blocked in his entire career. Once by Olajuwon, and the announcers went crazy over it. I think he was not blocked on his skyhook as many times in the next 15 years as he was in that series. Wilt got about 20 rebounds each game in that series and all season, actually. This may be part of that 2 block sequence: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codaxx Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 (edited) I am going 1982 UNC or 1996 UK…. Back when college basketball was as at its peak. Probably the only sport where a team from the 80s/90s would destroy a current team (Not old enough to remember the great UCLA teams or the undefeated Indiana team) Edited March 30 by codaxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hornmatic Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 On 3/28/2024 at 5:33 PM, Coot said: Absolutely no doubt about it! Football - '72 Dolphins Spit take Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPharmD12 Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 I’ll take the 1992 Dream Team over anyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Recruiter Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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