The Boston Celtics found themselves getting a fair amount of love from ESPN in a recent article recounting the NBA’s greatest dynasties.
The article, by ESPN senior writer Kevin Pelton, breaks down the top 10 dynasties in league history, and the Celtics have two such championship clusters of seasons to their name in the top five of the list.
Given Boston’s status as the NBA’s winningest franchise with 17 banners hung in TD Garden, that makes sense — but where do they rank in ESPN’s estimation? The bottom five of the top 10 is free of Celtics dynasties, though several rivals abound.
Included (in reverse order) in the tenth- through sixth-greatest dynasties are the 1987-91 Detroit Pistons, the 2011-14 Miami Heat, the 1949-54 then-Minneapolis Lakers, the 1998-2004 Los Angeles Lakers, and 2001-17 San Antonio Spurs.
No, on to the top five.
No. 5 – 2015-19 Golden State Warriors
The Dubs are the briefest dynasty on this list, thought to be fair, they also might not be done yet, either.
During this stretch, the team won 265 games to 88 losses, good for a .751 winning percentage. They made it to five NBA Finals, winning three.
No. 4 – 1980-88 Boston Celtics
The peak years of Boston legends Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, the eight-season run was a very strong one overall.
It produced 550 wins to 188 losses for a .745 winning percentage, and five Finals trips — three of which ended in a hung banner.
No. 3 – 1980-91 Los Angeles Lakers
Boston’s arch-rival’s best run of wins came with a big overlap with one of their own, the Showtime-era Lakers going toe-to-toe with the Celtics in the 1980s.
The Lake show won 652 wins to 250 losses, giving them a .723 winning percentage. L.A. made it to eight Finals in this era, hanging four banners over the stretch.
No. 2 – 1989-98 Chicago Bulls
We all knew Michael Jordan’s Bulls would be here somewhere, and at second overall, it’s right where they belong. Only one team can lay claim to a greater golden age, and having arguably the greatest player of all time at the helm for almost the whole stretch would understandably produce such results.
Chicago was good for 545 victories in this era to just 171 losses, producing the best winning percentage of the five at .761. The Bulls had six Finals appearances over these years, of which they won all of.
No. 1 – 1957-69 Boston Celtics
The greatest dynasty in the history of the NBA, Boston’s rise to dominance behind greats like Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn in the 1960s may never be paralleled again.
While the winning percentage may be the worst of the top five at .687 with 656 wins and 299 losses, it spanned 13 years and produced twelve Finals appearances and 11 banners in the process.
