The Greatest NBA Franchises of the 2000's
SteemSports Presenter: @dwin0603
SteemSports Editor: @theprophet0
It’s hard to build a franchise that will dominate the game for a year or more than a year. Everybody do their jobs starting from the Team owner, General Manager and the whole front office just to came up with a team that can compete all the way for a championship. The NBA today is now dominated by super teams. Three or more all-stars team up in one City just to have a much higher chance of winning a championship. We saw the Kobe and Shaq duo, the Celtics Big three, the Miami Big three, and now the Golden State Warriors’ five all-star starters which are too much for the entire league to handle. Every team now is trying their best to collect more all-stars to team up in one team just to compete with the Golden State Warriors. But we cannot say that the Warriors are unfair because three of their all-stars are drafted by their team and not came from a trade or free agency. We could just say that they have a great scouting team or a great training coach and crews that develop the talents of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the NBA had teams build up dynasties that dominated the league for years. Now we are going to take a look at the top franchises of the 2000’s starting from 2001-2002 season.
The New Jersey Nets led by a young and dominant Vince Carter made it all the way to the Finals in 2002 and 2003, but the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs are too much for them as they loss both finals appearances in consecutive years. The Lakers swept them 4-0 in 2002 playoffs while they loss 4-2 to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2003 playoffs. This Nets team finished first in Atlantic Division with a record of 52-30 led by Coach Byron Scott. They won against the Indiana Pacers (4-2) in the first round of the 2002 playoffs, against the Charlotte Hornets (4-1) in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and against the Boston Celtics (4-2) in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 2001-2002 roster is composed of quality players like the prime Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Kenyon Martin who was a dominant big man that time. They also have the “White Mamba” Brian Scalabine in his prime. Jason Kidd averaged 14.7 points per game and 9.9 assist during that year and Kenyon Martin averaged 14.9 points per game, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. In the 2002-2003 Season, the Nets finished with a 49-33 record also led by Coach Byron Scott.
Who will forget this incredible team? The Detroit Pistons are one of the most dominant franchises in the span between the years 2000 to 2008. They are the one responsible in taking down the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA finals. They beat the Lakers 4-1. The 2004 Detroit Pistons is one of the most promising teams ever build led by Coach Larry Brown who finished the season with a 54-28 record. They won against the Milwaukee Bucks (4-1) in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, against the New Jersey Nets (4-3) in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and against the Indiana Pacers (4-2) in the Eastern Conference Finals. I know it reminded you of the “Malice in the Palace” brawl by the Pacers and the Pistons at Motor City which occurred in November of 2004.
This Detroit team was a perfect blend of talents led by Mr. Big Shot Chauncey Billups, shooting guard hall of famer Richard Hamilton, Forward Tayshaun Prince and the Wallace Brothers, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace as the frontcourts. This team is built for success but they didn’t able to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the 2005 NBA Finals as they loss 4-3. Another fact that we have to take note about this Pistons team is their 2nd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft where they drafted center Darco Milicic who came up to be one of the worst bust in NBA history. What if they drafted Melo? How good can this team be?
The Dallas Mavericks are one of the most incredible championship clubs as they overcome the Big Three of the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals. This group never backed down and did their best to be able to beat the overpowered Miami heat. The unforgettable play by Dirk Nowitzki in Game 6 was enough to embarrass the crowd favorite Miami and won their first ever NBA title. The team was composed of an aging Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Caron Butler, Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic. They are led by the team’s franchise player Dirk Nowitzki with the help of Tyson Chandler who is only 28 years old by that time and quality role players like JJ Barea. This team defeated Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers (4-0) in the Western Conference Semi Finals and the Oklahoma City Thunder led by Kevin Durant (4-1) in the Western Conference Finals. Dallas appeared in 2 NBA finals and loss in 2006 against Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal’s Miami Heat.
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers came alive when the Celtics form their Big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and get the Celtics back to the top after a very long time and battle it out against Kobe and the Lakers. They defeated the Lakers once and they also loos once to the Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Celtics VS Lakers championship match is one of the best Finals series ever and the excitement every game is unreal. However, we can conclude that this Celtics team starts the Era of forming a super team as they form the big three of Allen, Garnett and Pierce; the emergence of Rajon Rondo makes them a super team with four all-stars on their roster.
Rondo showcased his pure point guard talent and shines with the Boston Celtics and up until now, he continued to make damage to the opponents especially come playoffs time. Remember when Rondo destroys the first seed Celtics led by Isaiah Thomas when he was in Chicago in the 2017 NBA playoffs. The eighth seed Bulls almost defeated the Celtics when they beat them in the first two games at the TD Garden until Rondo was injured and the Bulls wasn’t able to close out the series without Rondo. Rondo also played a big role in the 2018 playoffs when he and the Pelicans eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. Now the Celtics is back at the top led by Coach Brad Stevens and their all-star point guard Kyrie Irving. Danny Ainge did a great job on getting top tier superstars and also a great job in drafting Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. Now the Celtics are back on track and ready to dominate again in the Eastern Conference.
The Cleveland Cavaliers appeared in 5 NBA Finals and won 1 championship, of course led by none other than “The King” LeBron James. When LeBron came back to Cleveland, he promises to bring a championship to the Land and he did it. He gave Cleveland a title with the help of all-stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Before LeBron came back, the Cleveland Cavaliers is a lottery team and couldn’t find success with Irving alone. And when he came back, the Cavaliers became an instant championship contender. The Cavs loss 1 Finals to the mighty San Antonio Spurs and then made it to four consecutive NBA Finals but lost three against the dominant Golden State Warriors.
The Cleveland front office is known for their mediocre association. They are not good in developing players. They are now good in scouting and eventually drafted the arguably worst bust in NBA history Anthony Bennett. And the main thing is, they are not so good in supporting their stars with good role players. Ever since they drafted LeBron in 2003, they failed to surround him with the right pieces to compete against power house teams. Same happens to Kyrie Irving. I think Cleveland is just lucky that they drafted the best player in the planet LeBron James. And to add to that, they were very luck that Cleveland is LeBron’s hometown.
The Miami Heat are one of the most successful franchises in the 21st century. After successfully bringing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to town together with Dwyane Wade, the team was able to find success and won 3 championships in their 5 Finals appearances. Their first championship is led by Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal beating Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks and the other two championships is led by their big three. Wade is the face of the franchise and the one that was the major factor in all of their 3 championships. This Miami squad is a monster as LeBron, Bosh and Wade are all in their primes and had a great supporting cast. Maybe this Miami team can beat the Golden State Warriors of today. But after Miami was defeated by the San Antonio Spurs, the team hasn’t been able to get back on top after LeBron left the team. D-Wade is now reaching father time and Bosh is out of the NBA because of his health condition so the Miami Heat will now look for another franchise player and hope that that player can bring them again to the top of the basketball world. It would require a lot of time to rebuild and make it back on top again.
Without a doubt, the Golden State Warriors have became a dynasty and will be chasing their 4th championship next season. They won championships in 4 NBA Finals appearance. I will not make this long. You know what I mean. They were arguably the best team in NBA History after breaking the Bulls 72-10 record and despite blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals to lose against the Cavs. This team will be the team to beat for years and we can say that they were almost a locked to win the championship next season after acquiring all-star center DeMarcus Cousins. The Warriors will have problems paying all of their all-stars next summer but as long as Curry and Durant are on the roster and on their primes, there will be no problem for the Warriors even if Green or Thompson leave. This team is stacked.
The San Antonio Spurs are the best example of a great basketball team led by one of the greatest coachs ever Greg Popovich. They are the signature team basketball with their signature ball movement and team system. This Spurs team is a great example of consistency making the playoffs every year without any major moves in free agency or trade deadline. The Spurs made it to 5 NBA Finals and were able to won 4 of them including the one against Miami’s big three as they dethroned the King and kicked him out of south beach. The team also had a great scout and training team as they developed Kawhi Leonard to become a top two-way player in the league.
The Los Angeles Lakers was he most successful franchise in the 2000’s, winning four championships in 6 finals appearances, led by “The Black Mamba” Kobe Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson. In the 2001 playoffs, the Lakers won the championship against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers (4-1). The Lakers finished 1st in NBA Pacific division with a 56-26 record that year. In 2002, the Lakers won another championship against the New Jersey Nets (4-0) led by Kobe and Shaq. That year, the Lakers finished 2nd in Pacific division with a 58-24 record. The Lakers got back to the Finals in 2004 but was defeated by the Detroit Pistons (4-1) still being led by Kobe and Shaq under Coach Phil. In 2005, the Lakers didn’t make the playoffs after they traded Shaquille O’Neal and they only had a 34-48 record. The Coaching staff also changed that year.
In 2008, the Lakers got back to the top and get another chance to compete for a championship but they were defeated by the Boston Celtics’ big three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. In 2009 they finally won again the Championship after beating the Orlando Magic (4-1). They also had a great regular season in 2009 where they recorded 65-17 under Coach Phil Jackson and it was probably their best season up until now. In 2010 they got they’re revenge on the Boston Celtics as they beat them in 7 games to win the Championship.
After that, the Lakers couldn’t find any success and as the time goes by, Kobe Bryant pass his prime and the Lakers weren’t able to build a great team around him before his career was over. They manage to land Steve Nash and Dwight Howard but it doesn’t work out well. Then, Kobe got injured and never came back healthy until he retired. The post-Kobe season for the Lakers was tough as they weren’t able to make the playoffs since Kobe’s retirement. But Magic Johnson had a great offseason this year as he manage to land LeBron James and add quality role players like Rajon Rondo and mixed them with the young stars of the Lakers. Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram had bright future ahead of them and having LeBron James on the team will help them develop a winning mentality and the Lakers should now be back on top of the West and return to the playoffs.
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