Who Is The Best Championship Team From The 2010s?
Today I will be finding the 3 best championship teams from the 2010’s.
Each season in the NBA, there is always one champion. This team is supposedly the best. This is not always the case as sometimes the champion gets lucky, or just succeeded what they were supposed to do. Sometimes these teams have multiple stars or Hall of Fame level players. Other teams have a great cohesive unit who work well together. Throughout the 2010s, there have been some great championship teams. Today I will be finding the best championship team from the 2010s.
(This will be based on the teams playoff run and how they did in the NBA Finals. The regular season is irrelevant in this debate).
#3 – 2014 San Antonio Spurs
The 2014 Spurs were one of the best teams of this decade, and there is no denying that. They were deep and had great players at all positions. But the best thing about this team is that they were not a super-team. They were not 2 or 3 All-Stars assembled during one off-season, no this was the genius of the Spurs franchise. They had drafted well and signed guys who fit well with their system. They just played great team basketball. They were a great passing team on offense, they were a stout defensive team as well. This team knew all of their fundamentals and they just outplayed you each night, because they played well as a team.
One of the best parts about this team was the outcome of the seasons. After the heart-breaking 2013 Finals lost to the Heat, they came back the next season with a vengeance. They ran circles around the Miami Heat and made it look easy as they won the series 4-1. Another thing that the Spurs did was surprise everybody. As good as they were, they were the underdogs in that series. While Dwyane Wade was declining, most people believed that the Spurs were going to lose once again. Yeah, that didn’t happen.
Their defense was the key part of that finals fin. Mainly Kawhi Leonard’s defense. The youngster was still finding his way in the NBA and played a great series in which he held a prime Lebron James to a mediocre series by his standards. The Spurs were great defensively as a whole, but a main reason that they routed the Heat like they did was because of Leonard.
It’s a shame that this team couldn’t be any higher on this list, but this team is one of the all-time greats despite its ranking on this list.
#2 – 2018 Golden State Warriors
This was pretty obvious. Any of the Warriors teams with KD is deserving of the #1 spot just because of their lineup alone, but it’s really more of a 1A. and 1B. Anyway, a team with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, KD, and Draymond Green was impossible to beat. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were still key role players of the bench. The Warriors playoff run through the West was what you expected, easy. The first two series that they played in, they won 4-1 both times. The only competition they faced in the West and during the playoff run in general was the 2018 Western Conference Finals vs the Houston Rockets. The Rockets had the best record in the league, and were outplaying the Warriors. Then Chris Paul got injured and they missed 27 straight 3’s in Game 7 and the Warriors walked away with the series win.
To put it flatly, the Warriors got lucky. Chris Paul got injured and it was really a cake walk. The Rockets might have still lost with Paul, but I highly doubt that. The Rockets should have been the 2018 champions, but they were just unlucky. And their misfortunes led the Warriors to another ring in their dynasty. They swept the Cavs, in a series that is remembered most by the JR Smith Game 1 meme that is perhaps the best meme from the 2010s.
The main reason why they are ahead of the 2014 Spurs is firepower. Curry, Thompson, and Durant were lethal scoring. Draymond Green was the tenacious rebounder/guard. Their offense was great, and so was their defense. A 20 point lead against the 2017 or 2018 Warriors meant nothing. Absolutely nothing.
This playoff run and season in general was boring. As a Blazers fan, just know that the West is ruled by these guys kind of sucks the joy out of everything. Nonetheless, it is pretty obvious that the 2018 Warriors are deserving of this spot. The only team that tops them?
#1 – 2017 Golden State Warriors
Like I said earlier, these teams are 1A. and 1B. These teams were just great. You had Steph, Klay, KD and Draymond, but this was the first year of this team. The first year of terrorizing the NBA. Nobody knew how to handle them. They walked by everybody they played. They had no competitors in the West compared to 2018 as they went 8-0 through the first two round of the playoffs. They would meet in the 2017 Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. This series looked competitive as Kawhi Leonard was leading a valiant effort in Game 1 of the series. Then Zaza Pachulia landed on Kawhi and he was done for the series. Even with Kawhi the Spurs would have likely not won this series, but it would have been a little closer.
The Warriors swept the Kawhi-less Spurs and they went 12-0 through the West. They were looking to become the first team to go 16-0 in a postseason. Their sacrificial lamb? Lebron and the Cavs. The 2017 Cavs were good too. They were deeper than they were in the 2016 championship season, and they had improved their defense. And the Warriors won 4-1. It was that easy.
The Warriors went 16-1 in the playoffs, which was the highest win percentage in a single playoff run (94.1%). The 2001 Lakers went 15-1 (93.8%) and the 1983 76ers went 12-1 (92.3%). But yeah, this was the greatest postseason ever by one of the all-time great teams.
Again, the 2014 Spurs were a more likeable team because of their roster, but both of these Warrior teams were just dominant. You can’t deny it. As a Blazers fan, I’ll take the 2014 Spurs any day. I just don’t like the Warriors simply because of the way they got KD and ruled the NBA for a few years, but they were great.
Do you agree with my list? Who would be in your top 3? Do both the 2017 and 2018 Warriors deserve to be at the top-2 spots? Leave all of your comments down below.
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