What do you think are the best team's in NBA history that failed to repeat.

[coastalmarker99]

My rankings are

1 1968 76ers as they had a peak Wilt surrounded by 4 to five hall of Famers all in their primes and it took basically everyone on the team getting injured otherwise they would have easily repeated.



2 1972 Bucks as they had peak Kareem to go along with a record of 63 and 19 and it took an Oscar injury plus some incredibly bad luck in the 1972 WCF for them to lose vs LA.

3 1987 Celtics were utterly destroyed by injuries and still finished with a 59 and 23 record and were a Bird miss away in game 4 from taking the best version of showtime to seven.

4 1973 Lakers as they started the season off 24 and 4 with a MOV of +9.679 before Hairston got hurt.

Despite that setback, they still managed to finish the season with a 60 and 22 record and make it back to the finals in which they lost three games by five or fewer points.

with a fully healthy Jerry West not hobbled by two pulled hamstrings in those finals they would have easily repeated as champions


5 1978 Portland as they started the season off 50 and 10 before Walton got hurt otherwise they probably would have won 63 to 66 games and easily swept through the playoffs en route to back-to-back titles.

6 2006 Spurs as they finished with a 63 and 19 record and were a dumb play away from going to the finals in which they would have destroyed Miami.

7 2017 Cavs as they posted a 51 and 31 record while having a peak Lebron surrounded by two Allstars they steamrolled the east while posting the best offence of all time before running into a Goat team.

8 2021 Lakers as they posted a 21 and 6 record to start of the year before AD went down and were going to beat the Suns even with a hobbled Lebron before AD went down again.

9 1971 New york

[coastalmarker99]

Looking at those great teams makes me wonder.

How the narratives about them and their superstars get remembered nowadays with back-to-back titles.

Wilt and the 76ers probably get viewed as the best team of the 1960s with one of the greatest two-year runs in NBA history especially if they beat Boston in five games again in the 1968 ECF en route to another title.


Kareem and the Bucks probably go down as the team of the 1970s with back-to-back titles to go along with another finals appearance in 1974.


Bird and the Celtics probably go down as the team of the 1980's with them now having 4 titles and being the only ones to repeat.


Bird over Magic is most likely the popular narrative nowadays as a result of Bird having two Goat finals upsets vs Magic


Walton with 2 rings and 2 finals MVP's in Portland most likely ensures that he and those Blazers teams are more brought up in NBA history


Duncan with 6 rings and four finals MVPs to go along with his two regular season MVP's probably ensures that the argument between him and Kobe is over.

[coastalmarker99]

I think the team that gets the biggest boost with back-to-back titles in terms of reputation is that 2017 Cavs team.


As taking down a 73 and 9 team that just added Durant would elevate the legacy of that team to God-tier levels.

As It would be considered by far the greatest achievement in NBA history.

[Overdrive]

Looking at those great teams makes me wonder.

How the narratives about them and their superstars get remembered nowadays with back-to-back titles.

Wilt and the 76ers probably get viewed as the best team of the 1960s with one of the greatest two-year runs in NBA history especially if they beat Boston in five games again in the 1968 ECF en route to another title.


https://i.imgflip.com/6v3yk3.jpg

[Axe]

https://i.imgflip.com/6v3yk3.jpg
:oldlol:

[coastalmarker99]

https://i.imgflip.com/6v3yk3.jpg

The 76ers had gone 130 and 33 in the regular season during those two years.


And had they gotten past Boston in let's say five games in the 1968 ECF and then beaten LA in six.



Their playoff record during both of those years would have been 24 and 9.

[Duderonomy]

Pistons had they won game 7 in 2005, really game 5 at home.

Celtics in 2009 had KG stayed healthy.

[SouBeachTalents]

1968 Sixers
1972 Bucks
1985 Celtics
1986 Lakers
2016 Warriors

[Round Mound]

1985 Celtics

[EllEffEll]

1985 Celtics

The 1984 Celtics so humiliated the Lakers in the 1984 Finals that it was actually a turning point for the franchise that probably wouldn't have happened if they hadn't punked the Lakers the way they did. The Lakers were a very different team in 1985 in spite of having the same roster. If McHale hadn't clotheslined Kurt Rambis, there is a decent chance the Celtics may have pulled off a 3-peat.

Then, the Celtics demoralized the Lakers again in 2008. That case of the red-ass was good for two championship seasons.
=========================================
1984 Sixers should be in there somewhere. No critical injuries that I know of. Dr. J was only 33, Moses was back. They lost in the first round after totally dominating the league the previous year with what I think was a team that should always be in the conversation for GoAT seasons in 1983.

1981 Lakers got eliminated by the Rockets in a first round 3 game mini-series (WTF thought that was a good idea?) after their breakout 1980 Finals victory over the Sixers in six games.

[pandiani17]

2016 Warriors are the first that come to mind. 2009 Celtics were also very strong, 2006 Spurs, 2004 Spurs. Those are the ones that I have seen with my eyes. From reading other posts, it seems that in the previous eras there were even more teams that should have repeated the title.

[Wally450]

2009 Celtics but they obviously didn’t have KG during that run.

[red1]

2009 Celtics but they obviously didn’t have KG during that run.

that first round series with the bulls was one of the best basketball series I've seen in my life :lebronamazed:

[1987_Lakers]

that first round series with the bulls was one of the best basketball series I've seen in my life :lebronamazed:

People forget how wild that series was, overlooked because it happened in the 1st round.

[red1]

People forget how wild that series was, overlooked because it happened in the 1st round.

yeah that shit was wild. those were fun years in the league. people also forget how stacked that celtics team was. they still put up a good run without their arguable best player.

[Axe]

1994 bulls

[JBSptfn]

1981 Lakers got eliminated by the Rockets in a first round 3 game mini-series (WTF thought that was a good idea?) after their breakout 1980 Finals victory over the Sixers in six games.

People forget that the 1980 and 81 Lakers weren't quite invincible. They did win it all in 1980, but the Sonics weren't that far away from pressing them in the WCF, at least (they won game 1 and had a 20-point lead in another game. After losing that series, they traded DJ for Paul Westphal, and they weren't quite the same after that). And, in 81, I think there were chemistry issues with Magic and the rest of the team. After Pat Riley became HC, and Magic and the team put the issues behind them, they really became Showtime.