Which NBA champion from 2000-2011 is the best NBA team.

[HylianNightmare]

01 lakers and 08 celtics for me

this

[Deuce Bigalow]

1. 2001 Lakers
2. 2008 Celtics
3. 2004 Pistons

[DuMa]

2005 spurs beat the 2004 pistons in the 2005 finals.

and honestly i think the 2008 celtics and 2001 lakers would be the 2 best teams in the decade

[sbw19]

[COLOR=Gray]This makes me feel like you didnt really watch that Lakers squad back in 00-01. That team was a well oiled machine. Shaq was the engine, Kobe was the throttle and all the other players were all the moving parts around them. Everyone knew their role.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]Their playoffs point differential avg of 12.5 was just ludicrous. In a repeat season. Best by far imo.[/COLOR]

[rodman91]

01 Lakers. They were juggernaut.

Swept Kings.
Swept Blazers.
Swept Spurs.
They were almost sweeping Sixers as well.

[Out_In_Utah]

I'd rank them as:

2001 Lakers ( Shaq at his most dominant, Kobe evolves into a dominant two-way force. Most incredible playoff run in history record-wise)

2008 Celtics ( The big 3 coming together at the end of their primes; amazing defensive squad)

2005 Spurs ( Duncan at his best, Ginobli and Parker legitimate stars)

2002 Lakers ( Less dominant version of 2001)

2004 Pistons ( Outstanding starting lineup; one of the best defensive teams in the modern era)

2009 Lakers ( Kobe at the end of his prime, Gasol at his best)

2000 Lakers ( Shaq at his peak, Kobe giving us a glimpse of things to come)

2007 Spurs ( Duncan nearing the end of his prime, Ginobli and Parker assuming bigger burden)

2006 Heat ( Shaq at the end of his dominance, Wade playing some of the best of his career, solid supporting cast with J-Williams, Walker, Payton, Mourning)

2011 Mavs ( Dirk comes of age at 32, steady veteran play from Kidd, Terry, Marion, Chandler providing the interior presence they've lacked for a decade)

2010 Lakers ( Kobe showing slight slippage at last, strong supporting cast with Gasol, Artest, Odom, Bynum)

2003 Spurs ( Duncan and a cast of role players, David Robinson ends HOF career on a high note)

Obviously arguments could be made here and there, but one of the ones I wouldn't hesitate to switch is 2006 Heat and 2011 Mavs. The 2011 Mavs were way better than the 2006 Mavs, yet the 2006 Heat were lucky to come back and beat the 2006 Mavs. Also, the 2006 Heat had to be carried by Wade (and help from the refs), while the 2011 Mavs were so well as a cohesive unit.

[Droid101]

It was a pretty, pretty, pretty dominant team.

Lakers killed the Spurs in the conference finals by the biggest point margin of victory over four games in any conference finals in history. It was a complete and utter domination.

Kobe and Shaq could not be contained.

It was fun to watch.

[Droid101]

1. 2001 Lakers
2. 2008 Celtics
3. 2004 Pistons

I don't get why everyone puts the Celts run so high. They were taken to seven games in two of their four series (including against the 8 seed Hawks and a weak-ass Crabolier team) and six games in the other two (Laker series could easily have gone seven if not for the Lakers getting pwned like crazy by the refs in that one game where Leon Powe took more free throws than the entire Laker team).

Anyway. Whatever.

[Dragonyeuw]

Obviously arguments could be made here and there, but one of the ones I wouldn't hesitate to switch is 2006 Heat and 2011 Mavs. The 2011 Mavs were way better than the 2006 Mavs, yet the 2006 Heat were lucky to come back and beat the 2006 Mavs. Also, the 2006 Heat had to be carried by Wade (and help from the refs), while the 2011 Mavs were so well as a cohesive unit.

I actually forgot about the Heat when I first made my list. Obviously such a list is totally subjective. I have no problem with anyone saying the 2011 Mavs deserve to be over the 06 Heat. I think everyone agrees the 01 lakers, 08 celtics, and 05 spurs were the cream of the decade, after that it becomes much harder ranking positions 4-11.

[ShaqAttack3234]

2001 Lakers would be hard to beat. Everything fell into place in the playoffs. Shaq and Kobe played very well together at that point and played like the 2 best players in the playoffs making the lack of a real 3rd option or that much depth or talent outside those 2 almost irrelevant due to the fact that all of the role players fit in their roles.

Having an inside/outside combination like that is impossible to deal with. Shaq was back in 2000 form and Kobe played some of the best all around basketball of his career. His defense was at or near it's peak, same with playmaking and he could score at will, but did so within the flow of the offense in the '01 playoffs and by hitting mid-range jumpers and attacking the basket at will. You had a 30/15/3 player and a 29/7/6 player scoring very efficiently and playing together. One on the inside and one on the outside. No duo has been as good as they were at that point, imo.

Fisher also played the best basketball of his career during that run. He was shooting the ball extremely well which complemented the duo, played solid defense back then and as a combo guard, that allowed Kobe to be the main playmaker/facilitator as well as the team to run a lot of the offense through Shaq in the post, which helped those 2 players be at their absolute best.

Horace Grant became very useful as a post defender, and that agve them a huge edge over the 2000 team. Fox was versatile, fit well in the offense and could defend. Horry also hit big shots and did the little things well(team defense, passing, stretching the floor).

With a duo putting up 60/23/9(with the potential for more if not for the blowouts), the cast suited that team perfectly.

If you want to factor in the first half problems, then that could lower them, but all of those problems were solved by the playoffs. Shaq and Kobe's feud was gone for the time being, Fisher gave them much needed 3 point shooting when he returned and Isaiah Rider's problems weren't a factor as he was left off the playoff roster.

[rmt]

I'd rank them as:

2001 Lakers ( Shaq at his most dominant, Kobe evolves into a dominant two-way force. Most incredible playoff run in history record-wise)

2008 Celtics ( The big 3 coming together at the end of their primes; amazing defensive squad)

2005 Spurs ( Duncan at his best, Ginobli and Parker legitimate stars)

2002 Lakers ( Less dominant version of 2001)

2004 Pistons ( Outstanding starting lineup; one of the best defensive teams in the modern era)

2009 Lakers ( Kobe at the end of his prime, Gasol at his best)

2000 Lakers ( Shaq at his peak, Kobe giving us a glimpse of things to come)

2007 Spurs ( Duncan nearing the end of his prime, Ginobli and Parker assuming bigger burden)

2006 Heat ( Shaq at the end of his dominance, Wade playing some of the best of his career, solid supporting cast with J-Williams, Walker, Payton, Mourning)

2011 Mavs ( Dirk comes of age at 32, steady veteran play from Kidd, Terry, Marion, Chandler providing the interior presence they've lacked for a decade)

2010 Lakers ( Kobe showing slight slippage at last, strong supporting cast with Gasol, Artest, Odom, Bynum)

2003 Spurs ( Duncan and a cast of role players, David Robinson ends HOF career on a high note)

Agree with most of this, but I would switch the bottom section:

'11 Mavs/'10 Lakers
'06 Heat
'03 Spurs

[Boston C's]

I would love to see the 01 lakers and the 08 celtics go at it... I think that series would be epic and probably go to 7 games

[rmt]

I would love to see the 01 lakers and the 08 celtics go at it... I think that series would be epic and probably go to 7 games

Don't know if the '08 Celtics would have the front line to go up against a prime Shaq - KG (too light), Perkins (not very tall), Baby Davis (too short & young), PJ Brown (38 years old). I would prefer 05 Spurs' big men - Duncan, Rasho, Nazr, Horry - all in their prime except for Horry (who was great in the 05 Finals).

Kobe vs prime Bowen
Manu in his best playoff run

[DFish]

Don't know if the '08 Celtics would have the front line to go up against a prime Shaq - KG (too light), Perkins (not very tall), Baby Davis (too short & young), PJ Brown (38 years old). I would prefer 05 Spurs' big men - Duncan, Rasho, Nazr, Horry - all in their prime except for Horry (who was great in the 05 Finals).

Kobe vs prime Bowen
Manu in his best playoff run

Robert Horry vs. Robert Horry?

[rmt]

Robert Horry vs. Robert Horry?

That's true a 30 year old Horry vs a 34 year old Horry - still Horry was spectacular in game 5 05 Finals.