labelplant
Wilt Chamberlain
Michael Jordan was so great during the 1990s that no one really had a chance. However, there were some great teams that probably would've won if they were put together during other periods. Of course Jordan retired for a little more than a season during which the Houston Rockets won 2 championships. I've always felt the Rockets were overachievers and simply got hot at the right time(during the playoffs...) Hakeem Olajuwon was just a beast, simple and plain but there was better teams in the league those 2 seasons. These 3 squads aren't necessarily the 3 best teams that never won but a combination of great talent and me being a fan of many of their players. Also these 3 teams not only put together a one year run to the finals but were pretty consistently a very serious contender and even favorite. So shout out to the 91 Lakers, 94 Knicks and 95 Magic but this isn't about them.
And oh yea, I know the Spurs won the chip in 99*
97-99 Jazz
C: Greg Ostertag
PF: Karl Malone
SF: Bryon Russell
SG: Jeff Hornacek
PG: John Stockton
6th Man: Shandon Anderson
1996-97: 64-18 Regular Season, lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
1997-98: 62-20 Regular Season, lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
1998-99: 37-13 Regular Season, lost 2nd round to the Portland Blazers (4-2)
Probably my favorite team personally of the bunch.
Malone won 2 MVPs during this run and he and Stockton seemed to really blossom in the later
stages of their careers. Hornacek was the best shooter in the NBA at this point and
the rest of the team while not very talented did their jobs just well enough to be passable.
At the end, MJ was just too much but that's one person there is no shame in losing to.
EDIT: (I decided to add a little bit to this short section)
I will say that I think Karl Malone is the best player ever at his age. Whether he took some kind of performance enhancers is arguable but his run in his mid 30s
is untouchable. Only Jordan comes close from what I've seen. In fact, I think it's pretty fair to say that Malone reached his career's peak at age 34/35.
That is pretty incredible but I think saying that he used some sort of steroid or the like is unfair. Malone improved his passing skills by leaps and bounds around this time and by the late 90s was arguably the best passing big man in the entire league. Also while he relied more so on his athletic ability and build early in his career
by the mid-90s he had become a very formidable jump shooter. So I honestly do believe Malone is a rare example of being a late bloomer and reaching his prime well in his 30s. Stockton's longevity is much less surprising, meanwhile. He is a player that always stayed in great shape and condition while at the same time playing without relying heavily on athletic ability. Besides his best years were in his late 20s/early 30s (when he, not Malone, was the Jazz' best player).
94-96 SuperSonics
C: Sam Perkins
PF: Shawn Kemp
SF: Detlef Schrempf
SG: Hersey Hawkins/ Kendall Gill
PG: Gary Payton
6th Man: Nate McMillan
1993-94: 63-19 Regular Season, lost 1st Round to the Denver Nuggets (3-2)
1994-95: 57-25 Regular Season, lost 1st Round to the Los Angeles Lakers (3-1)
1995-96: 61-21 Regular Season, lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
The most disappointing of the 3, they really had some great chances to win since Jordan was out of the league.
Of course the infamous loss in 94 against the Nuggets really hurt. They were the first team to lose a series to an 8th seed at the time.
The loss to the Lakers the following year is overlooked though. That was a pretty big upset in itself.
Nick Van Exel completely outplayed Gary Payton, something that was rare in point guard match ups of the time.
Still, I was a big fan of the team. This is probably the last team that was defensive oriented and had their D
anchored by a guard and a poiny at that. The current hand checking rules very much handicap that happening again.
At the end I still say they had a better squad than the Rockets those 2 seasons but Olajuwon and co. knew how to turn it up
at the right time. Seattle... not so much.
1990-92 Trail Blazers
C: Kevin Duckworth
PF: Buck Williams
SF: Jerome Kersey
SG: Clyde Drexler
PG: Terry Porter
6th Man: Clifford Robinson
1989-90: 59-23 Regular Season, Lost NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons (4-1)
1990-91: 63-19 Regular Season, Lost Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers (4-2)
1991-92: 57-25 Regular Season, Lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
This team I didn't watch live because I was too young but I love early 90s/late 80s NBAso I went back and watched a lot of their games.
Especially the playoffs and all of the games in the 2 Finals series. Another victim of Michael Jordan here. He averaged 35.8 points in the finals against them.
Isiah got them in the 90 Finals.. 27.6/7.0. With that said, Terry Porter was a top PG back than and Jerome Kersey was one of my favorite underrated players of the period. Of course the team was led by Clyde Drexler, who at the time was still discussed as a serious contender for top SG in basketball. Drexler was no MJ but he was no slouch either.
He averaged 23.3/7.5/7.3 through the 3 years in the playoffs. Him and Porter really ran a great fast break and while Porter brought the ball up the court, it was Drexler who was their best play maker.
24.8/7.8/5.3 in the finals against Jordan and 26.4/7.8/6.2 versus Thomas.
I was a big fan of all 3 teams but unfortunately I'm not sure we'll see anything like that anytime soon. It's really amazing that these teams managed to keep the same starting line up for 3 consecutive years. With all the off season movement, trades and transactions nowadays that's a very rare occurrence. These teams, in particular the Sonics and Jazz were much more physical than today's NBA. While at times this led to final scores in the early 80s, an intense environment was often created in some of these classic match ups and playoff series. This led to some incredibly exciting games and I remember literally being on the edge of my seat, biting my nails while watching these. There was never love lost between these guys as opposed to the more fun loving attitude of today's players. I love the NBA still and the late 80s will always be my favorite era but these teams were truly something to watch.
And oh yea, I know the Spurs won the chip in 99*
97-99 Jazz
C: Greg Ostertag
PF: Karl Malone
SF: Bryon Russell
SG: Jeff Hornacek
PG: John Stockton
6th Man: Shandon Anderson
1996-97: 64-18 Regular Season, lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
1997-98: 62-20 Regular Season, lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
1998-99: 37-13 Regular Season, lost 2nd round to the Portland Blazers (4-2)
Probably my favorite team personally of the bunch.
Malone won 2 MVPs during this run and he and Stockton seemed to really blossom in the later
stages of their careers. Hornacek was the best shooter in the NBA at this point and
the rest of the team while not very talented did their jobs just well enough to be passable.
At the end, MJ was just too much but that's one person there is no shame in losing to.
EDIT: (I decided to add a little bit to this short section)
I will say that I think Karl Malone is the best player ever at his age. Whether he took some kind of performance enhancers is arguable but his run in his mid 30s
is untouchable. Only Jordan comes close from what I've seen. In fact, I think it's pretty fair to say that Malone reached his career's peak at age 34/35.
That is pretty incredible but I think saying that he used some sort of steroid or the like is unfair. Malone improved his passing skills by leaps and bounds around this time and by the late 90s was arguably the best passing big man in the entire league. Also while he relied more so on his athletic ability and build early in his career
by the mid-90s he had become a very formidable jump shooter. So I honestly do believe Malone is a rare example of being a late bloomer and reaching his prime well in his 30s. Stockton's longevity is much less surprising, meanwhile. He is a player that always stayed in great shape and condition while at the same time playing without relying heavily on athletic ability. Besides his best years were in his late 20s/early 30s (when he, not Malone, was the Jazz' best player).
94-96 SuperSonics
C: Sam Perkins
PF: Shawn Kemp
SF: Detlef Schrempf
SG: Hersey Hawkins/ Kendall Gill
PG: Gary Payton
6th Man: Nate McMillan
1993-94: 63-19 Regular Season, lost 1st Round to the Denver Nuggets (3-2)
1994-95: 57-25 Regular Season, lost 1st Round to the Los Angeles Lakers (3-1)
1995-96: 61-21 Regular Season, lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
The most disappointing of the 3, they really had some great chances to win since Jordan was out of the league.
Of course the infamous loss in 94 against the Nuggets really hurt. They were the first team to lose a series to an 8th seed at the time.
The loss to the Lakers the following year is overlooked though. That was a pretty big upset in itself.
Nick Van Exel completely outplayed Gary Payton, something that was rare in point guard match ups of the time.
Still, I was a big fan of the team. This is probably the last team that was defensive oriented and had their D
anchored by a guard and a poiny at that. The current hand checking rules very much handicap that happening again.
At the end I still say they had a better squad than the Rockets those 2 seasons but Olajuwon and co. knew how to turn it up
at the right time. Seattle... not so much.
1990-92 Trail Blazers
C: Kevin Duckworth
PF: Buck Williams
SF: Jerome Kersey
SG: Clyde Drexler
PG: Terry Porter
6th Man: Clifford Robinson
1989-90: 59-23 Regular Season, Lost NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons (4-1)
1990-91: 63-19 Regular Season, Lost Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers (4-2)
1991-92: 57-25 Regular Season, Lost NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls (4-2)
This team I didn't watch live because I was too young but I love early 90s/late 80s NBAso I went back and watched a lot of their games.
Especially the playoffs and all of the games in the 2 Finals series. Another victim of Michael Jordan here. He averaged 35.8 points in the finals against them.
Isiah got them in the 90 Finals.. 27.6/7.0. With that said, Terry Porter was a top PG back than and Jerome Kersey was one of my favorite underrated players of the period. Of course the team was led by Clyde Drexler, who at the time was still discussed as a serious contender for top SG in basketball. Drexler was no MJ but he was no slouch either.
He averaged 23.3/7.5/7.3 through the 3 years in the playoffs. Him and Porter really ran a great fast break and while Porter brought the ball up the court, it was Drexler who was their best play maker.
24.8/7.8/5.3 in the finals against Jordan and 26.4/7.8/6.2 versus Thomas.
I was a big fan of all 3 teams but unfortunately I'm not sure we'll see anything like that anytime soon. It's really amazing that these teams managed to keep the same starting line up for 3 consecutive years. With all the off season movement, trades and transactions nowadays that's a very rare occurrence. These teams, in particular the Sonics and Jazz were much more physical than today's NBA. While at times this led to final scores in the early 80s, an intense environment was often created in some of these classic match ups and playoff series. This led to some incredibly exciting games and I remember literally being on the edge of my seat, biting my nails while watching these. There was never love lost between these guys as opposed to the more fun loving attitude of today's players. I love the NBA still and the late 80s will always be my favorite era but these teams were truly something to watch.