Rank these champions based on the quality of teams they beat

[John8204]

Shaq
- 2000 - Pacers (Reggie, Mullin, Jackson)
- 2001 - 76ers (Iverson, Mutombo, Bell)
- 2002 - Nets (Kidd, Martin, Kittles)
- 2006 - Mavs (Dirk, Terry, J. Howard)

Bird
-1981 - Rockets (Moses, Dunleavy, Reid)
-1984 - Lakers (Kareem, Magic, Worthy)
-1986 - Rockets (Hakeem, Sampson, Reid)

Lebron
-2012 - Thunder (Durant, Westbrook, Harden)
-2013 - Spurs (Duncan, Leonard, Parker)
-2016 - Warriors (Curry, Klay, Draymond)
-2020 - Heat (Butler, Bam, Iggy)

Dr J
-1974 - Stars (Jones, Wise, Boone)
-1976 - Nuggets (Issel, Simpson, Thompson)
-1983 - Lakers (Kareem, Magic, Worthy)

Jordan
-1991- Lakers (Magic, Worthy, Divac)
-1992 - Blazers (Drexler, Williams, Porter)
-1993 - Suns (Barkley, Marjerle, Johnson)
-1996 - Sonics (Payton, Kemp, Schrempf)
-1997 - Jazz (Malone, Stockton, Hornacek)
-1998 - Jazz (Malone, Stockton, Hornacek)

[Full Court]

Bird
Jordan
Shaq
Lebron
Dr J

[ShawkFactory]

Bird
Jordan
Shaq
Lebron
Dr J

Weird order. Obviously with a ring you consider conference teams faced but just based on finals opposition Shaq is next to last.

[SaltyMeatballs]

LeBron
Jordan
Bird
Shaq
Dr. J

Gonna be honest, I have no idea who the players are that you listed for Dr. J's competition vs the Stars and Nuggets except David Thompson. That's why I have him last, and from what I always hear, 70s was the probably the weakest era for NBA basketball

Also, no knock on Shaq because he was insanely dominant in the Lakers' 3-peat, but lets be honest here... the East was extremely weak in the early 2000s compared to the West.

[Lee]

The notable teams for me:

Lakers (Kareem, Magic, Worthy) ( Core of 5 titles)
Spurs (Duncan, Leonard, Parker) (Core of 5 titles)
Warriors (Curry, Klay, Draymond) (Core of 4 titles)

Also Olajuwon Rockets worth it.

Lebron
Bird
DR. J
Jordan
Shaq

[Airupthere]

Just in the finals? What about the path to the finals as well?

[John8204]

LeBron
Jordan
Bird
Shaq
Dr. J

Gonna be honest, I have no idea who the players are that you listed for Dr. J's competition vs the Stars and Nuggets except David Thompson. That's why I have him last, and from what I always hear, 70s was the probably the weakest era for NBA basketball

Also, no knock on Shaq because he was insanely dominant in the Lakers' 3-peat, but lets be honest here... the East was extremely weak in the early 2000s compared to the West.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmo6ssiYvvo

Dan Issel is a hall of famer

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/pts_career.html

Shaq is 10th all-time in points...Issel is 12th

[Pitbull]

Lebron
MJ
Larry Bird
DR. J
Shaq

[WhiteKyrie]

MJ
LeBron
Bird
Shaq
Dr J

[1987_Lakers]

Magic was excluded by OP because he would have a great case for #1, lol.

From the list I would go...

1. LeBron
2. MJ
3. Bird
4. Shaq
5. Dr. J

Bird beat the '84 Lakers which is a better team than anything MJ ever beat, but he also beat a team with a losing record in '81 & a good, but not great team in '86. LeBron for sure is #1 here. Shaq for the most part beat weak teams in the Finals & I put Dr. J last because he beat a banged Lakers team in '83 & I can't put those ABA teams he beat on the same level as the NBA.

[John8204]

Magic was excluded by OP because he would have a great case for #1, lol.


I excluded Magic because of Kareem and I wanted to put players in from 5 decades (70's Dr. J, 80's Bird, 90's Jordan, 00's Shaq, 10's Lebron)

1. Bird
2. Lebron
3. Jordan
4. Dr. J
5. Shaq

[Lebron23]

LeBron
Jordan
Bird
Shaq
Dr. J

Gonna be honest, I have no idea who the players are that you listed for Dr. J's competition vs the Stars and Nuggets except David Thompson. That's why I have him last, and from what I always hear, 70s was the probably the weakest era for NBA basketball

Also, no knock on Shaq because he was insanely dominant in the Lakers' 3-peat, but lets be honest here... the East was extremely weak in the early 2000s compared to the West.

This

[Johnny32]

lebron
mj

who cares

[TheGoatest]

1. LeBron
2. Bird
3. Shaq
4. Foolish jordon
5. Dr. J.

[dankok8]

1. Lebron - 2016 Warriors didn't play so well in the playoffs plus 2020 Heat were a cupcake opponent. Still I'll give Lebron #1 just by a hair. I think beating one super hard opponent and one super easy opponent gets a bit more credit than beating two standard opponents.
2. Jordan - All six teams beat are very good 58-64 wins and 6-8 SRS. No all-time great team like 2016 Warriors but no cupcakes either.

GAP

3. Bird - 1984 Lakers are pretty great but 1986 Rockets are just ok and 1981 Rockets are a cupcake.
4. Dr J - 1983 Lakers are quite good even with injuries (no Worthy, hobbled McAdoo) and the other two are ABA teams. Denver in 1976 is actually quite good with Thompson and Issel. I could see Dr J over Bird maybe.
5. Shaq - The three East teams (Pacers, Sixers, Nets) are pretty weak and 2006 Dallas is just ok. Plus Wade had a lot more to do with the 2006 win than Shaq.

However the list could look quite different if we consider the entire playoffs not just the finals.

[Axe]

In 10 finals, kong's teams only had the hca twice in the finals if i'm not mistaken (2011 & 2013, 2020 also if not for the pandemic mess) while his conference finalists teams weren't even the league's #1 seeds overall in 2007, 2011-12, 2014-18 & 2020.