Toughest road to a title?

[97 bulls]

1997 Bulls

44 win Washington Bullets/Wizards with Webber, Howard, and Stickland

56 win Hawks Steve Smith, Mutombo, and Laetner

61 win Heat Mourning, Hardaway

64 win Jazz Stockton and Malone

[97 bulls]

Good shout. And history is judging Dirk accordingly, giving him that extra credit for winning when he wasn't supposed too, just like Hakeem. Alpha dogs getting it done when it matters most.

1st - 48 win Blazers
2nd - 57 win Lakers
WCF - 55 win Thunder
Finals - 58 win Heat

Look at the context though. Portland's best player was hurt. The Lakers barely beat the Hornets. And the thunder were talented but young. But the Heat win was definitely legit

[ClipperRevival]

This is why every champion deserves a ton of credit, because they have to beat 4 playoff teams to win it all. Nothing is given to you and there is no one and done like the NFL. The NBA is fair but also incredibly challenging at the same time. I also love the fact that a superstar player has such a huge impact on games, unlike any other team sport.

[ClipperRevival]

Look at the context though. Portland's best player was hurt. The Lakers barely beat the Hornets. And the thunder were talented but young. But the Heat win was definitely legit

Somewhat true. Lakers were clearly on the decline after peaking in 2009 and the Thunder weren't ready yet. But still, very impressive set of teams they had to beat. KD, Westbrook, Harden, Kobe, Gasol, Bron, Wade and Bosh.

[Duderonomy]

2004 Pistons
Bucks had Michael Redd going off
Nets were leading 3-2
Pacers were great defensively
Lakers were a cake walk after that.

[Young X]

I'm assuming OP is referring to quality of opponent, not how difficult each series was. If that were the case, the '08 Celtics would have this on lock, losing 10 playoff games en route to the title

Well then the '88 Lakers shouldn't be mentioned but the '93 Bulls and '02 Lakers remain. Both faced 2 higher seeded teams that could've beaten them. People still to this day bring up the '93 Suns and '02 Kings as 2 of the greatest teams to never win a title.

'94 Rockets, '97 Bulls could also be mentioned.

[warriorfan]

Alpha Male Curry's 2015 Championship road.

1st round - Hall of Famer Anthony Davis

2nd round - All Star Marc Gasol, Hall of Famer Vince Carter

3rd round - Hall of Famer James Harden, Hall of Famer Dwight Howard

4th round - Hall of Famer (Top 20 All-Time) LeBron James, Potential Future Hall of Famer and All-Star Kryie Irving


Alpha Male Curry beat 6+ Hall of Famers in his road to the 2015 Championship. He also did not have one Hall of Fame teammate to work with. He probably has had the toughest run.

[ClipperRevival]

Well then the '88 Lakers shouldn't be mentioned but the '93 Bulls and '02 Lakers remain. Both faced 2 higher seeded teams that could've beaten them. People still to this day bring up the '93 Suns and '02 Kings as 2 of the greatest teams to never win a title.

'94 Rockets, '97 Bulls could also be mentioned.

Yup, the 1993 Suns (they were at their peak) and the 2002 Kings (ditto) are definitely two of the better/best teams to never win a title.

As a matter of fact, most of the teams MJ beat, I consider in that category. The early 90's Blazers made 2 finals in 3 years, when the WC was strong. The 1995-96 Sonics team was just so talented. And of course the late 90's Jazz. Those were great teams. MJ prevented them from reaching immortality.

[Young X]

Alpha Male Curry's 2015 Championship road.

1st round - Hall of Famer Anthony Davis

2nd round - All Star Marc Gasol, Hall of Famer Vince Carter

3rd round - Hall of Famer James Harden, Hall of Famer Dwight Howard

4th round - Hall of Famer (Top 20 All-Time) LeBron James, Potential Future Hall of Famer and All-Star Kryie Irving


Alpha Male Curry beat 6+ Hall of Famers in his road to the 2015 Championship. He also did not have one Hall of Fame teammate to work with. He probably has had the toughest run.

Not impressive. The game isn't played 1 on 1 and he didn't guard any of those guys nor score on them. His teammates were the ones handling them while he got to exert little energy on the court outside of shooting/scoring.

He didn't face ONE quality PG. His competition was Eric Gordon, Nick Calathes, Beno Udrih, Mike Conley (blind), Jason Terry and Mathew Delevadova.

Not impressed.

[warriorfan]

Not impressive. The game isn't played 1 on 1 and he didn't guard any of those guys nor score on them. His teammates were the ones handling them while he got to exert little energy on the court outside of shooting/scoring.

He didn't face ONE starting caliber PG. His competition was Eric Gordon, Nick Calathes, Beno Udrih, (blind) Mike Conley, Jason Terry and Mathew Delevadova.

Not impressed.

Basketball is a team game. Each team he played had more Hall of Famers than his team if you don't count Curry himself.

[Young X]

Yup, the 1993 Suns (they were at their peak) and the 2002 Kings (ditto) are definitely two of the better/best teams to never win a title.

As a matter of fact, most of the teams MJ beat, I consider in that category. The early 90's Blazers made 2 finals in 3 years, when the WC was strong. The 1995-96 Sonics team was just so talented. And of course the late 90's Jazz. Those were great teams. MJ prevented them from reaching immortality.

That's why I laugh when people say the 90's were "weak". No, it just looks like that due to the Bulls' dominance.

The Jazz, Suns, Blazers and Sonics were great teams that just ran into the greatest dynasty in modern basketball. I'm pretty sure if you take the Bulls out of the equation, those teams go down as all time great teams. Especially the '97 Jazz.

You hear people go on about the Lakers and Celtics competition while downplaying the Bulls when the Bulls actually faced tougher competition in the playoffs than both.

[dazzer87]

1st - 48 win Blazers
2nd - 57 win Lakers
WCF - 55 win Thunder
Finals - 58 win Heat

2011.....Mavs were all underdog in every round that year.

[ClipperRevival]

That's why I laugh when people say the 90's were "weak". No, it just looks like that due to the Bulls' dominance.

The Jazz, Suns, Blazers and Sonics were great teams that just ran into the greatest dynasty in modern basketball. I'm pretty sure if you take the Bulls out of the equation, those teams go down as all time great teams. Especially the '97 Jazz.

You hear people go on about the Lakers and Celtics competition while downplaying the Bulls when the Bulls actually faced tougher competition in the playoffs than both.

That's the thing about being that dominant. Some people just assume it was a weak era.

[Cleverness]

Look at the context though. Portland's best player was hurt. The Lakers barely beat the Hornets. And the thunder were talented but young. But the Heat win was definitely legit

Another thing to consider is that Mavs were underdogs in every series after the first round, right?

Pretty impressive to win in the NBA as an underdog in the playoffs in 2nd round, WCF, and Finals

[1987_Lakers]

'95 Rockets & '11 Mavs come to mind.