My Attempt at Ranking the Greatest Teams of All Time

[Phoenix]

93 team is mad underrated for a variety of reasons. After a certain point, this list feels like a toss up

Probably because that team had the worst record of all the Bulls championship teams. But they were the only version of that dynasty with the key players all in their peak/prime range, especially guys like BJ and Horace complimenting MJ and Pippen. I still consider 91 Pippen to 'pre-peak' as that didn't really hit until MJ left, ditto for Grant. BJ was like 2 years in the league. And on the other end, once you get to 96 MJ is end of prime and Pippen is end of peak. For me 93 was the sweet spot for where all those guys were in their careers at that point. I've been on record as saying that potentially the best Bulls team would have been if MJ stuck around in 94, with rookie Kukoc and the other roster upgrades, with what Pip/Grant/BJ were at that point. It was the best team that never was.

[Wally450]

86 Celtics below the 2016 Cavs. Nice.

[dankok8]

The 1991 Bulls were absolutely terrifying. The 61-21 record and +9.4 Net is nice but they got a lot better as the season progressed. They went 29-7 with an insane +11.7 Net after the All-Star break and then proceeded to pulverize everyone in the playoffs with +16.1 rNet. Honestly I'm with SouBeach that I'd probably only take the 1996 Bulls ahead of them and even that's close. Because the 1991 Bulls played with such ferocity... they weren't going to be denied. Although push comes to shove I find all of 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1997 pretty close.

86 Celtics below the 2016 Cavs. Nice.

LOL

Surprised no one mentioned the 2016 Cavs being that high. They cruised in the regular season but they absolutely annihilated the (weak) East teams and beat the Warriors. Their 15.2 rNet in the playoffs is 5th on the list. That's how they got to 8th overall. And I mean it's not that crazy considering the 2001 Lakers who also cruised in the regular season and crushed it in the playoffs are even higher!

[Phoenix]

I Spock-eyebrowed the 2016 Cavs over 86 Celtics as well ( and the 87 Lakers!) but my brain got hooked on how the Bulls teams were ranked.

[WhiteKyrie]

Probably because that team had the worst record of all the Bulls championship teams. But they were the only version of that dynasty with the key players all in their peak/prime range, especially guys like BJ and Horace complimenting MJ and Pippen. I still consider 91 Pippen to 'pre-peak' as that didn't really hit until MJ left, ditto for Grant. BJ was like 2 years in the league. And on the other end, once you get to 96 MJ is end of prime and Pippen is end of peak. For me 93 was the sweet spot for where all those guys were in their careers at that point. I've been on record as saying that potentially the best Bulls team would have been if MJ stuck around in 94, with rookie Kukoc and the other roster upgrades, with what Pip/Grant/BJ were at that point. It was the best team that never was.

Burn out from 2 seasons and Olympics
Scottie played poorly
First team to attempt a 3 peat in modern era
1993 is arguable peak NBA type season
Saw the best from every team, every night

But they also

Beat 2x 60+ win teams
Beat the best offensive team (Suns)
Beat the best defensive team (Knicks)
Came back from down 0-2 to NY

Nuance and detail prove they were far from the worst Bulls championship team. They improved the roster with Paxson coming off the bench for veteran leadership and shooting. BJ ascending to a superior starting PG with better penetration, spot up shooting and especially defender at the PG position.

1993 Bulls were very impressive. If removing their lackluster and coasting 57 win regular season record. A season where Scottie underperformed and seemed wore out post back to back runs and Olympics.

It’s over simplified and remedial saying they were the worst Bulls team. If Scottie didn’t selfishly sit out half the season in 1998, that team wins over 70 easily, yet struggles in a 7 game series vs an underrated Indiana squad either way.

Regular season record is usually the most overrated thing ever. 2016 Cavs are better than their regular season record. 2016 Warriors are worse than their regular season record. No one in their right mind is claiming 2016 GSW > 2017 w/ KD GSW. But the 2016 team won 6 more games.

All that matters is teams that win rings, how they win their rings and the competition faced.

1993 Pippen is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 Horace Grant is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 BJ is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 Jordan is prime, season or two AFTER peak

Besides what they could’ve been in 1994, that Bulls team was at their best talent wise. Even more so than 1996.

[Phoenix]

Burn out from 2 seasons and Olympics
Scottie played poorly
First team to attempt a 3 peat in modern era
1993 is arguable peak NBA type season
Saw the best from every team, every night

But they also

Beat 2x 60+ win teams
Beat the best offensive team (Suns)
Beat the best defensive team (Knicks)
Came back from down 0-2 to NY

Nuance and detail prove they were far from the worst Bulls championship team. They improved the roster with Paxson coming off the bench for veteran leadership and shooting. BJ ascending to a superior starting PG with better penetration, spot up shooting and especially defender at the PG position.

1993 Bulls were very impressive. If removing their lackluster and coasting 57 win regular season record. A season where Scottie underperformed and seemed wore out post back to back runs and Olympics.

It’s over simplified and remedial saying they were the worst Bulls team. If Scottie didn’t selfishly sit out half the season in 1998, that team wins over 70 easily, yet struggles in a 7 game series vs an underrated Indiana squad either way.

Regular season record is usually the most overrated thing ever. 2016 Cavs are better than their regular season record. 2016 Warriors are worse than their regular season record. No one in their right mind is claiming 2016 GSW > 2017 w/ KD GSW. But the 2016 team won 6 more games.

All that matters is teams that win rings, how they win their rings and the competition faced.

1993 Pippen is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 Horace Grant is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 BJ is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 Jordan is prime, season or two AFTER peak

Besides what they could’ve been in 1994, that Bulls team was at their best talent wise. Even more so than 1996.

Yep, no arguments from me on those points.

[dankok8]

Burn out from 2 seasons and Olympics
Scottie played poorly
First team to attempt a 3 peat in modern era
1993 is arguable peak NBA type season
Saw the best from every team, every night

But they also

Beat 2x 60+ win teams
Beat the best offensive team (Suns)
Beat the best defensive team (Knicks)
Came back from down 0-2 to NY

Nuance and detail prove they were far from the worst Bulls championship team. They improved the roster with Paxson coming off the bench for veteran leadership and shooting. BJ ascending to a superior starting PG with better penetration, spot up shooting and especially defender at the PG position.

1993 Bulls were very impressive. If removing their lackluster and coasting 57 win regular season record. A season where Scottie underperformed and seemed wore out post back to back runs and Olympics.

It’s over simplified and remedial saying they were the worst Bulls team. If Scottie didn’t selfishly sit out half the season in 1998, that team wins over 70 easily, yet struggles in a 7 game series vs an underrated Indiana squad either way.

Regular season record is usually the most overrated thing ever. 2016 Cavs are better than their regular season record. 2016 Warriors are worse than their regular season record. No one in their right mind is claiming 2016 GSW > 2017 w/ KD GSW. But the 2016 team won 6 more games.

All that matters is teams that win rings, how they win their rings and the competition faced.

1993 Pippen is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 Horace Grant is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 BJ is prime, season off from PEAK
1993 Jordan is prime, season or two AFTER peak

Besides what they could’ve been in 1994, that Bulls team was at their best talent wise. Even more so than 1996.

Margin of victory matters too though. The 1993 Bulls were the least dominant of their teams. Most of their playoff games against the Knicks and Suns were close.

Their depth was the worst of all their title teams. Cartwright was barely playable at this point and from Sansterre's write up everyone except Jordan, Pippen and Grant was probably a net negative on that team. So when they went to the 2nd unit, they really suffered. The 1993 title run was the biggest carry job by MJ of all their runs.

What you wrote sounds good but doesn't match what we actually saw. They definitely cruised in the regular season so I can take that with a grain of salt but in the playoffs, they were the most vulnerable Bulls title team by some distance.

[NBAGOAT]

Margin of victory matters too though. The 1993 Bulls were the least dominant of their teams. Most of their playoff games against the Knicks and Suns were close.

Their depth was the worst of all their title teams. Cartwright was barely playable at this point and from Sansterre's write up everyone except Jordan, Pippen and Grant was probably a net negative on that team. So when they went to the 2nd unit, they really suffered. The 1993 title run was the biggest carry job by MJ of all their runs.

What you wrote sounds good but doesn't match what we actually saw. They definitely cruised in the regular season so I can take that with a grain of salt but in the playoffs, they were the most vulnerable Bulls title team by some distance.

Yep here’s sansterres write up https://forums.realgm.com/boards/vie...1282#p87111282. He’s pretty convincing with his breakdown and one thing you have to remember is when you do relative net rating in the playoffs you’re looking at how other teams played in the playoffs only. Doesn’t matter how many wins Knicks and suns had in the regular season, they weren’t that impressive in the playoffs in 93. Guessing bulls opponents in previous years were more dominant.

[Im Still Ballin]

2004 Detroit and 2008 Boston. Great defense.

[Phoenix]

Margin of victory matters too though. The 1993 Bulls were the least dominant of their teams. Most of their playoff games against the Knicks and Suns were close.

Their depth was the worst of all their title teams. Cartwright was barely playable at this point and from Sansterre's write up everyone except Jordan, Pippen and Grant was probably a net negative on that team. So when they went to the 2nd unit, they really suffered. The 1993 title run was the biggest carry job by MJ of all their runs.

What you wrote sounds good but doesn't match what we actually saw. They definitely cruised in the regular season so I can take that with a grain of salt but in the playoffs, they were the most vulnerable Bulls title team by some distance.

Those Knicks and Suns were among the best teams they faced though, over their run. I mean it makes sense to me that they were more or less dominant depending on the competition. If we can table the numbers for a second, how dominant do you think the 91 and 93 Bulls are respectively if you swapped them? Meaning, how dominant is the 93 Bulls in 91? What happens if you put the 91 Bulls in 93? Are they beating the Knicks and Suns easier than the 93 team?

[ArbitraryWater]

We have to say though, whie it makes the ist a ot harder, there are many non-tite teams that are better than tite teams.

[Phoenix]

We have to say though, whie it makes the ist a ot harder, there are many non-tite teams that are better than tite teams.

This is true.

[dankok8]

Those Knicks and Suns were among the best teams they faced though, over their run. I mean it makes sense to me that they were more or less dominant depending on the competition. If we can table the numbers for a second, how dominant do you think the 91 and 93 Bulls are respectively if you swapped them? Meaning, how dominant is the 93 Bulls in 91? What happens if you put the 91 Bulls in 93? Are they beating the Knicks and Suns easier than the 93 team?

Eh I wouldn't say that the 93 Knicks and Suns are better than say the 92 Knicks and Blazers. It's definitely in the same ballpark and the 92 team was more convincing. The 91 team faced a weaker opponent in the ECF so it's tougher to compare but their Finals was still the most dominant and the 91 Lakers were very good.

We have to say though, whie it makes the ist a ot harder, there are many non-tite teams that are better than tite teams.

What is the best non-title team to you and where would you place them approximately?

I think for me, similar to Sansterre's list, I don't see any non-title teams cracking the top 20.

[1987_Lakers]

I think for me, similar to Sansterre's list, I don't see any non-title teams cracking the top 20.

You can make a great case for the '68 Sixers, '85 Celtics, & '16 Warriors possibly cracking the top 20.

[1987_Lakers]

'83 Sixers at #20 seems extremely low.

Kind of a forgotten team because the Lakers-Celtics dominated that era, but that was a dominant team, won 65 games, only lost 1 game in the playoffs. They basically had 5 all-stars on that team, with Moses being the best player in the NBA at the time.

Edit: Seeing the '67 Sixers at only #22 is weird too. They were named the GOAT team by the NBA in 1980.