The Most Dominant NBA Rosters Since 1968

I rank the most dominant NBA team rosters since 1968, using the 82-game season as the line that keeps the eras comparable. I walk from No. 10 to No. 1 and explain why championships, Finals trips, and repeating matter when we talk about true dominance.  
• Why the 1968 cutoff matters for fair NBA dynasty debates  
• Honorable Mention
• No. 10 Rockets run with back-to-back titles
• No. 9 Kobe-led Lakers making three straight Finals
• No. 8 Bad Boy Pistons making three straight Finals
• No. 7  Heatles superteam and four straight Finals  
• No. 6  Bird's Celtics and four straight Finals
• No. 5 Spurs winning three rings in five years
• No. 4 Shaq and Kobe Lakers three-peat and extra Finals trip  
• No. 3 Warriors mix of records, repeats, and Finals volume    
• No. 2 Lakers Magic and Kareem's Lakers 12 year dynasty
• No. 1 Bulls and the unmatched two three-peats standard  
• Listener prompt on who I overlooked and who could rise next

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Transcript

Why 1968 Is The Cutoff

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show, it's favorite show, Get a Bucket. I'm your host, Trey, as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're going to talk about the most dominant NBA team rosters since 1968. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. Try and get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And if you wonder where you heard this before, that's how you've been listening with me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate your support. Now, I know you heard the title, right? Why did I give the 1968 cutoff? I know you've been wondering about that. Well, in today's game, players are playing 82 game seasons, right? A rigorous 82 games. So I figured that was nice to point out and nice to focus on. And then as you dial, as you delve into the NBA's history, you realize, damn, they ain't play 82 games all the time.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

So the 82 games was changed after the 1967 season. Hence the 1968 start time. But you may be wondering how many games did they play beforehand?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

80. So again, to be clear, we're focusing on this 82-game threshold. So that's why we're not gonna mention some teams. So if you have a gripe, just know that's where we're going off top. But we're gonna start it off with seven teams, ladies and gentlemen. Seven teams to quickly talk about. I think it's pretty important. So off the break, we're gonna start at the bottom, work our way on up.

No 7 Rockets Repeat

SPEAKER_01 1:35

We got the Houston Rockets, okay? Now the Houston Rockets between 1993 and 1995, that's the roster that we're talking about, where they win two championships. And here's the breakdown. It's either a win and a loss in the finals, or we acknowledge that you made the playoffs or did not make the playoffs. But that's again with extra context. So the Rockets team, led by Lajuan and them, a team the dream. Yeah, that's two championships. And that's pretty spectacular. Because not a lot of teams win championships. Look at this era, this parody era that we're in right now. A lot of teams have won. They've only won one. So again, these team rosters, if you win back-to-back championships, that's that's pretty that's pretty spectacular, to be honest with you. And again, after 1968, I think it's safe to say that the Rockets are won. In 93, they lose in the second round. But that's okay, because in 94 and 95, they win titles. Back-to-back championships, ladies and gentlemen. That's very tough to do. I'm curious if somebody's gonna do that during this parody era. Or when will that happen? When will that occur? Because it hasn't happened in a while. It used to back in the day. But again, the Rockets, her team to dream Mala Juan, 94 through 95, well, 93 through 95. They're number seven dominant team after 1968. Again, two titles. Let's move on up to number six, shall

No 6 Kobe Led Lakers Run

SPEAKER_01 3:10

we? We have, ladies and gentlemen, my Los Angeles Lakers led with Kobe Dean Bryant. Yes, sir. Notice I said led, okay? Because during this tenure, during this saga, during this era, he was, in fact, the de facto leader of our team, the best player on our team, without question, for sure. And that was between 2008 and 2010. Now, once Shaq left, he was easily our best player. Hell, when Shaq was there, you can make a case for Cove being the best player. If you want to argue it, cool, but there's a case for it. But 2008 to 2008 through 2010, top-notch best player. Yeah, Pal Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and then D Fish was on the squad still. We went to three straight finals. We lost to the Celtics in 08 and then won against the Magic in 2009, beat the Celtics in 2010. So we boast a 2-1 finals record during that stretch, but it was three straight finals appearances. I'll give us the nod over the Rockets, even though we have the same titles. Even though Hakeem, some people may put higher than Kobe. I'm hearing all that. But my Lakers were probably a little bit better than the Rockets. Because again, the Rockets lost before the finals their first year. We got to the finals all three years during this time period. So again, that's why I have the Lakers number six ahead of the Houston Rockets. But let's move on up, though, y'all, because we got

No 5 Heatles And Four Finals

SPEAKER_01 4:48

more people to talk about, more teams to talk about. Like the Miami Heat, the Heatles, if you will, the super team, the big three, right? 2011 through 2014. This team caused quite a bit of controversy. You know, they had the decision by LeBron where he was saying, we ain't gonna win not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, not eight. Like, got you, heard you. Y'all gonna win a bunch of titles. Well, at least they got a couple of titles. So they did win two. They went to the finals four years straight, to be fair. They won two of them things.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Lost two, if y'all doing y'all math properly. Lost to the Mavs in 2011, lost to the Spurs in 2014.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

But in between that, they beat the Thunder in 2012, which I still think they were lucky to face a young Thunder team, but you still win. Kudos. And you beat the Spurs. So for me, ladies and gentlemen, I put the heat ahead of my Lakers led by Kobe because they got to four straight finals. We won the same amount of championships, but again, I give them the extra nod for going to one more finals. Because if I look at our history, right, in 07, I don't even want to bring it up. And then in 2011, we had a little bit of issues. And we did not get to the finals. So I think it's fair to say that the Heatles as a team, the roster, might have, in fact, been better, more dominant at least, than my Lakers during that tenure. But if you got a gripe with it, I'm definitely curious of your thoughts because I'm wondering why you would put the Heat as being more dominant than my Lakers. And again, I keep saying my just to show y'all I'm not being biased. But let's move it on up to the east side, shall we? Where, well, I guess should we call it the No, we're just gonna keep it on. We're just gonna keep it like that. Shout out to the Jeffersons. The next team, though, next team, we had seven was Rockets, six was my Lakers, five

No 4 Spurs Championship Rhythm

SPEAKER_01 6:48

was the Heat. We got four, ladies and gentlemen, San Antonio Spurs. This was between the years of 2003 through 2007. Okay. During this time period, they had ebbs and flows. It was like one season they'd win a championship, the another one, they don't. Then they'd win the next one, then the next year they don't. Then they win another. Like they kept going back and forth, and it was disgusting work. They won three championships, and then two seasons, they did not make it to the finals during this tenure. So for me, you win in 03, you get to the semifinals in 04, you win in 05, you get to the semifinals in 06. You win in 07, kudos. Like that's pretty, that's pretty, that's pretty spectacular for me, ladies and gentlemen. So I gotta put them at number four because when they're looking at it over the heat, over my Lakers, over the Rockets, they off-gate have more titles. One more at least. Literally, one more title than us. So I gotta give them love. And even though the Heat and my Lakers won back to back, I think over the duration, I gotta throw the Spurs in the mix. Again, five years winning three. We could say the same. Well, no, we can't say the same thing about the Heat or Lakers, because again, they ain't win three. So that's the end, that's the end all be all about that. But kudos to Timmy and them. You know what I'm saying? Timmy, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Mono Ginobli, Steven Jackson. Like they had a good little squad on their team from time to time for sure, ladies and gentlemen. The Spurs and my Lakers during the early 2000s, those are two of the best teams in the league consistently. So it makes it make sense why they're there. Now let's move on up

No 3 Shaq Kobe Three Peat

SPEAKER_01 8:35

to number three, right? This one might be my favorite for a multitude of reasons. One, if if anybody knows, if your name is Trey, you're the third, and we're at the third team, which is in fact my Los Angeles Lakers, which I just talked about. Ladies and gentlemen, from 2000 to 2002. I'm just focusing on those years, right? Well, 2004, I should say. We actually did pretty well. Okay, and I gave you a five-year window for the Spurs, had to do the same thing for my Lakers. Because we win three straight. We had a three-peat, ladies and gentlemen, which is gonna cause a little controversy for later on, but let's let's just let's just stay here, okay? We win in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Then we go to the semifinals in 03. Then we go back to the finals in 04. We almost we get gentlemen swept in 04, but again, we we did go to the finals. That's when we had Gary Payton and Carl Malone joining Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, which I ain't appreciate too too much. Because remember, Carl was trying to go smack at Vanessa unnecessarily, Carl. I still to this day don't like it. That's one of the reasons why I don't like your hand personally. But again, that's another discussion for another day. But my Lakers ahead of the Spurs. Well, we both have three titles, but the differentiator is we went to the finals more than the Spurs did. And our three P winning back to back does matter for me, to be clear. It does. All right, so three of them things. Meanwhile, the Spurs did not win back to back not once. They won, lost, won, lost, won. We won, one, one, lost, lost. I I respect both, but I think the Lakers, my Lakers between 2000 and 2004 were more dominant than the Spurs between 2003 and 2007.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

But if you have a gripe with that, I'll hear you.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Won't agree, but I will hear you. Now, the next team, because remember, remember too, ladies and gentlemen, this is with Kobe and Shaq. Arguably the greatest duo in NBA history. I said arguably. But let's talk about it, though, because we got some other teams to talk about that can maybe change that statement I just made.

No 2 Warriors Records And Rings

SPEAKER_01 10:51

The next team, number two, Golden State Warriors. Between 2015 through 2019, they went and won three championships and lost twice in the finals. Now, for me, I spoke about this on the Spurs, right? They did not win back to back. And that's the reason why I put the Lakers ahead of my Lakers ahead of them. If they had won back to back, I am curious what I would have done with the Spurs versus Lakers rosters. The Warriors actually did win back to back. And I've been holding off for these points as well, too. But I think it's a good time to bring this up. Keep in mind during their title run, right? Like, like during this, during this era of the Warriors, they had tied, let's see now, they were they were tied for fifth with the NBA record at the time. It's still currently tied for fifth. They have another one. Like, bro, they they they did quite a lot. And let's not forget, too, they earned the NBA record during this stretch. And again, boasting three finals wins, two finals losses, which both of those were controversial, right? The 3-1 comeback by the Cavs, the NBA intervenes, Draymond Green gets suspended, Iggy and Boget both get injured the next game. NBA intervening kind of hurt their case, kind of hurt their case. But you can also say, well, in 15, the Cavs were injured too. I hear that. 19, KD gets injured with the Achilles. Clay goes down. They lose to the Raptors. I hear it. For me, again, because they won back-to-back and because they set the records that they did, I gotta give my tip a cap to them. Now, let's not forget, all right, not my Lakers, when we won in 2000, we had tied the NBA record. Well, not the record. We were number four. We retired for fourth for the NBA record all time. Now we're tied for fifth with that same record at 67 and 15. That's the same record that the Warriors did. So I hear you. I hear y'all. Oh, well, the Warriors didn't have a better record than the Lakers. Well, they did, even though they lost that year. They did. So because of the records that they were setting and the championships that they won, and the fact that they went to more finals than we did. And the West was tough too. I can't say, well, you know, they were in the easy East. No, they were in the West. That's tough, bro. I personally give my tip of the cap to the Warriors for being more dominant than my than my Lakers. Even with the postseason, where we only lost one game to the 76ers, and then that was in the finals. And that's with AI going off. I still would put the Warriors ahead of the Lakers. But it's barely, though. I gotta give you that. It's barely. It's a barely one for sure. So if you have a gripe with it, I hear you, I'll hear you out. You can you can interchange these two. That may be the closest one. But that may be the only one, to be clear, that I would change

No 1 Bulls Two Three Peats

SPEAKER_01 14:00

right now. And finally, ladies and gentlemen, I know you've been wondering who's number one. Well, it's gotta be the Chicago Bulls, right? Between 91 through 98, we're talking about six finals, like championships, not just appearances, championships. And then two seasons where they didn't make the finals. But that's six championships right there, ladies and gentlemen. 91 through 93, right? It's a three-peat. Then you miss 94, 95, and then you get 96, 97, 98. That's another three-peat. That is two three-peats right there. The Lakers, my Lakers between 2000 and 2004, were the only team to get another three-peat since the Bulls. And the Bulls have two of them. They have to be number one for sure because three and two between the Lakers, my Lakers and the Warriors, that's a toss-up sometimes. Bulls ain't no toss-up at all. Led by Jordan, Scotty right there. I get it. The Warriors had Steph, Clay, Draymond, Kevin Durant. Hell, they even got DeMarcus Cousins at one point in time. Still, the Bulls are the most dominant team. And remember, ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about since the NBA hit the 82-game season, and that started all the way back to 1968. If we took that threshold out, I might have to throw the Celtics at number one. I might have to. So that's why I'm glad I found that little stipulation to add in here. Because, yeah, I don't really like talking about the Celtics too much. But they are one of the most dominant teams in NBA history, if we're going to be clear. But based on this threshold again, 1968, we have the Bulls, Chicago Bulls, between 91 through 98 at number one. Golden State Warriors between 2015 through 2019 at number two. My Los Angeles Lakers between 2000 and 2004. That's number three. Then we got the Spurs between 2003 and 2007. That's number four. I got that right. One, two, three, four. Yep, I'm

Your Picks Plus Closing CTA

SPEAKER_01 16:08

right. And then 2011 through 2014, we got the Heat at number five. And then my Lakers between 2008 and 2010 at number six. And then the Rockets between 1994. 1993, I mean, and 1995. Now I'm curious, ladies and gentlemen, if you have another team that maybe I overlooked or forgot to mention. Like, for example, maybe you think that the Oklahoma City Thunder in today's era might be able to hit this list. And they might be able to, too, because 2025 won the title. NBA record at the time was tied for sixth, right? 2026, they lost in the reference conference finals. And we gotta remember, too, that's a game seven loss. That was a close loss, ladies and gentlemen. So what happens if they win in 2027? Well, they probably will need to win 60 plus games for sure, or win the title. But ladies and gentlemen, I they need a title for this season if we're talking about comparing them to other teams that I just listed off. But so maybe you're thinking the Thunder can do it. Or maybe you're thinking the Spurs, or maybe even the Knicks. Who knows? Let's find out. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'm curious who do you all think is the most dominant team roster since the 1968 season? I forget one. Let me know. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.