What was the greatest team in NBA history?
One of the most heated debates among NBA fans is on what was the greatest team in NBA history? The answer usually goes down to two teams – the 1996 Chicago Bulls or the 2016 Golden State Warriors simply because these two teams had the best records in NBA history.
If you go by record alone, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors are the best team in NBA history. They finished the regular season at 73-9, one win better than the previous standard-bearers, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
In the 75-year history of the National Basketball Association, they are the only two teams to win 70 or more games in a single season.
The main difference between these two squads is that the Bulls went on to win the NBA championship while the Dubs failed to do so against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers losing in seven games after they had a 3-1 lead. And winning the championship is what really matters, right?
So before we try to compare the two teams we have to note that the rules of the game have been much different in the eras when these teams played.
Entering the 21st century, the NBA began cracking down on hand-checking in an effort to open up the game and promote movement. In the 1998-99 lockout-shortened season the average NBA team scored only 91.6 points per game, the lowest output in 40-plus years so the league officials had to do something to increase the scoring and make the game more attractive for fans.
The following season the NBA implemented a new guideline that prohibited defenders from making contact with their hands or forearms on an offensive player except below the free-throw line extended. As a result, perimeter defenders could no longer initiate contact and wrap up ball-handlers with on-ball pressure.
Another major difference when it comes to the rules is the Illegal defense and defensive three seconds.
In 2001-02, the NBA tossed out the illegal defense rules that prohibited zone defense, allowing defenders to guard an area rather than strictly his man. This was probably a good thing. The 1990s era saw a ton of players standing around watching one-on-one “clear-out” isolations or post-ups on one side of the floor while eight other players camped out on the other side.
The next thing we are about to do is to compare the team stats.
Both teams were leading the league in scoring in their record seasons. The Bulls averaged 105.2 points per game while the Warriors scored 114.8 points per game. At first, sight it looks like the Warriors were easy to pick on this one, but the above-mentioned rule changes play a big role in these numbers.
When it comes to points allowed, the Bulls were definitely a better team, not because they allowed 92.3 points per game compared to the Warriors’ 104.1 but simply because the Bulls were the third-best team in the league in points allowed while the Warriors were 19th.
So when we match these stats together it shows us that the Bulls were winning by a margin of 12.3 points while the Warriors with 10.7.
If we compare the longest winning streaks of the two teams, the Warriors are the better team. They had a historic start to the season, becoming the first team in NBA history to win its first 24 games. The streak shattered the previous record of 15 consecutive wins to start a season held jointly by the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and the 1948-49 Washington Capitals. The Bulls also put together a lengthy win streak of 17 games, but both teams fell short of the NBA record win streak of 33 games held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.
So what matters the most is how these teams went on in the playoffs.
So the ultimate reason why the 1996 Bulls are a better team than the 2016 Warriors is simply that they went all the way to win the championship while the Warriors failed short.
Yes, the Warriors won that one game more in the regular season, but the Bulls won that one game more in the NBA finals.
The Bulls’ record in the 1996 playoffs was 15-3 or 83.3%. In the first round, which back then was played in a best-of-five series, the Bulls swept the Miami Heat. In the second round of the Eastern Conference, they beat the New York Knicks in five games. In the East Finals, the Orlando Magic didn’t stand any chance since the Bulls won in four games.
The only decent opponent the Bulls faced on their way to the 1996 championship was the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals. It seemed like the Bulls will have an easy way to the end after they won the first three games of the series but Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp led Seattle to victories in games 4 and 5 but couldn’t force game seven after the Bulls closed out Game six with an 87-75 win.
On the other hand, the Warriors failed to crown their record season with the Larry O’Brien trophy. They finished the playoffs with a 15-9 record or only 62.5%.
They started well by beating the Rockets 4-1 in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The same score was in their favor in the second round against the Portland Trail Blazers but the real challenge awaited them in the Western Conference finals.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 3-1 lead and it seems like they are already in the finals. But the ‘Splash Brothers’ were ready to finish their season yet, as they managed to win the next three games and advance to the NBA Finals.
A similar scenario happened in the Finals series but this time the Warriors were on the other side of the coin. They took a 3-1 lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers but then LeBron James and his teammates went on to win the next three games and ultimately win the first championship in Cavs history.
