preface
In history, no team has ever been able to reach the end of the playoffs with a win all performance, especially since the first round of the playoffs was changed to the best of five game system in 1984, and then to the best of seven game system in 2003, it is even more unlikely to want to win all. So what are the most dominant championship teams in history? What kind of achievements have they made in the playoffs when they won the championship? Next, let's take stock.
8. Celts (15-3)
1985-1986 season
3-0 Bulls in the first round, 4-1 Hawks in the second round, 4-0 Bucks in the east, 4-2 Rockets in the finals
Under the leadership of Byrd and McHale, the Green Army had a luxurious record of 67-15 in the regular season this year, and they were the only team in the league to win 65+games. After the start of the playoffs, the Celtics also showed their dominance. In the first round against the Bulls, the Green Army opened its fire and scored more than 120 points in three games, with G2 scoring 135 points. In the second round against Hawks, the Green Army also had an absolute advantage. After three games, the Hawks were one step away from being swept, but it was a pity that Wilkins scored 37 points in Game 4 to help the team retain its final dignity.
The East Decision Green Army is still unstoppable, and they have played a super offensive fire against the Bucks. The two games with the worst offensive performance in the series also scored 111 points. However, in the final, the Rockets became the only team that gave the Green Army two defeats, but it was clear that the real strength of the Green Army was too much ahead of them. In the last game, Bird and McHale scored 58 points to help the team win the final championship.
7. The Lakers (15-3)
1986-1987 season
Denver 3-0 in the first round, the Warriors 4-1 in the second round, the Sonics 4-0 in the final, and the Celtics 4-2 in the final
This season, the leading player of the Lakers officially became Magic Johnson. He also won the first MVP with his performance of 23.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 12.2 assists per game. At the same time, he also helped the team achieve the first record of 65-17 losses in the league. Against Denver in the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers scored 128 points, 139 points and 140 points in each of the three games, and finally reached the semi-finals smoothly. In the second round against the Warriors, the offensive firepower of the Lakers was still confused, but when they were leading 3-0, they were somewhat relaxed in Game 4, which allowed the Warriors to "steal" a victory.
In the West Finals against the Sonics, the Lakers were still in a progressive state. The more they played in the four games, the stronger their attack became. In the last game, they eliminated their opponents by 133-102. Facing the defending champion Celtics in the finals, the two sides staged a crazy confrontation. Finally, the Lakers won this group of fateful duels by one notch. Among them, G2 scored 141 points in the highest single game in the playoffs.
6. Bulls (15-3)
1995-1996 season
3-0 Heat in the first round, 4-1 Knicks in the second round, 4-0 Magic in the east, 4-2 Supersonics in the finals
Jordan made a temporary comeback in the middle of the 1994-1995 season, but finally fell in the semi-finals. After an offseason adjustment, Jordan led the Bulls back to the championship, and broke the record at that time in the regular season, becoming the first team in history to win 72 games. In the first round of the playoffs, the Heat scored less than 90 points in two consecutive games against the suffocating defense of the Bulls. In the last game, they managed to get 91 points, but the opposite Bulls scored 112 points. In the second round against the Knicks, the latter only got a victory in front of the Bulls, and finally was doomed to be swept by the gentlemen.
Dong Jue faced the Magic that eliminated them the previous year. The Bulls happily completed their revenge. They beat the opponent by 38 points in the G1, and the G3 restricted the Magic team to 67 points. In the finals against the Seattle SuperSonics, the Bulls also scored 3-1 after four games, and then lost to the Seattle SuperSonics. However, the defense of the Seattle SuperSonics was really strong that year. The G6 team made only 5 of Jordan's 19 shots, but the overall strength gap between the two sides was too big, and defense alone could not win the game.
5. Piston (15-2)
1988-1989 season
3-0 Celtics in the first round, 4-0 Bucks in the second round, 4-2 Bulls in the east, 4-0 Lakers in the finals
After losing to the Lakers in the 1988 NBA Finals tiebreaker, the Pistons became even stronger. They became the only team in the league to win 60+games in the regular season. In the first round of the playoffs against the already declining Celtics, the Pistons decisively eliminated this rich team with three games. In the second round, the Bucks were not the opponent of the Pistons. In the end, the Pistons also easily swept them.
Compared with the previous season, the Pistons had a much harder time playing against the old opponent Bulls in Dongdui. Even the Bulls were the first to get off to a good start in G1. After three games, Pistons still fell behind 1-2 points. Fortunately, after that, the team still held its ground, winning three games in a row and knocking out the Bulls for two consecutive years. In the final against the Lakers who eliminated them the year before, the strength of both sides completely reversed this time, even the Pistons were stronger than the Lakers who won the championship in 1988. In the end, they also won the final by sweeping their opponents.
4. Bulls (15-2)
1990-1991 season
The Knicks defeated 76 people 4-1 in the first round, the Pistons defeated the Pistons 4-0 in the east, and the Lakers 4-1 in the finals
This year, the Bulls ushered in a qualitative change. After three consecutive defeats at the beginning of the season, they never lost more than two consecutive games, and finally won 61 victories. In the first round of the playoffs against the Knicks, the G1 Bulls exploded their opponents with a huge difference of 126-85 and set the tone for this round of the series. The second round against 76 people, the Bulls got the first defeat in the playoffs of this year. The G3 Jordan scored 46 points but still failed to defeat his opponent. Fortunately, the 76 people still failed to make too much resistance in the next two games.
Dong Jue faced the Pistons who had eliminated them for the past three consecutive years. This time, the Bulls stood up completely. They completed their revenge with a 4-0 sweep. Against the Lakers in the finals, the Bulls completely crushed their opponents with strength after losing G1. Finally, they won four games in a row and completed the gentleman sweep of the Lakers. This championship also opened the first three consecutive championship dynasty of the Bulls. If only looking at the playoff results, this is the strongest year for the Bulls in the two three consecutive championships.
3. Spurs (15-2)
1998-1999 season
3-1 Timberwolves in the first round, 4-0 Lakers in the second round, 4-0 Trailblazers in the west, 4-1 Knicks in the finals
This season, due to the labor agreement dispute, the NBA was suspended for a time, and the regular season finally shrank to 50 games. Under the leadership of Duncan and Robinson, the Spurs quickly returned to normal and won the first record in the western region under the condition of poor performance in the early stage of this season. In the first round against the Timberwolves, the two sides drew 1-1 in the first two games, but the Spurs suddenly made efforts to connect the next two cities and directly took away the victory of the series. In the second round against the Lakers led by Shaquille O'Neal, the Spurs did not drag their feet and swept easily 4-0.
The Spurs are still impeccable when facing the Trail Blazers in the west. The G3 team used their horrible defense to let the Trail Blazers only get 63 points. In that game, the Spurs also got match point by 22 points. Facing the Knicks in the finals, Duncan, a sophomore rookie, averaged 27.4 points, 14 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Facing the play of Duncan at both ends of attack and defense, the Knicks also had no choice but to watch the young man win the O'Brien Cup with the team.
2. Lakers (15-1)
2000-2001 season
The first round of 3-0 Trailblazers, the second round of 4-0 Kings, the Western Conference 4-0 Spurs, and the finals 4-1 eliminated 76 people
At this time, because O'Neal learned to paddle in the regular season, their regular season record did not rise but fell. But after O'Neal started to work in the playoffs, their overall strength directly rose to another level. The previous year, the pioneers who were able to play back and forth with the Lakers in the West Duel, this time the two sides met in the first round, and they could not even win one game. The same is true of King. In the first round of the 2000 playoffs, they once pushed the Lakers to the edge of elimination, but a year later, they were sent away by the Lakers without winning a game.
Even the Spurs, the No. 1 in the Western Conference in the regular season, were just another stepping stone in front of the Lakers, who finally reached the finals with a record of 11-0. But unfortunately, when facing the 76ers, the Lakers were careless at the beginning. In addition to Iverson's outburst, they also got the only loss in the whole playoffs in G1. The loss also made the Lakers realize that their mentality had changed, so the Lakers who were back to their rightful attitude once again dominated the series, and finally they also successfully completed two consecutive championships.
1. Warriors (16-1)
2016-2017 season
4-0 Trailblazers in the first round, 4-0 Jazz in the second round, 4-0 Spurs in the west, 4-1 Cavaliers in the finals
Although the Warriors of the previous season broke the record set by the Bulls in the regular season, and Curry also became the first MVP with all votes in history, they also became the only team in the playoffs that was 3-1 ahead in the final but was defeated. In the off-season of 2016, the Warriors signed Durant to win the championship. At that time, everyone directly called the league a big ending. In fact, it is true that even though the Warriors did not deliberately seek to break the record in the regular season, they still had a record of 67-15.
The Warriors in the first two rounds of the playoffs were not under any pressure at all. Both the Blazers and Jazz were vulnerable to attack. Leonard had the opportunity to lead the Spurs to break the Warriors' unbeaten record in the Western Conference, but after he was injured, the Spurs were completely dead. For the third consecutive year in the finals, the difference between the two sides was the biggest. After three games, the Warriors had already won the match point. If it was not for the G4, they would have been careless. In addition, the referee would have snatched the championship. In that year, the Warriors would have won the championship with a 16-0 record.
