Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Hello, everybody. This is WVUA 90.7 FM, the Capstone. And welcome to episode 73 of the full Core press podcast. My name is Jamie Martinez and I'm joined by Nick Atkinson and Kaden Johnson to stay up to date. Make sure to follow us on Instagram cppodcast UAE. With that being said, let's get into it with the news. Everybody knows we got news all the time, so let's kick it off with Isaac Okoro of the Cleveland Cavaliers agrees to a three year, 36, no $38 million deal with the Cavs resigning kind of. Once again, the Cavaliers didn't make any moves to add to their roster this season, but did make four re signings. Now adding with Okoro, how do we feel about this Coro deal? Is it fair money? Do you think he deserved it?
[00:00:58] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. I think he's pretty good. I just don't think that he necessarily has the opportunity to be a flourishing player in the league because, like, Max Drews is ahead of him and stuff like that.
[00:01:08] Speaker C: I think I've seen a lot of upside in Akura, and so I feel like this is about what I would value him as, like, money wise. So I think it's overall a pretty good contract. I mean, he brings really good on ball defense and some occasional streaky shooting as well.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Moving on, free agent guard Landry Shammit has agreed to a one year deal with the New York Knicks. Shamit has career averages of 8.7 points and 38% on three pointers. It's the Knicks with a lot of depth, so I doubt he plays often.
Any of you guys have anything to say on Landry Shamit?
[00:01:43] Speaker A: I actually disagree. I think he is going to play a lot because even with, like, Miles McBride, their depth is not as good as, like, they've got like eight rotational players total on the team, so he's gonna fit in there.
[00:01:54] Speaker C: You think he's over, like, Miles McBride?
[00:01:55] Speaker A: No, no, no. But, like, they don't have another.
They like to run Josh hard at like, power forward. So, yeah, backup for. It's gonna be like, McBride, Devon Chanzo, Landry Shamit, heart pressure to chew it. That's gonna be like the bench. So.
[00:02:13] Speaker C: Yeah. Cause I guess Mitchell has to start now.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, Hardenstein.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. They're messing that back up.
[00:02:18] Speaker C: Yeah. People don't get that. That's like, going to make them worse.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: Oh, way worse.
[00:02:23] Speaker C: I think Mitchell's better defensively, but Hardenstein helped them offensively so much.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: He was way better than they're going to have to trade Julius Randall because.
[00:02:31] Speaker C: Their offense is going to be stagnant at points in the year, especially if teams can, especially with bigs because Julia's Randall's injury. Brunson. Yeah.
[00:02:39] Speaker B: There has been drama with Randall so far, so we'll see where that goes. Some sad news. Houston Rockets forward AJ Griffin is seriously considering stepping away from basketball. Sources tell Sham Sharania Griffin, 21 years old, was the 16th pick in the 2022 draft to Atlanta, then traded to Houston.
And I know there's some AJ Griffin fans here at the table. So anything to say on AJ Griffin?
[00:03:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't really know why he's doing it, but, you know, it's a good thing, I guess. He got the guaranteed money, so it's not like he's gonna be going broke, I guess.
[00:03:16] Speaker C: Yeah. I hope he reconsiders. Cause he's a dog.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Yeah. I love AJ Griffin.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: Duke, right?
[00:03:21] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: Monster Kaden. You wanna get your piece of news in there?
[00:03:28] Speaker C: Yeah, sure.
Marcus Morris, anybody? Yeah.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: He's your favorite player.
[00:03:33] Speaker C: How about it? Yeah. Free agent former Boston Celtic Marcus Morris has agreed to a one year deal with the New York Knicks.
Agent Yani Noy of Laa partners tells the Athletic. So Morris, going into his 14th NBA season.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: He'll play. He'll play there for sure.
[00:03:52] Speaker C: Just talking about Ford.
[00:03:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Both twins get a deal this week. So good for them.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: Marcus is like eight for eight shooting performance against the Celtics in game five.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: That's what God played.
[00:04:03] Speaker C: Just, like, got him a one year deal somewhere else. They just extended his career. Like, one more year.
[00:04:08] Speaker B: He's got a little bit left.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: I think they're both done after this year.
[00:04:11] Speaker C: Probably 14 seasons is more than a good enough career.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: They've been on every team.
[00:04:17] Speaker C: Yeah. At some point, dude, like, to see them play together.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: Yeah. One more time.
[00:04:22] Speaker C: Like, on, like, a really bad team so they could get some minutes.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Detroit.
[00:04:25] Speaker C: Yeah. Go to, like, the Wizards mid season.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:28] Speaker C: Wizards at the deadline, like, both start.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: Surely there'd be a game. They do start to.
[00:04:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: Oh, for sure. They would ask the coach and everything.
[00:04:37] Speaker C: They started to get, didn't they? Did they start together on the Suns?
[00:04:40] Speaker A: I think.
I feel like they did at least once.
[00:04:43] Speaker C: I feel like they did. Or like maybe Markief.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Markieff did because Markieff was a lot better back then.
[00:04:47] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: All right, moving on to our last piece. Not necessarily news, but a little rumor that I thought was cool. Zach Levine of the Chicago Bulls is reportedly being targeted by the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to sources, do we think Zach Levine would be a good fit with the Clippers and what would have to be a part of that deal for them to get Levine? Because I know the Bulls have been shopping him around. Nobody's really into it.
How do we think he would fit with Harden and Kawhi in LA?
[00:05:18] Speaker A: I mean, if he. That's probably the worst defensive backcourt in the NBA, maybe all the time.
[00:05:25] Speaker C: Dude, that's really bad. That's like a tank. Terrible defensive backcourt.
[00:05:30] Speaker A: And what are, if the Bulls don't get any picks for him, that's just another player that they just sold the absolute bag on. Caruso. Him and DeRozan didn't get any first. That's, that's really bad.
[00:05:40] Speaker C: That's like an all time sell by the Bulls, but it's the most predictable thing ever. I mean, yeah, we, we could have all said that was going to happen three years ago because it was time to trade them three years ago, you.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: Know, and now they have vousovich that they got to trade to who they probably won't get to pick for you.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: Things are not looking good in Chicago, as we all know. Lonzo ball has been hurt since 1965.
Things are not it for Chirac.
[00:06:06] Speaker C: If he can come back and be as good as he used to be, that alone will spark them into maybe being relevant again, I think.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: Yeah, but, I mean, they have so many cards already. He's not gonna be better than giddy or Kobe white.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: That's what I'm saying. I mean, I don't know. I think maybe not Kobe Wyatt continues to improve, but I think he's better than giddy. I think he could come back and develop better than he, especially what he.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Brings to the table defensively.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: And he can shoot now, too.
[00:06:30] Speaker B: And he's a more established playmaker, I think defensively, too.
[00:06:34] Speaker C: He's just like an all defensive level player I love.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: So. All right, let's get started with our main segment, ranking every NBA champion team since 2010. I believe we've racked up 15 teams, every champion since 2010, and ranked them from one to 15. So let's kick it off with number 15. We'll go in table order. So, Nick, start it off.
[00:06:59] Speaker C: All right.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: So for my number 15, I have the 2012 Miami Heat.
So relative to the reason, you know, I think that this is the least impressive championship team here. They beat a team with the two best players being 23 years old, and, you know, aside from those two, they didn't have much of anything else. You know, Serge Baca and Hardin and, you know, Daquan Cook, and that's about it. That team was not all that good, and the Thunder still were able to get a game off them and still keep it relatively close. And roster wise, we know that they had the big three and they had Shane Battier and Mike Miller and a couple of other all right. Role players, but they still really weren't like a. One of these teams that we're going to see later on that are really good in terms of roster or like, you know, role player wise. And then they were also able to dominate their opponent and dominate the regular season. They weren't even the one seed.
[00:07:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:07:56] Speaker A: So I don't know. I don't really. I just think that it's probably one of the more overrated teams, but I. Yeah, they're just. I think 15 is.
[00:08:03] Speaker C: I mean, a short season, too. They only play like six something games that year. But I do agree that it's probably like the weakest opponent that anyone beat here. Yeah, I would say that. Are the Bucks beating the Suns? Maybe that's like the only one.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: The closest one. Yeah.
[00:08:19] Speaker C: Yeah, even close, I would say.
[00:08:23] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm gonna start it off a little hot, too. At number 15, I have the 2022 warriors.
[00:08:28] Speaker C: That's fair.
[00:08:29] Speaker B: Just because.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: That is good. That is good.
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Everybody else here, I think, was really stacked. And when you look at the roster, especially compared to the other warriors teams that are on here, I think this is definitely the weakest of the bunch. When you have Andrew Wiggins starting Jordan Pool, who was amazing in that playoff series, he was getting meaningful minutes. You guys have guys like Otto Porter, Clay Thompson winding down. Steph Curry does finally get his finals mvp. So that does all take into effect with his legacy. But they also beat the Boston Celtics that year, four to two. A young Boston Celtics, that's one of.
[00:09:03] Speaker C: The weaker teams that any NBA.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: It was nowhere near the young Boston Celtics team that won the NBA Finals. So that's also the reason why I put them down there. Not nearly the same Celtics, not nearly as experienced of a Jason Tatum or Jalen Brown. So I gotta put the 2022 warriors right there.
[00:09:21] Speaker C: Jason Tatum was on one that year.
[00:09:22] Speaker B: He was on.
[00:09:22] Speaker C: It was a really good year for him.
I've got the 2019 Raptors at 15.
It was really competitive. We were talking about before the show, like, the hardest people, teams to rank. And I said pretty much the entirety of, like, the bottom five or so was really difficult to rank.
Let's see, they went. Raptors went 58 and 24. They were 16 and eight in their playoff run. But, I mean, a lot of people don't realize that they were like a bounce of God away from a second round. Yeah. From not even making it, because who knows how that game would have gone in overtime, and then they were at the grace of some unfortunate injuries for the warriors. Exactly. The Raptors are. Had probably one of the easier playoff runs.
[00:10:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Talking about easy playoff runs at number 14, I have the 2020 Lakers.
You know, they didn't really play any. They, you know, just to start a roadmap. They played off the, they played the Portland Trailblazers in the first round, who had Damian Lillard and then nobody else. CJ was injured. Evan Turner was injured. Every big contract player they had was not available. And then the second round they played the Rockets and Westbrook was injured. So you play James Harden and PJ Tucker and Robert Covington. So that really wasn't much. Nothing. Then, once again, they played the Nuggets. The Nuggets were actually pretty good. And then you play Jimmy Butler in second year, bam. Adebayo, third year, bam. Something like that. Not a very good team. Once again, I just think that if we had gotten to a point where everybody was healthy, I don't see the Lakers going to the finals. I also don't see them probably getting out of the second round because I don't think they would have beat the Rockets if they were healthy or the Clippers if they were healthy, and maybe not even Denver in a non situation like that. And I don't. I also think that in the Eastern Conference, if injuries didn't exist, you know, the Nets probably would have gotten there, the bugs, the Celtics.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: So, moving on, I also have the 2019 Raptors here at 14, kind of kaden hit everything on the spot.
The competition was not as dominant as you would hope for a finals run, especially when the warriors, who were so good, just kind of had every injury possible happen to them. KD goes down with a torn achilles. I believe it was clay gets a jumper. Draymond Green, that happened, which is really bad. It was rough. And then I also don't think the roster is as stacked as a lot of other teams. Obviously, Kawhi Leonard that year, Washington, he was on one. He was really, really good. But again, by the grace of God, they were barely even in the finals after that shot against Philly, who they beat in seven in the first round, they beat the magic in five.
[00:12:02] Speaker C: I want to say they were down 20. To the Bucks. To. Yeah, the Bucks didn't take anything away from them.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: And then they beat the warriors with all of those injuries in six. So it's not to say the Raptors want a very talented team, because they were. And Nick Nurse was a very solid coach. But, you know, things got in the way, and it kind of took away.
[00:12:21] Speaker C: Worthy of winning a champion.
[00:12:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: Especially with the way Kawhi was playing.
[00:12:24] Speaker C: Just cause it's the worst one now.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: I don't think they beat the warriors.
[00:12:26] Speaker C: Like Kawhi deserved to get. To get his own.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: The Celtics got beat by, what? The Bucks that year? Was that the Eric Bledsoe? That was the drew Bledsoe year.
[00:12:37] Speaker C: No, that we won that year when they were beefing. We won that one in seven, but that this one was the one where we won game one, and Paul Pierce was like, it's over. The Celtics are gonna kyrie soul. And then we lost four straight. Yeah.
Yeah.
At number 14, I got the 2022 warriors. Me and Jamie just had 15 and 14 swapped. I think this was. I mean, I feel like that's pretty obvious that it's the weakest warriors title team. Probably the worst version of Curry, as well, even though that was still a very, very good version, but more so, like, the worst version of klay and Dre to win a final team, because they were. They were good, but they weren't like. I mean, Andrew Wiggins was more valuable than probably both of them. And Jordan Poole. Yeah, we're probably more valuable than both of them. Maybe not Dre, but definitely clay in that finals run. And I think they're, again, a great team. Another team that's worthy of winning a championship, but them playing Boston and having kind of, like, a weaker run in the west puts in this.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: Yeah, I 13. I got the Raptors also, you know, just like we were all saying, kind of the worst.
The worst team to probably win a title out of the. In terms of skill or, like, you know, team. Team wise.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: All right, my number 13, as much as I hate to say it, this is where I put the 2010 Lakers.
You have a year 13, Kobe Bryant alongside pal Gasol, who are obviously one of the best duos in basketball. Then you pair them with guys like Lamar Odom, metta world peace, who hit the biggest shot of his entire life in the finals. But I don't think, roster wise, they really stand up to a lot of other teams. First round, they beat a very young Oklahoma City Thunder in six. Then they beat the Jazz in a sweep. And then they face a very good Suns team. I will give them that. In the Western Conference finals. Then they take down KG in the Celtics in the finals. But again, I don't think they were as good as a lot of other teams here. 57 and 25 was their record alongside Phil Jackson as the head coach. So 2010 Lakers, I'm sorry, but great team. Not as good as the others here, though.
[00:14:39] Speaker C: Interested to see what y'all say about this one. A little bit of a. I mean, I don't know if it's really a crazy hot take, but it hasn't been brought up yet. At 13, I have the 2020 $1. Okay, they were 46 and 20, 616 and seven in the playoffs.
And I think they beat like the single worst team that played in the finals on this list, except for maybe that Thunder team just because of their age. But this is a team that didn't really dominate in the regular season. And again, it's weird talking about it because it's obviously not like they're a bad team. They won the championship, but it's just in comparison to these other champions that we've had in the last 15 years, I think they're on the weaker side. You know, they came into the playoffs as a three seed with Philly and the Nets both being higher. And like Nick was talking about, the Nets, you know, dealt with some injuries in the playoff run. And I. I think Giannis had one of the best playoff runs of any player I've ever seen in this finals. I mean, he averaged 30 throughout the playoffs with like 13 boards and five assists. I mean, he did everything for this team. And I think Drew and Chris Middleton made some plays as well, but depth wise, they just didn't have a whole lot of scoring other than that.
[00:15:50] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure.
[00:15:50] Speaker C: I think that would just like, match up terrible against other teams on this list.
[00:15:55] Speaker A: Yeah. So next up, I've got the moving around. Moving something around real quick. Yeah, I'll say the 2022 warriors.
Reason being just kind of like we were all Sam, just the worst version of everybody. I. But I don't know. I think that's the best step career I've ever seen in my entire.
[00:16:15] Speaker C: Really?
[00:16:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:16:16] Speaker C: I mean, he's still that good. He was still that good, though. Like, he argued he was still good enough. I mean, he's still good enough.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Like today I want to title.
[00:16:24] Speaker C: We saw him in the Olympics this summer. Like, it's crazy how good he still is.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, he was. He was insane. And then. And he really won that title kind of alone.
[00:16:33] Speaker C: Yeah, he did. He did. He did. That was him kind of proving that.
[00:16:36] Speaker A: He'S like the best.
[00:16:37] Speaker C: Exactly. That's kind of proving that. No, I'm like one of the, like, best. Yeah, one of them for sure.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: The best pontoon ever.
This next spot, where are we? Number twelve, I think.
[00:16:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: This is where I have the 2012 heat.
They go out in the finals and beat Daquan Cook and the Thunder.
[00:16:55] Speaker A: Very. I was the best player.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: Yeah, he was. He was Daquon Cook was legit that year and Nick Hollison and all them. So Kendrick Perkins. Yeah. KP. Very, very young, though. OKC team.
And then really more of their finals was the Eastern Conference finals against Boston, who they beat in seven.
Semifinals. They face a very young Paul George, who was emerging as one of the top guys in the league, and the Pacers and then Mello and the Knicks in the first. So definitely not their most talented of the heat rosters. Other one that won the finals I have later on, but, yeah, I hate that I have the 2020 Lakers above them. But you do.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: Do you think that if I do, too, it's okay the Celtics go to the final? All right.
[00:17:38] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:39] Speaker A: Yeah. If the thunder beat, like, the Celtics in that, like, the Celtics beat the heat, then the Thunder beat the Celtics. What. What's, like, different?
[00:17:46] Speaker B: How many. How many games did they beat him in?
[00:17:48] Speaker A: Five. Like, okay. Whoa. All right, well, Westbrook, Katie averaged 30.
[00:17:52] Speaker C: To seven that year.
[00:17:53] Speaker A: Okay, well, yeah, let's say seven. We'll say seven. Westbrook and Katie average 30 apiece in that final series versus the heat.
[00:17:59] Speaker C: I think the Celtics would have won that series.
[00:18:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, they probably would have.
[00:18:01] Speaker C: They would have won in like, five.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Cause they actually had a real big man.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: Yeah. This. This Thunder team, kind of crazy how they made the finals because it obviously wasn't Tom. Katie.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: It's just the first three. It's just Westbrook surgeon Katie.
[00:18:11] Speaker B: And then you have, like, your role players like Nazir Mohammed, like Reggie Jackson, Derek Fisher, Kendrick Perkins. Like, this team is not crazy. James Harden, who's super young, he averaged.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Like six points per game.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Like Royal Ivy. Like, what manner this team was. Like, not that good.
[00:18:31] Speaker C: So.
[00:18:32] Speaker B: So it's even crazy that they made it that far. And obviously the heat should have won that finals.
But, yeah, I don't think.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: Yeah, that's my big discredit for the heat.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: They beat a pretty young and top heavy team in the thunder.
[00:18:44] Speaker C: All right. At twelve, I got the 2011 Mavs. They went 57 and 25 in the regular season. Weren't necessarily a dominant team. I think they were the three seed.
But then in the playoffs, they had one of the more impressive runs of all time. They played a bunch of really tough opponents and had, obviously, one of the serious all time super teams in the finals where they absolutely dominated it. And they played really well on their run, too. They were 16 and five throughout their whole playoff run. I just think with how some of their stars were aged, even though that was Dirk's year to win a ring. I don't know necessarily if that's prime Dirk, by any means. I still think he was on the older age and so were a lot of other players on that team.
So I just think the way they would match up now against some of the more modern teams that have won, well, the good thing wouldn't be too. Well. The good thing about them is they.
[00:19:40] Speaker A: Have, like, stretch stretchability, and then they've got an athletic wing. Shaw, Marion. Then they got. They have probably the best depth and role players on the team.
[00:19:49] Speaker C: They have a lot of big names, but I just feel like a lot of them were aged a little.
[00:19:53] Speaker A: Well, what's his face? Deshaun Stevenson.
[00:19:56] Speaker B: Go.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: Brendan Haywood.
They had Tyson Chandler, the depot the next season. They were really good. It was just kind of like what you're saying, like, aside from Dirk, there's no star power at all.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
[00:20:08] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Dirk, that was the craziest single performance I've ever seen out of anybody in the finals.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: So that you ever watched.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:14] Speaker C: In my life.
[00:20:14] Speaker B: Yeah. On YouTube ten years later.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: All right, so it's me next.
What are we at, eleven? Yeah, I'll say.
I'll go with the 2020. $1. Yeah, yeah. Just kind of like. I'd say they probably had the easiest matchup in terms of the easiest road to the finals, and then on top of that, easy finals.
[00:20:38] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: You play trae Young and Trey Young alone.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: Africa.
[00:20:41] Speaker C: Yeah, that's who they played in the ECF, too.
[00:20:43] Speaker A: And they still took them to six, I think.
[00:20:45] Speaker C: Yeah, they did.
[00:20:45] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, and then the KKD almost won that series by himself with nobody else in Brooklyn versus Milwaukee because his shoe size was. Yeah, he would have had another ring and James Harden would have gotten a fraudulent ring, too, if they had.
If he. If his shoes was smaller. So, you know, I just think that. I think that, you know, Giannis himself, though, amazing performance. He had, what, 50 in game and blocked that. The eight in lob.
[00:21:15] Speaker B: He was awesome.
[00:21:16] Speaker C: Yeah, that's what I was saying. That Giannis, he. I think that was the first time in, like, a three year span that someone had overtook Kawhi Leonard, in my opinion, as the best player in the NBA.
[00:21:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:27] Speaker C: Cause I thought Kawhi was the best player all the way through the Raptor season. And then even for like the next two years with injuries.
[00:21:33] Speaker B: Yeah, Giannis was crazy. That's when I really started, like, first super getting into basketball was literally that nets buck series. I was watching it at my grandma's house, and when I saw KD step on the line, I yelled really loud.
[00:21:45] Speaker C: It was a pretty crazy game.
[00:21:47] Speaker B: Very moving to number eleven.
[00:21:49] Speaker A: That happened.
[00:21:51] Speaker B: Mickeymouse, the Mickey Mouse 2020 Lakers. I hate having them this high because I would love to have them at 15, but they have literally any role player imaginable on this team, like Troy Daniels, Avery Bradley, Alex Caruso. I mean, junior Smith, Deion Waiters was on this team. Markieff Morris, Javale McGee, all these dudes. And, you know, they got the ring, but everybody makes that Mickey Mouse argument in the bubble, and they get Portland in the first round, who not that crazy of a team. Damien Lillard in the bubble was ridiculously good. They beat him in five. Then they get Houston with Westbrook and Harden, who were a very solid team. They just beat everybody in five except once.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: Pert.
[00:22:39] Speaker B: Yeah. And then they get the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals, where Jamal Murray was like the best player I've ever seen.
And then Miami with Jimmy Butler, who was playing on one leg the whole time. So I guess I'll have the Lakers here. As much as I keep talking about it, I want to have them lower. So you know what? Put them up to like 14.
[00:22:59] Speaker C: They can go under the Raptors at number eleven. I have the 2010 Lakers. I think Jamie's already said them. Right? Where'd you have them?
[00:23:09] Speaker B: I had them at 1313.
[00:23:11] Speaker C: All right, I've got them at eleven. The Western Conference was really tight that whole season. There was eight teams with 50 wins. All eight teams that made the playoffs had 50 or more wins. The Lakers only finished with 57. So I never really think. I don't think they ever really established themselves as, like, a dominant regular season team, like some of these other champions have. They lost some games in the playoffs, too. They went 16 and seven in the playoffs. And then with an aging Kobe, I don't think they would beat any of the teams that I have ahead of him in a series, for sure.
[00:23:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And next up, I also have the 2010 Lakers.
You know, Kobe, that was like, really like the last thing of him, you know, kind of implementing himself into, like, the top ten player thing. I mean, he's not like a goat to me. He's not like, you know, that high on my top ten players list, but, like, you know, he's still one of the better players of all time. And, yeah, it was just a good. A good ring, good year for them. They beat.
They beat some good teams, and then they played the Celtics in the finals. In the finals. And that was a really good series.
[00:24:16] Speaker C: Yeah. One in seven.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Probably shouldn't have won, but.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: All right, at number ten, I have the 2021 Lake or not Lakers Bucks.
They were only third in the Eastern Conference this year, 46 and 26. And in the Eastern Conference finals, they get Trey Young, who was a man on a mission that year, but it was legitimately him, like Kevin Herder, Clint Capella, Ron John Collins. Yeah. It was such a random team that made the Eastern Conference finals. And Trey Young argues that if he didn't get hurt, they would have won the entire thing.
[00:24:45] Speaker C: Worst record of any team on here, too.
[00:24:47] Speaker B: Yeah. So the Bucks, despite their wishy washy run to the finals, they get Phoenix, who, again, not the craziest of, but I have him this high because Giannis Ante da Koompa was something like I've never seen before. That crazy lob, I think, in game six over Chris Paul that he had in that big block on Ayton. Like we said earlier, Giannis was one of the top finals mvp performances I've seen. He was ridiculously good. One of the best finals performances of all time. So that's why I have him this high. If Giannis was kind of like mid that series and they still won, they would not be this high. But just because Giannis was that good, and I think the roster was pretty solid as well, with guys like Drew holiday in them. Brooke Lopez and Chris Middleton was solid. It's the only reason they're top ten.
[00:25:32] Speaker C: Number ten. I have the 20. This is where I have the 2012 heat. I think this is the weakest of any of the LeBron finals teams. But that being said, they still are really a super team with Bosh Bosh Wade and LeBron. But again, didn't finish as the one seed this year it was the Bulls.
But then in the playoffs, I mean, they had a lot more success. There were 16 and seven.
We talked about the Celtics taking them to game seven earlier as well. LeBron just kind of took over in that series. Celtics blew like a three two lead, so they were really close to not winning despite having their super team or whatever. And they only won 46 games in the shortened season, so 46 and 20 is kind of. Whatever.
[00:26:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
What are we on now? Nine.
[00:26:21] Speaker C: Nine. Yeah.
[00:26:23] Speaker A: Yeah. So for number nine, I have the 2023 Nuggets.
They kind of were. It's a really good team, but they didn't really play anybody too impressive in the playoffs or the finals for. That's for sure.
In the Western Conference, they played.
[00:26:45] Speaker B: When. The Western Conference finals.
[00:26:47] Speaker A: No, no, no. Western. They played the Lakers, WCF. Then they played the. I think they played, what, the Grizzlies in the first round.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: First it was Minnesota and Minnesota. Phoenix.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, in Minnesota, that's, you know, Anthony Edwards in his first real, like, best player player playoffs thing. You know, second time in the playoffs. And then after that, like. Like you were saying, phoenix, that was just Kevin Durant and Booker not really even playing good themselves. I was really surprised for Denver to even win that series. That's actually more impressive than them winning the finals against, you know, Jimmy Butler.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: That's the only series. That's the only series that was actually pushed to six. That might be the worst opponent.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: That team should not have won. They got really lucky even being there. That was probably the worst final series in terms of entertainment I've ever won.
[00:27:33] Speaker C: Yeah. Easily. Easily the worst finals I've ever seen.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: Not close.
[00:27:37] Speaker C: I'd rather watch the warriors sweep the Cavs.
[00:27:40] Speaker A: Oh, I. Probably 100%. Yeah. All right.
[00:27:44] Speaker B: Number nine is also where I have the 2023 Nuggets.
Kind of, like Nick said, not the most impressive playoff run. They win in five against Ant and the Wolves, six against the Suns. They sweep the Lakers like they always do because the Lakers are frauds. And then they go up against the Cinderella run Heat, who had beaten the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, and they just whooped them in five games. Jimmy Butler was able to pull off one game in that finals, but I feel like none of the games were really that close. None of them were really, like, edge of your seat type things. They went 53 wins. So first in the Western Conference that year. It was a great team. Jokic was awesome, but playoffs were boring. They did their thing. Great, great roster. Michael Porter junior is the beast.
That's where I have them. I think there's an argument that they could be lower as well, but Jokic was that guy, so I haven't that high.
[00:28:35] Speaker C: I still have him a little higher than this, so we'll get to that later, I guess. But number nine, I have the 2020 Lakers, a Disney and Lamicky snack home finals win against the bubble guppies of Miami Heat and Tyler hero, especially Duncan Robinson. Yeah, I'm just playing. But this Lakers team is really stacked top to bottom. They had a lot of, like, low key role players that kind of went under the radar. Like Deion waiters averaged eleven points per game for them. So this team was pretty stacked, and they were definitely the best team in the NBA this year. Anthony Davis played maybe the best basketball of his career, in the playoffs especially, and they were really successful. They shut a lot of people up after Portland beat them in that, like, game one of the first round, and everybody was asking like, you know, is Dame gonna clutch up this series? And then they shut that up one in five and had success pretty much all throughout the rest of the playoffs. So I think this team is better than what I thought they were at the time that they won that championship. But still on the lower end of this list.
[00:29:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
Are we on eight now?
[00:29:45] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:29:46] Speaker A: All right, number eight, I have the 2013 heat.
This is, in my opinion, the best form of that team, and I still got taken to seven games. What?
[00:29:56] Speaker C: I just have them way higher than, like, a lot higher.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: Well, I just think that the way that they were about to really lose to the spurs is, like, insane. They have, this year, they actually had a. This might be the greatest team ever. Better than, like, the KD warriors. Because they've got LeBron, the best version of LeBron. Then they've got.
[00:30:16] Speaker C: Yeah, this is like, this is like LeBron, this in 2018 are his two best.
[00:30:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:21] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:22] Speaker A: Then, like, Wade. Wade was amazing. Bosh was amazing. You got Ray Allen, Mike Miller was gone.
Baddie. You've got a bunch of very old Richard Lewis. Yeah, they've got a bunch of very good players. And the team was very good.
[00:30:36] Speaker C: And Mario Chalmers.
[00:30:37] Speaker A: Yeah, he was good, too.
[00:30:40] Speaker B: Horse Cole.
[00:30:43] Speaker A: So. Yeah, but I think the reason that puts them down for me is the fact that they really got taken to seven games by Tim Dunk. By Tim Duncan. Yeah. Real Kawhi was a bench player in the series. Like, you know, this is before they were even anything. And LeBron misses a clutch three. You know, Jordan wouldn't do that and.
[00:31:05] Speaker B: Then save his life.
[00:31:08] Speaker C: I just think I credit or I attribute that more so to just fly flat out like the spurs at that time being LeBron James Kryptonite.
With that being said, he was still amazing, but his stats did go down in the playoffs as opposed to the regular season this year. But in that regular season, he was a monster. I mean, there were 66 and 16.
[00:31:30] Speaker A: Yeah. That's why it was MVP.
[00:31:32] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:31:33] Speaker B: All right. Moving on to my 8th spot. I think a lot of these, like the next three or four can really be interchangeable. There's a lot of really talented teams here that have an argument to be high, but I think this is fair for the 2011 Mavericks to be at.
Dirk Nowitzki and some of the most high end role players you can find. JJ Berea holds LeBron to six points in a finals game. You have Tyson Chandler, who's one of the top defensive centers in the league, and Sean Marion, who's an amazing defender, and Steve Novak, who could shoot the ball. And then obviously Dirk. And Brian Cardinal. Yeah, Brian Cardinal, Pejor Sojakovic, Jason Terry, who's one of the best six men of all time, Karon Butler, so Corey Brewer. I mean, there's a lot of dudes on this team who are really good. Yamahimi, Jason Kidd.
[00:32:20] Speaker A: Like, the whole team is very good at the bottom.
[00:32:25] Speaker B: We're about to just name the entire 2011 Dallas Mavericks. But they all did their thing. They were second in their division. They didn't even finish as the top team in their division, 57 and 25. Rick Carlisle is the coach, obviously, they beat the heat in the finals with Dirk Nowitzki playing out of his mind. They faced Portland in the first round, who would have been Brandon Roy. LaMarcus Aldridge would have been that team. That was a pretty solid team. They sweep the Lakers in the second with Kobe and then the Western Conference, they faced OKC.
So again, a really, really good Dallas Mavericks team and led by Dirk with one of the best finals performances ever. Got him at seven.
[00:33:04] Speaker C: At this point, forward is like teams that I think are really, really, really good. These are like, you know, maybe the eight best teams of the last 15 years. So I'm not really going to knock or be hard on any team that I have from this point on. Like, I truly don't think they have weaknesses like that. So at number eight, I've got the 2014 spurs at 62 and 20 in the regular season, 16 and 70 in the playoffs. I just think even though they were the best team in the NBA at this time, I think the stars were aging. You know, like, this is obviously, this isn't the best Tim Duncan we've seen. This isn't the best Tony Parker we've seen. I mean, that was a guy that had won a Finals MVP in the two thousands wasn't the best Kawhi Leonard. Yeah, yeah, obviously just not the best Kawhi Leonard. They were five and five on the road in the playoffs as well. And then you know, they had that really big scare in the first round against Dallas. That eight seed took him to seven, which really ended up being their toughest series. And then they dominated the Heat in the finals after they had kind of figured it out. And that's when they became that unbeatable team, was after that first round series, they only lost four games from then on and crushed a super team in the finals. So, that being said, I still think this team was awesome. They had the role players making contributions, Manu, Danny Green, even Kojo a little bit. And then Boris Diao was averaging almost ten points a game as well.
[00:34:24] Speaker A: Yeah, I have them at the same spot at number seven. Well, spot seven and, yeah, just. I completely agree. I think that, you know, the way that they were able to kind of make it, like they were the first team to kind of bring it back to being like a team in terms of, like, for a couple of years only, though, like, for it to be a team, to win a championship rather than a super team, you know, guys that you develop, four guys that you developed from nothing to being into superstars.
[00:34:54] Speaker C: You know, or just working well together. Not bringing guys in from all over, like bringing talent in. Just kind of like developing up a system. Yeah, developing a system. I mean, they won by just their half court sets, and that's indeed dominating defensively.
[00:35:08] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. Locking LeBron down.
[00:35:11] Speaker C: They just had the better coaching at the time.
[00:35:12] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:35:13] Speaker C: Spo now.
[00:35:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:14] Speaker C: Is, in my opinion, the best coach in the NBA, but at that time, pop Washington, the best. The best. And it wasn't even close.
[00:35:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:21] Speaker B: All right, this might be a little hot, but this is where I have the 2015 warriors. It's not hot at all. It's not just because regular season, they were ridiculously good. 60, 715 in the regular season.
The only reason I have them this low is because there's a couple other Warrior rosters here that I think were just from top to bottom, better, same regular season success and all, but, you know, Kevin Durant kind of makes a difference in that.
So this is where I'm going to have that warriors team. This really kicks off that Golden State dynasty. They take down the Pelicans. They sweep the Pelicans in the first round, then the grit and grind grizzlies in the second, James Harden in the Western Conference with the Rockets. And then they beat LeBron in six in the finals with the Cavs. So this was a very good team because, yes, you had your guys like Curry and Clay and Draymond, but you also had a lot of contributing guys, role players like Harrison Barnes, the brazilian Blur, David Lee, Sean Livingston, Moe Spates, Festus Festus. He's on my team right now. So a lot of very, very good 2015 warriors team. But I just think everybody else is a bit better.
[00:36:29] Speaker C: It's more just like an on paper thing. Like, on paper, they don't have as great of a roster as like, the top, top teams. But that being said, they still dominated Steph Curry. This year was just stupid at number seven. This is where I have the 2023 Nuggets. It was so close, it was so tight between them and the 2014 spurs that I just had to think, you know, prime, that's like peak, jokic, max mass matching up. If he were to match up with that Tim Duncan at the time. I think he wins that battle pretty handily because that Jokic is also probably a top three to five playoff run I've ever seen in my life. And that being said, Jamal Murray had one of the better ones I've ever seen in my life right there with him. So I think this Nuggets team was amazing. You know, they dominated the playoffs 16 and four, swept the Lakers, and then won the final series in five.
[00:37:21] Speaker A: Yeah, so this is where I have the 2024 Boston Celtics.
So, yeah, they had a very interesting playoff run and regular season, you know, a lot of people were, like, doubting them again and saying that they couldn't do this, that and whatever. And then, you know, playoff time comes and Kristopz gets injured and everybody, and they're playing injured opponents and everybody's like, oh, you know, this is fake ring. You know, just everything that they try to say. LeBron doesn't do that. He actually does do. They're just trying to reverse it on the Celtics. So. But then they play a more. A way more healthy team in the finals and they dominate them without having really anybody to guard the Luke or Kyrie, but both of them get shut down pretty easily. And, yeah, I just. I think in terms of impressiveness, it's definitely top six six.
[00:38:14] Speaker B: This is where I have the 2013 heat.
Obviously one of the best top to bottom rosters ever assembled because you have prime LeBron, prime Wade. Then you have guys like Chris Bosh and Ray Allen who are still amazing. And you have an amazing slate of role players with guys like Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslam, Juwan Howard, Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis. A lot of very, very good players on this team. They go 66 and 16 that year. And they did have that scare in the ECF against Paul George and the Pacers, because that Pacers team, they were on one, but they barely squeak past them in game seven. And then they go to seven with a very, very good San Antonio spurs team. They beat them, too. So they did have a couple scares in the top two or in the later rounds. But the 2013 heat, regardless, one of the best rosters ever assembled. So I got them at six.
[00:39:06] Speaker C: All right. At number six. This is where I have 2016 cavs. The down three one comeback. This is a great team. Another, like, real super team. It kind of felt like LeBron had two more.
I mean, near hall of Fame teammates. I think Kyrie probably is hall of Fame. Kevin loves is close.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: Fringe.
[00:39:28] Speaker C: Yeah, Kevin loves fringe. Hall of Fame hall. Very good, if you will.
But that being said, this team was really good. You know, they didn't necessarily have the most dominant regular season. They were the one seed. They only beat out the Raptors by one game, who was their toughest opponent in the east by far. And I think that that team was really overrated. Like, that Raptors team, if they were in the west at this time, would have been like the 6th seed, probably.
That being said, this Raptors team took them to six, and that was the only team that could even steal a game against them in the east. And then with how close they were to be to going out in the finals, you know, three down, three to one, that kind of held them back against some other top tier teams on this list. But that being said, still a fantastic team. I mean, just to be able to beat as good of a Warriors team as they beat alone the team with the best regular season record of all time is enough to get them this high with how LeBron. How good LeBron and Kyrie were playing, too.
[00:40:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:29] Speaker C: For sure.
[00:40:31] Speaker A: Yeah. Next up for me, I have the 2018.
Yeah. 2018 warriors.
So, yeah, for me, the team, they didn't really, you know, they were so good that no team that was, you know, even close to being good was a factor to them. You know, they played the Rockets in the Western Conference finals, and that was the closest they got to losing a series. The entire era of Stephen Curry being the best player in the NBA, and, you know, they get to the finals, they dominate LeBron. And, yeah, I mean, that's really, it just, I mean, in terms of roster, best team of all time, I think, like, top to bottom. Cause they had, you know, all the superstars and role players that they had collected over the years, so.
[00:41:23] Speaker B: All right. At my, we're going to the top five now, so at my five spot. Yeah, this is where it's, I think all of these teams except for the number one, I would think five through two can be really interchangeable for me, but five is where I have the 2016 Cavs.
The Eastern Conference at the time was definitely not as good as it is today. They'd be pretty sure this is the Blake Griffin Pistons in the first round and Andre Drummond. Like, what is that second round they faced the Atlanta Hawks.
[00:41:54] Speaker C: That team was not.
[00:41:55] Speaker B: No, I mean, like, what? Paul Milsap?
[00:41:58] Speaker C: That's a perfect. The Raptors are the same way. Like, just perfect. Regular season.
[00:42:02] Speaker B: Yeah. And then the regular season, we have LeBronto, and LeBron takes down DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lavalley.
[00:42:09] Speaker C: That's like the closest they ever got to beating LeBron, too, this time in Cleveland.
[00:42:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Just because the east was so mid.
A lot of regular season teams that were good, but playoff time was just not the same. And then what makes them go this high for me is they beat the greatest regular season team in the history of basketball in the Golden State warriors. Best regular season record ever. Stephen Curry was amazing and all this and that, but Kyrie Irving gets one of the biggest shots in finals history, if not the biggest shot in finals history with that three over Steph Curry. And obviously, LeBron has the chase down on iggy. So great, great team. Not the best roster wise, but just because of who they beat in the finals is why I have them this high. LeBron was also ridiculous that season.
[00:42:53] Speaker C: Number five. This is where I have the 2015 Warriors, a team that dominated the regular season at 67 and 15 and the playoffs. They were 16 and five in the playoffs. Steph Curry, this is like, right before, I think, he came into his real prime. That's what keeps him lower than the other warriors teams. But still, this is where Steve Kerr's system and the real new era of just shooting threes and running five out kind of came into fruition. I think they kind of revolutionized basketball, these warriors teams, especially Steph Curry, from this point on, for sure.
[00:43:28] Speaker A: Next up, I have the 16 Cavs.
Yeah, they were really good, but I also have kind of a. I mean, it shouldn't be a hot take. I think that they don't even win the championship if Draymond Green didn't get ejected in game four. So they probably don't even have a ring right now. LeBron probably has, like, three rings. If that.
[00:43:49] Speaker B: Steph Curry probably gets another finals mvp, his first finals mvp, it would have been.
[00:43:53] Speaker A: So that's my biggest discredit. Cause I think, I mean, you know.
[00:43:56] Speaker C: In terms of currency, the best player of all time.
[00:43:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, dude, seriously, Curry has finishes with one more ring. He's close to being more.
[00:44:04] Speaker B: There's an argument to be had.
[00:44:05] Speaker A: Yeah, but, yeah, for sure. I think that the team is really good itself. And, you know, I think it's kind of an understatement. The roster was insane. They had a lot of very good role players.
[00:44:17] Speaker B: And they had like, Richard Jefferson.
[00:44:19] Speaker A: Yeah. Channing Fry was good. Amon Shumpert. Gerald Smith.
[00:44:23] Speaker C: So Mozgolf.
[00:44:25] Speaker A: Yeah. Right.
[00:44:26] Speaker B: Next up, I have the 2014 San Antonio spurs. Pretty sure I have them higher than you guys.
[00:44:31] Speaker C: Yeah, you do.
[00:44:32] Speaker A: A lot higher.
[00:44:33] Speaker B: Yeah. But I really like this team from top to bottom.
[00:44:35] Speaker C: That's fair. I mean, that's where I was saying. Every team from that point. Yeah.
[00:44:38] Speaker B: Yeah. I think everybody here could be really interchangeable just because this team was ridiculously good defensively with guys like Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diao. Then you have your money. Ginobili and Tony Parker. Patty Mills, who was really, really good. Thiago splitter. Matt Bonner. Marco Bellanelli. Aaron Baines. Don't know about Aaron Baines. Danny Green. So very, very good team from top to bottom defensively. One of the best teams I've ever seen. 62 and 20 in the regular season. Again, they have that first round scare against Dallas, and then they get Portland and OKC after that. And then they just beat up on LeBron and the heat in five in the finals because Kawhi Leonard kind of owns LeBron, especially at that time. So I got the 2014 spurs at my fourth spot.
[00:45:24] Speaker C: That's valid. Number four for me. This is where I have my very own 2024 Boston Celtics.
I'm part of the team.
[00:45:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:32] Speaker C: You're on it. Yeah. Second best playoff record of any team on here at 16 and three. The only team better is the 2017 warriors.
They were really good, but this Celtics team was amazing. I think maybe has the best starting five of any team on here. Maybe best starting five of any team on here. Warriors.
[00:45:54] Speaker B: I just think it would be the 2017 warriors.
[00:45:58] Speaker C: It's really close. Really close. For sure. I mean, I know they get knocked on for not playing the healthiest opponents, but I mean, they were missing their starting center for pretty much the entirety of the playoffs. And we all know how good he is when he came back and game one of the finals and was on pace to win finals mvp. So I think that too would have brought this team to new levels. I don't know if this team would have even lost a game, like in the playoffs, apart from the game one against Miami if he was healthy. So this team is one of the best teams of all time that I've ever witnessed, especially on the offensive end. I just think they're crazy good.
[00:46:37] Speaker A: Yeah. So this is where I have. Was this three two?
[00:46:41] Speaker C: I think it's.
[00:46:42] Speaker A: You sure? Okay. So, yeah, I have the 2018 warriors here, you know, 2017 warriors. My bad. The first year that KD was there and I think that, you know, they actually played some pretty good people in these playoff runs. And, you know, they played the spurs and before Kawhi got hurt, that was probably gonna go to like six or five and then second round they played.
[00:47:08] Speaker B: Or.
[00:47:08] Speaker A: Yeah, whatever. They played some good people and then in the finals they just, you know, they almost swept LeBron. They basically did. I mean, the team just dominated the whole season. Best team I've ever watched, in my opinion, because, you know, they were big rivals with OKC that year. And for whatever reason, I thought OKC had a chance to, you know, to beat them and no team had a shot to. To match up with them at all.
[00:47:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Three spot. This is where I have the 2023 to 24 Boston spot.
[00:47:37] Speaker C: I was just about to say, when are you going to have.
[00:47:40] Speaker B: I know I'm the Celtics hater here and I have them the highest out of anybody else, so cut me some slack here. But again, three losses in the entire playoff run is pretty crazy. They get that pretty weird loss against Miami in the first round, who are without Jimmy Butler because the Heat always will beat the Celtics at some point. And the Cavs, that's what they do. So do the Cavs. They sweep the Pacers, who didn't really match up with them at all and then just dominate Lukadoncic and the Mavs because the Mavs couldn't hit a three pointer if the bucket was 10ft bigger. So again, I think the Celtics team is one of the better rosters of all time. You have two all NBA defenders at the guard spots with Derek White and Drew Holiday, and then you have Tatum, who's an MVP candidate. Jalen Brown, who plays the best basketball of his career and wins the Finals MVP as well as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. He was sensational. And then you have Al Horford, who was hitting every three he shot. Luke Cornett doing his stupid little contest. Chris Habs Porzingis, who comes back off the bench in the finals and hits every single shot. Aiden Pritchard, half court shot JD Davidson.
[00:48:45] Speaker C: Who legitimately carried Xavier Tillman, who's just Sam.
[00:48:48] Speaker B: Browser. It's Sam Howard, Nemes, Keita Goking, and O'Shea Bursette. O'Shea Brissette was there to YouTube vlog at all. So an amazing team from top to bottom again. I could see the arguments for health for their finals opponents, but I think nonetheless, in my time really watching basketball, this is the best team that I have ever seen.
Cause I guess if I started in, like, 2021, I guess it would be this 2024 Celtics. They were very good.
[00:49:15] Speaker C: I'm gonna come back to that audio of you saying that's. That's pretty amazing. That may be the best rant that any of us have ever been on.
[00:49:24] Speaker B: Yeah, you're welcome, man.
[00:49:25] Speaker C: Thank you for that. Number three, this is where I have the 2013 Miami heat. I know Nick had them earlier. Have you said them yet, jimmy, you have. Where did you have them?
[00:49:33] Speaker B: I have them at five.
[00:49:35] Speaker C: Five? Yeah. I mean, I just think this LeBron is crazy, and I think matching up against the other teams I put behind them, LeBron in this year is good enough to beat any of those teams that I have them ranked ahead of on his own. And then, not to mention, he has two hall of famers with him, as well as a bunch of role players. Maybe, I guess three if you count Ray Allen, because that's a Hall of Famer.
A little bit out of his prime, but 66 and 16, they did have some struggles in the playoffs, especially in the finals. I mean, but I mean, they still came out on top of those, and they just dominated the regular season. I think it was the first team to ever win 17 games in a month. They went like 17 and one in March of that year. And then, not to mention, they were the one seed in the east by twelve games. Just a crazy dominant team.
[00:50:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Really?
Okay.
So for some reason, I only have one team left. I don't know how. I guess I double ranked somebody or something, but number one on my list was the.
Yeah, yeah. Number one on my list was the.
[00:50:42] Speaker B: Think it would be the 2018 Warriors?
I thought he said 2017.
[00:50:47] Speaker A: I said 2017. I said 28. I said all the. I don't know what's.
[00:50:51] Speaker B: I think it's one of the warriors teams, either 18 or 17.
[00:50:54] Speaker C: You said 15 warriors.
[00:50:55] Speaker A: I did say 2015 or I didn't say 20.
[00:50:57] Speaker B: Oh, you have the 2015 at one.
[00:50:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Yes, it is. Okay. So reason being 67 and 15, and then I think that Curry was the only all star on this, or. No, no. Clay was an all star, but Clay wasn't really that good. The reason he was an all star was just because there was a lot of injuries out west. Katie wasn't, wasn't an all star cause he was hurt. Dame Lillard was an all star cause he was hurt. There was a lot of players that were not all stars because they were hurt, and he was kind of just there. And whenever you look at the teams that they were able to beat in the Western Conference, like you said, the Pelicans Rockets, the Rockets had prime Dwight Howard, so you said they were going to face Harden. You know, they were kind of going to face Dwight Howard, so. And then they had to beat the grizzly. The prime Grizzlies. That was the best year of the Grizzlies was that 20, 1415 season with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph and everything, and they dominated them like it was nothing. Then when they got to the finals versus the Cavs, they went down two one, and then they came all the way back.
LeBron got shut down by iguodala that series, and I really think Curry should have been finals mvp, but they just gave it to eggy because I think, I guess just because he was able to lock down LeBron. But that's the best team in the last 15 years, in my opinion.
[00:52:10] Speaker B: Yeah. My two spot I have, the 2018 warriors, essentially, it's the same team as the 2017 one, but the 18 warriors had nine less wins. They went 58 and 24 the regular season. Yeah, exactly. So they were dealing with injuries, finished second in the west, and it was a pretty fun finals run. They had the spurs in the first round, who they beat, the pells in the second round, who they beat. And then that Western Conference finals against. This was the Chris Paul Rockets with Harden, wasn't it? Yeah, that was a very entertaining series, a controversial one at that, but they go on and beat them as well. And then they just molly whopped the Cavaliers and LeBron because Kevin Durant.
[00:52:49] Speaker C: Yeah, Kevin Durant.
[00:52:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
So that's why I have the warriors at that high spot, just because I think it's the best roster that I've ever seen. But 2017 is a little bit better. So we'll get to there, though.
[00:53:00] Speaker C: Yeah. And I have them at number two as well.
The only thing holding them back is really that, like, Steph missed a lot of time, both regular season and playoffs. Iggy missed some time in the playoffs as well.
But this Rockets team this year, though, I mean, had they won the championship, they're probably top five on this list.
[00:53:20] Speaker B: Yeah, it was a great.
[00:53:21] Speaker C: This Rockets team is pretty insane. They're by far the best team to challenge the warriors out of the west during their dynasty.
And that was really the NBA Finals that year. But that being said, even when Steph Curry was playing, he was amazing. And then Kevin Durant kind of took over. This whole playoff run, averaged 29. It was a beast.
[00:53:40] Speaker A: Just can't rely on James Harden in the playoffs. I mean, really, that's the reality.
[00:53:45] Speaker C: The all time meltdown performance.
[00:53:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:53:47] Speaker C: I mean, from both teams, rockets and Celtics. Celtics were up three two.
[00:53:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:53:51] Speaker C: He on the other side.
[00:53:53] Speaker A: He's by far other than DeMar DeRozan, the worst performing superstar in NBA history in the playoffs. Not, it's not, it's not close between them two, either.
[00:54:01] Speaker C: Who? Demar Derozan and harden.
[00:54:03] Speaker A: It's them, too. And then it's a huge gap.
[00:54:06] Speaker C: And Carmel. Yeah.
[00:54:09] Speaker B: So you're.
[00:54:11] Speaker A: I guess I double mentioned team.
[00:54:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I guess so.
Number one, me and Kaden, I believe, have the same team as the 2017 warriors. This team was just stupid. Good. Best team ever assembled, 67 and 15 in the regular season for first in the Western Conference. And then, God, that roster with Stephen Curry, Clay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green. And then I guess center was a little questionable. Throw Javale right there. But Javel was also very good. Then you have Zaza and Anderson Verjao backing him up. And then you have Matt Barnes and Livingston, Looney Macaw, Iggy, Dolly, Andre Iggy. I mean, how can I forget him? This was just a ridiculously good team, top to bottom. They lost one game in the entire playoffs against the Cavs. In the finals, they smoked trailblazers. They smoked the Jazz, they smoked the spurs. And then they dropped one game to Lebron. But they finished the. They finished their story there. So the best team ever assembled is the 2017 warriors. And I will stand on that.
[00:55:13] Speaker C: Yep. Yep. I agree with everything you said, so I'll keep it short. KD missed sometime in the regular season, but this was the healthiest at this core was altogether in a season. And it showed. I mean, 25 and 25 from Stephen KD in the regular season with 22 from clay and then ten, seven and seven from Draymond. It's just four hall of famers going to work all season. They dominated as well. I mean, 67 and 15. And then in the playoffs, like you said, swept everybody in the west and then lost the game to one of the greatest or like, you know, top two player of all time in his prime.
[00:55:48] Speaker B: So, yeah, top like four, but yeah, that warriors team was so good. They were literally first in every statistical category. Points per game, defensive rating, offensive rating, net rating. They were so good. So that warriors team, yeah, I mean.
[00:56:02] Speaker C: Primes of two top twelve players of all time.
[00:56:05] Speaker B: That'll do it unarguably. Yeah. But that's all we have for you guys this week. Thank you all for tuning in to WVUA 90.7 FM and the full court press podcast. Stay up to date. Follow us on Instagram tppodcast UA. See y'all next week.
[00:56:18] Speaker C: Peace.
[00:56:28] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
