Top 10 Best Teams In NBA History | All-Time Ranking

August 16, 2021 By Sourav

The National Basketball Association or NBA was founded in 1946. Since then, it has established itself as one of the most important sports leagues in America, especially in the United States and Canada, where sports enthusiasts follow and play basketball at school, college, and professional levels to a large extent. And this league has some of the best teams in the NBA.

Best Teams in NBA History | 2021 Updates

In fact, basketball has acted as social glue in American society and has been the foundation of sportsman spirit, equality, fair play, etc. among them. Over a period of more than half a century, the NBA has seen the participation of some of the greatest basketball players, who represent various teams. Let us take a look at the Top 10 best teams in NBA History.

Boston Celtics (1985–86)

NBA franchise Boston Celtics achieved a 67–15 record with a winning average of .817 in the 1985–86 season of the National Basketball Association and is inducted in the top place in our list of top 10 best teams in NBA history.

The squad members of the team in the 1985–86 NBA season were Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Rick Carlisle, Dennis Johnson, Greg Kite, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Jerry Sichting, David Thirdkill, Sam Vincent, Bill Walton, Scott Wedman, and Sly Williams.

Five members of that season’s Boston Celtics team, McHale, Bird, Parish, Walton, and Johnson, were inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame. 4 players, McHale, Bird, Parish, and Walton were also listed among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of the NBA.

K. C. Jones managed the Boston Celtics in the 1985–86 NBA Season.

Los Angeles Lakers (1971–72)

NBA franchise Los Angeles Lakers achieved 69–13 records with a winning average of .841 in the 1971–72 season of the National Basketball Association and are inducted in the second place in our list of top 10 best teams in NBA history.

The squad members of the team in the 1971–72 NBA season were Wilt Chamberlain, Jim Cleamons, LeRoy Ellis, Keith Erickson, Gail Goodrich, Happy Hairston, Jim McMillian, Pat Riley, Flynn Robinson, John Trapp, and Jerry West.

Four members of that season’s Los Angeles Lakers team, Goodrich, West, Chamberlain, and Baylor, were inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

3 players, West, Chamberlain, and Baylor, were also listed among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of the NBA. Coach Bill Sharman managed the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1971–72 NBA Season.

Boston Celtics (1964–65)

Boston Celtics achieved a 62–18 record with a winning average of .775 in the 1964–65 season of NBA. They deserve the third place in our list of best teams in NBA history.

The team in 1964–65 NBA season consisted of Ron Bonham, Mel Counts, John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, Willie Naulls, Bevo Nordmann, Bill Russell, Tom Sanders, Larry Siegfried, John Thompson, and Gerry Ward.

Five members, K. Jones, S. Jones, Heinsohn, Russell, and Havlicek, achieved their places in the Basketball Hall Of Fame. Three players, S. Jones, Russell, and Havlicek, also hold their places among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of the NBA.

Legendary manager Red Auerbach managed the Boston Celtics in the 1964–65 NBA Season.

Los Angeles Lakers (1986–87)

NBA franchise Los Angeles Lakers achieved a 65–17 record with a winning average of .793 in the 1986–87 season. They deserve the fourth place in our list of the top 10 best teams in NBA history.

That team of the 1986–87 NBA season consisted of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adrian Branch, Frank Brickowski, Michael Cooper, A. C. Green, Magic Johnson, Wes Matthews, Kurt Rambis, Mike Smrek, Byron Scott, Billy Thompson, Mychal Thompson, and James Worthy.

Three members of that season’s team, Johnson, Worthy, and Abdul-Jabbar, made it to the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

They also secured their places among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of the NBA. Coach Pat Riley managed the Los Angeles Lakers team in the 1986–87 NBA Season.

Philadelphia 76ers (1966–67)

Philadelphia 76ers achieved a 68–13 record with a winning average of .840 in the 1966–67 season of the NBA. They deserve the fifth place in our list of the top 10 best teams in NBA history.

The team in the 1966–67 NBA season consisted of Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Costello, Billy Cunningham, Dave Gambee, Hal Greer, Matt Guokas, Luke Jackson, Wali Jones, Bill Melchionni, Chet Walker, and Bob Weiss.

Four members, Greer, Chamberlain, Cunningham, and Walker, achieved their place in the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

Three players, Greer, Chamberlain, and Cunningham, hold their places among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of the NBA. Coach Alex Hannum managed the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1966–67 NBA Season.

New York Knicks (1969–70)

NBA franchise New York Knicks achieved a 60–22 record with a winning average of .732 in the 1969–70 season. They deserve the sixth place in our list of top 10 teams in NBA history.

The team in the 1969–70 NBA season consisted of Dick Barnett, Nate Bowman, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, Bill Hosket, Don May, Willis Reed, Mike Riordan, Cazzie Russell, Dave Stallworth, and John Warren.

Four members of that team, Frazier, Bradley, DeBusschere, and Reed, achieved their place in the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

Three players, Frazier, DeBusschere, and Reed, also hold their places among the 50 Greatest Players in the NBA All-Time list. Coach Red Holzman managed the New York Knicks in the 1969–70 NBA Season.

Chicago Bulls (1995–96)

NBA franchise Chicago Bulls achieved a 72–10 record with a winning average of .878 in the 1995–96 season of NBA. They surely deserve the seventh place in our list of the top 10 best teams in NBA history.

The squad members of the team in 1995–96 NBA season consisted of Randy Brown, Jud Buechler, Jason Caffey, James Edwards, Jack Haley, Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, Toni Kukoc, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, John Salley, Dickey Simpkins, and Bill Wennington.

Three members of that team, Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman, achieved their places in the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

Two players, Jordan and Pippen, also hold their places among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of NBA. Coach Phil Jackson managed the Chicago Bulls in the 1995–96 NBA Season.

Chicago Bulls (1991–92)

NBA franchise Chicago Bulls achieved a 67–15 record with a winning average of .817 in the 1991–92 season of NBA. He surely deserves the eighth place in our list of top 10 teams in NBA history.

The squad members of the team in the 1991–92 NBA season were B. J. Armstrong, Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, Bob Hansen, Craig Hodges, Dennis Hopson, Michael Jordan, Stacey King, Cliff Levingston, Chuck Nevitt, John Paxson, Will Perdue, Scottie Pippen, Mark Randall, Rory Sparrow, and Scott Williams.

Two members of that season’s Chicago Bulls team, Jordan, and Pippen were inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

2 players, Jordan and Pippen, were also listed among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of NBA. Coach Phil Jackson managed the Chicago Bulls in the 1991–92 NBA Season.

Philadelphia 76ers (1982–83)

NBA franchise Philadelphia 76ers achieved a 65–17 record. They had a winning average of .793 in the 1982–83 season of the National Basketball Association. Besides, they hold the ninth place in our list of the top 10 best teams in NBA history.

The squad members of the team in 1982–83 NBA season consisted of J. J. Anderson, Maurice Cheeks, Earl Cureton, Franklin Edwards, Julius Erving, Marc Iavaroni, Clemon Johnson, Reggie Johnson, Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, Mark McNamara, Clint Richardson, Russ Schoene, and Andrew Toney.

Two members of that season’s Philadelphia 76ers team, Erving, and Malone, achieved their place in the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

They also secured their places among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of the NBA. Coach Billy Cunningham managed the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1982–83 NBA Season.

Detroit Pistons (1988–89)

NBA franchise Detroit Pistons achieved 63–19 records with a winning average of .768 in the 1988–89 season of NBA. And, they deserve the tenth place in our list of top 10 teams in NBA history.

The squad members of the team in 1988–89 NBA season were Mark Aguirre, Adrian Dantley, Darryl Dawkins, Fennis Dembo, Joe Dumars, James Edwards, Steve Harris, Vinnie Johnson, Bill Laimbeer, John Long, Rick Mahorn, Pace Mannion, Dennis Rodman, Jim Rowinski, John Salley, Isiah Thomas, and Micheal Williams.

Four members of the Detroit Pistons team, Thomas, Dumars, Dantley, and Rodman, achieved their place in the Basketball Hall Of Fame.

Thomas also secured his place among the 50 Greatest Players in the All-Time list of the NBA. Coach Chuck Daly managed the Detroit Pistons team in the 1988–89 NBA Season.

Final Words

Today, the NBA made its name one of the greatest brands in the world of sports. Besides, each of the NBA teams now has become a franchise. The young players consider it a privilege to become associated with these teams. And, the patrons of basketball owe great allegiance to the teams and support them wholeheartedly at every match. So these were the top 10 teams in NBA history. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments down below.