When judging an NBA team’s greatness, many factors come into play: level of competition, the amount of and length of winning streaks and weighing in whether the team was a team, or just full of superstars.
Over the years, the NBA has been gifted with an immense amount of talent and highly competitive athletes, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
Players like Jordan, Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant or Larry Bird were all significant parts within their teams, and each superstar came through when his teammates needed him. But it was an entire team, not just one individual, that played the biggest part in a 72-win season or 33-game winning streak.
While LeBron James and Co. are chasing history, let’s take a look back at the reigning top 10 teams of all time — and wonder whether this year’s Miami Heat could soon join their ranks.