The Golden State Warriors accomplished something special. They were NBA champions, not one, but two years in a row. However, the last time they did so was during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. They’ve been considered the newest NBA Dynasty. The NBA hasn’t seen back-to-back champions since. The Raptors won in 2019, the Lakers in 2020, the Bucks in 2021, the Warriors in 2022, and the Nuggets in 2023. When was the last time this happened? In the 70s.
Let’s define what an NBA dynasty is. For the sake of this article, it’s a team that wins three or more championships in a decade, back-to-back or not. Three is the magic number in this argument.
NBA Champions In the 70s
The ’70s didn’t have an NBA dynasty whatsoever that won back-to-back championships. Let’s look at the list of champions in the 70s.
1970- Knicks
1971- Bucks
1972- Lakers
1973- Knicks
1974- Celtics
1975- Warriors
1976- Celtics
1977- Trailblazers
1978- Bullets (now the modern-day Warriors)
1979- SuperSonics (now the modern-day Thunder)
This trend ended in the 80s as the Lakers and Celtics won eight of the ten championships in the 80s. Sure, we got the Celtics winning two titles in the ’70s, but they only went to the finals twice and won both times.
The Lakers appeared three times against the Knicks in all three finals appearances. They were 1-2 against New York.
Milwaukee went twice but were 1-1 as they lost to Boston in 1974. The Bullets and Supersonics went back-to-back years against each other, but winning one year and losing the next to each other.
The ’70s didn’t have one team where fans would say, “They’re running the league.” The ’80s had the Lakers and Celtics. Chicago ran the ’90s. The Lakers and Spurs ran the 2000s. Golden State and the Heat ran the 2010s. Yes, I know Miami won two, and they’re not considered a dynasty in my eyes, but they went to four straight NBA finals. So did the Cavaliers with the help of their hometown hero, LeBron James.
Who Will Be The Next NBA Dynasty?
Denver could be the next back-to-back NBA champions. Jokic is looking like the man to beat for many years. The Denver Nuggets is a balanced team with most of their players in their prime.
They do have some competition, however. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics have done a lot of winning these past few years, except for winning the big one. It seems imminent that the Celtics will win a title this decade. The pick-ups of Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, which they got both for “a pack of Cool Blue Doritos and a pack of Camel Crushes,” are low-risk, high-reward additions.
The Thunder might be the next dynasty since they have a very young core that plays great. Only time will tell.
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