B/R reviews the championship strength list of the past ten years: Park Lake No. 10, Young Thunder No. 2&, Universe Brave No. 1👀

(The original text was published on June 23, and the author is David Kenyon in the open-air stands. The content of the article does not represent the translator's views)

Although the Pacers showed tenacious fighting spirit on this year's finals stage, the Thunder still successfully won the first championship trophy in team history. Led by the newly promoted regular season MVP Alexander, this Thunder is the most dominant champion in recent years. How strong is this year's champion Thunder compared with the championship teams in the past decade? Although the ranking of this list is subjective, it comprehensively considers a number of factors: including performance in the regular season and playoffs, quality of playoff opponents, efficiency indicators, and personal honors of players.

10th place: The Lakers in the 2019-20 season are the most difficult championship team to evaluate. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season in mid-March 2020 was forced to be interrupted. Nearly five months later, the game restarted in Orlando’s closed park, which was like two very different seasons. Despite this, under the leadership of James and Davis, the Lakers still dominate the Western Conference with a record of 52 wins and 19 losses. Their playoff journey was relatively easy, winning 4-1 in the first three rounds of the series, and finally defeating the Heat 4-2 in the finals to win the championship. James and Davis, who were both selected for the first team of the All-A-Level Team, averaged more than 27 points per game during the playoffs. The Lakers' net efficiency value (second to last among the champions on this list) and the relatively relaxed path to postseason advancement make it the starting point for this list.

ninth place: In the 2020-21 season, the Bucks achieved the best record in the Eastern Conference in the 2018-19 season and the 2019-20 season, but failed to reach the finals twice, and finally got what they wanted for the third time. In the 2020-21 season, the Bucks led the league with an average of 120.1 points per game, ranking second in effective shooting percentage and tied for fourth in three-point shooting percentage. The team's core Antetokounmpo was selected for the first team of the best team and the best defensive team. After sweeping the Heat in the first round of the playoffs, the Bucks defeated the Nets and Hawks one after another, and finally defeated the Suns in the finals to win the championship. Although the Bucks slightly better than the Lakers with offensive efficiency, compared with other champion teams on the list with top defense in the league, offensive advantage alone is not enough to get a higher ranking.

8th place: The Warriors

in the 2021-22 season, Curry still maintained his peak level at this time, but the Warriors in the 2021-22 season actually won the championship by defending. The Warriors ended the regular season with the league's best defensive efficiency and second-low effective shooting percentage, ranking second in the league in terms of assists per game, and their defensive rebounding rate also ranks second in the league. The Warriors' championship journey was not smooth. After a fantastic start of 41 wins and 13 losses in the regular season, they only achieved a record of 12 wins and 16 losses in the final stage. The Warriors' offensive efficiency ranks only 17th in the league, and the net efficiency value of the regular season is also the lowest on this list. However, the Warriors recovered in time at a critical moment, winning four rounds of series with an overwhelming advantage, winning the O'Brien Cup for the fourth time in eight years.

No. 7: The Nuggets in the 2022-23 season were the year after Curry continued his legend, and Jokic replicated this dominance. The two-game MVP winner may have been fighting spirit after losing to Embiid in the MVP vote, or the experience of four years of playoff defeat inspired his determination to bring back the championship for the Nuggets. But more likely, the Serbian center just wanted to finish the ball and then go back to accompany his horse. With the assistance of a group of sharpshooters and space-type men, Jokic led the Nuggets to finish the regular season with the best effective shooting percentage in the league, and the outside firepower helped them make up for the mediocrity on the defensive end (53 wins and 29 losses that season). The Nuggets won the championship with a crushing attitude of 16 wins and 4 losses. They only played six games in one round of series, and finally solved the Heat in five games in the finals.

6th place: Raptors in the 2018-19 season

Although the Raptors in the 2018-19 season have superstars like Kawhi Leonard, their success actually depends on the depth of the lineup and overall efficiency. Lowry averaged 14.2 points and 8.7 assists per game in the regular season, while Siakam ushered in an explosive season and was awarded the fastest-progress player. Ibaka, Danny Green and Van Vreet averaged double-digit points per game, and Mark Gasol, who joined in the middle of the season, also played a key role. The team with 58 wins and 24 losses both ranked in the top five in the league in offense and defense efficiency. Leonard averaged 30.5 points per game during the playoffs, including a buzzer-beating final score against the No. 76ers in the tiebreak. Although the Raptors are the champion with the most losses in the playoffs (8 losses), they defeated the top seed of the Eastern Conference Bucks and the defending champion Warriors. This valuable winning process has made their ranking surpass the Warriors in the 2021-22 season.

Fifth place: How easy is it to surpass the legendary team in the 2017-18 season? However, we will talk about the Warriors in the 2016-17 season later. Although Durant's first season has set a very high benchmark, the Warriors in the 2017-18 season still delivered a dazzling answer. They led the league in offensively in terms of two-point shooting percentage, three-point shooting percentage, free throw shooting percentage, real shooting percentage, effective shooting percentage and average score. On the defensive end, the Warriors ranked first in the league in terms of blocks per game, and at the same time suppressed their opponent's shooting percentage to the third lowest in the league, and their performance was perfect! The Warriors suffered more injuries than in previous years this season, resulting in a "only" 58 wins and 24 losses in the regular season. In the Western Conference Finals, they even survived the Rockets' hands and won the battle of life and death twice. But when the critical moment came, Curry, Durant, Clay and Dream Green's Big Four combination still swept the Cavaliers to win the championship with a playoff record of 16 wins and 5 losses, showing the strongest form.

4th place: Two years after the 2023-24 season's Celtics failed in the 2022 Finals, the Celtics completed their redemption in 2024. This team, which has both offense and defense, has All-Star forwards Tatum and Jaylen Brown as the offensive core, and has two best defensive members, Ju Holiday and Derek White. The Celtics ended the regular season with a strong performance of 64 wins and 18 losses, and their offense and defense efficiency ranks among the top three in the league. This balanced strength is also unstoppable in the playoffs, with the Celtics achieving a total record of 16 wins and 3 losses and never losing more than one game in the series against the Heat, Cavaliers, Pacers and Mavericks. The Celtics won the 18th championship trophy in team history, which was also their first 16 years.

Third place: Cavaliers in the 2015-16 season

When the Warriors, who scored 73 wins in the season, were once considered to be likely to surpass the Bulls in the 1995-96 season and become the best team in NBA history, but the Cavaliers kept this assumption forever in the conjecture stage. Irving's quasi-winning three-pointer in the last moment of the tiebreak battle wrote a perfect footnote for the Cavaliers to fall behind the epic reversal of the Warriors 1-3. James even contributed 27 points and triple-double in the decisive game after G5 and G6 scored 41 points in a row. This legendary experience allowed the Cavaliers to earn extra points in the championship strength rankings. During the 57 wins and 25 losses in the regular season, although the Cavaliers did not lead the league in any major statistics, their offensive efficiency ranks third, and more than ten other data rank in the top ten in the league. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Pistons and the Hawks one after another, and after eliminating the Raptors six games, they finally completed a shocking reversal against the Warriors.

Second place: The Thunder

in the 2024-25 season has a dominant performance of 68 wins in the regular season. Only the championship can bring a perfect end to this fantasy season. The youngest team in the league has subverted traditional perceptions, with only two players, Caruso and Kenridge Williams, in the rotation, over 27 years old. The team's core members Alexander, Jaylen Williams and Holmgren, who was healthy, worked together to bring the Thunder their first championship in team history. The amazing wingspan advantage allows the Thunder to lead the league in three statistics: steals, forced turnovers and defensive efficiency. In addition, their offensive efficiency is also among the top three. In the playoffs, the Thunder swept the Grizzlies in the first round and narrowly defeated the Nuggets after seven fierce battles in the second round. After solving the Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals, they finally defeated the tenacious Pacers in seven games in the finals and held up the O'Brien Trophy.

No. 1: After the Warriors in the 2016-17 season were reversed by the Cavaliers in the 2016 Finals, the Warriors signed Durant in response. In short, this decision is effective. In the 67-15 regular season, the Warriors' offensive efficiency, effective shooting percentage, real shooting percentage, assists, blocks and steals all lead the league, and their defensive efficiency is second only to the 61-win Spurs. The most shocking thing is that the Warriors swept the Trail Blazers and Jazz one after another, and then easily swept the Spurs after Leonard was injured. Although they were won back by the Cavaliers in Game 4 of the Finals, they were only one game away from a complete playoff victory. Durant, Curry and Zhu Meng Green, who was selected for the best defensive lineup, were selected for the best team at the same time, creating this historically-level giant.

Original text: David Kenyon

Compiled by: Li Taibai