Random Absolute Greatest Single-Season NBA Teams (32 items)

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  (#1) 1995 - 1996 Chicago Bulls

  The dominance of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman was completely on display during the '95-'96 NBA season - a season that saw multiple records broken. Both Pippen and Jordan made the All-NBA First Team, and their strength carried them to the finals, where they bested the Seattle Supersonics, winning in six.
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  (#2) 1985 - 1986 Boston Celtics

  Coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Larry Bird's Celtics weren't about to lose another championship. Losing only one single game at home, Larry Bird took home the MVP and led his team to a 4-2 Finals victory over the Houston Rockets. Bill Walton, at the tail end of his career, won an NBA Sixth Man Award that season as well.
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  (#3) 1986 - 1987 Los Angeles Lakers

  It's showtime! Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were in prime form as they racked up a 65-win season, with Johnson winning the MVP title. Even with Abdul-Jabbar at the wise old basketball age of 40, he still brought it and helped the team win another NBA Championship against the Seattle Supersonics. These Lakers won the first two games and split the following four. Johnson also won the NBA Finals MVP award.
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  (#4) 1996 - 1997 Chicago Bulls

  Why mess with a winning formula? Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman, all in their prime, and coming off of an NBA Championship, figured that one just wasn't enough. Along with Steve Kerr (who won the 1997 NBA Three Point Shootout Championship), they broke the Utah Jazz, winning Game 5 - a game that went down in history as Jordan's infamous "Flu Game."
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  (#5) 2016-2017 Golden State Warriors

  After losing the NBA finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers despite their 3-1 lead, the Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant to their already-impressive roster. With a starting lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Durant, the Warriors ended the regular season with a 67-15 record. Becoming the first team in NBA playoff history to start 12-0, the Warriors once again faced off against LeBron James and the Cavs in the finals, but this time, the Warriors won 4-1, finishing with a 16-1 NBA playoff record. 
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  (#6) 2000 - 2001 Los Angeles Lakers

  With the dominant (yet volatile) duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant (the former taking home that year's League MVP award), the Lakers won an astounding 31 of their first 36 games of the season, finding themselves in the NBA Finals against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite losing a game in overtime, they went on to win four straight games to defeat the 76ers and win the championship.
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  (#7) 1971 - 1972 Los Angeles Lakers

  With 33 straight wins, the '71-'72 Lakeshow made for the longest winning streak in the history of the NBA. They also won 69 games in the regular season, a record at the time. With Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, this dominance led to avenging their 1970 Finals loss to the New York Knicks, beating them in five games.
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  (#8) 1991 - 1992 Chicago Bulls

  Basketball's most famous pair, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen already had an NBA Championship, but they weren't about to slow down. With Bill Cartwright and Horace Grant, they had a hall of fame team that took on the Portland Trailblazers and won the series 4-2.
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  (#9) 2015 - 2016 Golden State Warriors

  Even if the Warriors don't break the record for the most wins in a single season, held by the 1995 - 1996 Chicago Bulls, the fact they are in the conversation to do so secures them a spot on this list. Not only that, this is a team that changed the face of basketball. It's no longer a big man's league. It's a shooters league. And offenses and defenses around the league have to adapt or die all thanks to the Golden State Warriors.
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  (#10) 1982 - 1983 Philadelphia 76ers

  In a rare NBA Finals sweep, the 76ers rocked the Los Angeles Lakers to win the Championship without a single loss in the series. With the legendary Julius "Dr. J" Irving and Moses Malone holding down the team, they ended the season with a dominating 65 wins and an astounding 12-1 postseason record. Malone also won the League MVP award that year.
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  (#11) 1984 - 1985 Los Angeles Lakers

  What a team this was - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar alongside Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Bob McAdoo, and Jamaal Wilkes, hall of famers all. With a wrecking ball of 62 wins, they went on to play the Denver Nuggets in the Finals, having lost a seven-game heartbreaker to the Boston Celtics a season before. They won handily in five games.
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  (#12) 2012 - 2013 Miami Heat

  Right in the middle of the "Big 3" era, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and King James himself were dead set on winning the NBA Championship, which had eluded LeBron throughout his career thus far. Adding Ray Allen to the mix boosted them into a crushing 27-game winning streak and they ultimately faced the San Antonio Spurs, battling them to seven games before finally earning the NBA Championship.
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  (#13) 1988 - 1989 Detroit Pistons

  In the middle of the "Bad Boys" era - a nickname they earned by adapting a physical, defensive-oriented style of play - Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas, along with Dennis Rodman, ended the season with 63 wins, and beat a Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in seven incredible games.
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  (#14) 2013 - 2014 San Antonio Spurs

  The dominant Spurs - with Tim Duncan ever at the helm, assisted by Manu Ginóbili and Tony Parker - were ready for a trophy after a close loss to the Miami Heat in the previous season. They destroyed the competition, with a 62-win season, and faced the Heat a second time in the Finals. The Spurs only gave up one loss in the series, beating the Heat in five games.
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  (#15) 2007 - 2008 Boston Celtics

  The New "Big Three" was in effect, with Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce steamrolling the league,. They turned in a 66-16 record for the regular season, a literal 42-game improvement on the previous season. After a shaky start in the postseason, the trio had to face the dominant Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers. After some back and forth, the Celtics took the series home and for their winning game, blew out the Lakers 131-92, the most lopsided victory ever in NBA Championship history.
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  (#16) 2017-2018 Golden State Warriors

  Fresh off their 2016-2017 championship, the Golden State Warriors finished the regular season at second seed with a 58-24 record. After beating the Spurs and the Pelicans 4-1, the Warriors were almost eliminated by the Houston Rockets, but were able to win Game 7. For the fourth year in a row, they faced LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs in the finals, but they swept them 4-0, winning their sixth NBA Championship.
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  (#17) 2004 - 2005 San Antonio Spurs

  The "Big Three" of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginóbili were ready for another NBA crown. After having to deal with a Duncan ankle injury, the Spurs still managed a 59-win regular season, just as Duncan returned to play. They then blasted through the postseason, and ended up in the NBA Finals against the previous season's champion, the Detroit Pistons. With a brutal seven game series, Duncan led the team to their third championship in seven years.
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  (#18) 2002 - 2003 San Antonio Spurs

  In the legendary David Robinson's final season,  the team was in a period of transition, playing in a brand spanking new SBC Center. Tony Parker took the starting point guard job, with Steve Kerr, Steve Smith, and company rounding out the roster. They ended the season tied for the best record in the NBA with 60 wins and Tim Duncan took home his second straight MVP award. To top it all off, the Spurs got Robinson one last championship, beating the New Jersey Nets in six games.
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  (#19) 2014 - 2015 Golden State Warriors

  Anyone on Twitter in 2016 knows the insanity that has been Steph Curry, but he wasn't amazing out of nowhere, having nabbed the MVP award for the '14-'15 season. Curry also broke his own record for three pointers in a single season with 286, combining with Klay Thompson for 525 total treys. This season's Warriors went on to win the Championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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  (#20) 1971 - 1972 Milwaukee Bucks

  Right in the middle of the Lew Alcindor era (it was just before this season began that he changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), the Bucks acquired Oscar Robertson and was able to post another 60-win season. They dominated the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs, but lost to the Lakers in the Eastern finals.
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  (#21) 1998 - 1999 San Antonio Spurs

  With the dominance of Tim Duncan and a shortened 50-game NBA season (due to the lockout), the Spurs racked up an NBA-best 37 wins in the regular season and lost only one game in the postseason, leading up to the NBA Finals. There, they faced the New York Knicks, beating them in five games. Duncan earned an NBA Finals MVP award for his efforts.
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  (#22) 1966 - 1967 Philadelphia 76ers

  With an incredible starting record of 46-4, and a final season record of 68-13, Wilt Chamberlain took the reins of his team, alongside Billy Cunningham and Hal Greer. After defeating the Boston Celtics in the semifinals, ending Boston's dominant run, the 76ers went on to beat the Golden State Warriors in six games.
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  (#23) 2008 - 2009 Los Angeles Lakers

  Kobe Bryant was in full control of his team and was determined to bring home the Championship. He led his team to a 65-win regular season, and beat the Orlando Magic in five games. For the first time in his career, Bryant earned the NBA Finals MVP award.
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  (#24) 1997 - 1998 Utah Jazz

  In the final years of the dominant pairing of Karl Malone and John Stockton (the latter having just come back from a knee injury), the Jazz were once again a strong team. Finishing with an incredible 62-8 regular season record, they swept the Los Angeles Lakers to get to the NBA Finals. The only problem? They were up against another great team - the '97-'98 Chicago Bulls, and they lost the Finals.
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  (#25) 1972 - 1973 New York Knicks

  After losing to the Lakers 4-1 in the previous season's NBA Finals, the Knicks were prepared for revenge. With Jerry Lucas, Phil Jackson, Reed Willis, and Dave DeBusschere, they ended their season with a dominant 57 wins and, with easy wins in the postseason, faced their rival Lakers once again. This time, the tables were turned, and the Knicks won 4-1 - the same record as the previous season's series, with the Knicks on the other side of the equation.
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  (#26) 1996 - 1997 Utah Jazz

  Karl Malone took home the MVP award this season and - along with John Stockton - led the team (coached by Jerry Sloan) to a dominant 64-win season. With multiple dramatic playoff series - two of which ended with buzzer beaters that lifted them to the Finals - they had to face the Chicago Bulls, led by Jordan. Though they lost 4-2, it's tough to say they aren't in the conversation when they only lost to another one of the greatest teams of all time.
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  (#27) 2008 - 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers

  LeBron James was settling into his role as captain of the Cavaliers, and led his team to dominance during this season, breaking an amazing number of records, including becoming the first team in the franchise to ever start the season with 10 straight wins. LeBron seemed unstoppable until they faced the Orlando Magic in the conference finals. It was the end of LeBron's season but would not be the last time he made the postseason.
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  (#28) 2009 - 2010 Orlando Magic

  Two words: Dwight Howard. Despite losing seven of their first 10 games in January, they bounced back to win 23 of their last 28 games, making for a 59-win regular season. This Magic team is one of the only teams to have beaten every single team in the NBA at least once in a single season. Though they lost in the conference finals to the Boston Celtics, their team strength proved to be some of the best in the game.

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