WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 You know, usually when we crack open a new source 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:04.940 file for a deep dive, we're looking for patterns. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:07.639 We want to see some sort of consistency. Right. 00:00:07.740 --> 00:00:11.080 But I have to say, looking at this massive spreadsheet 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:13.699 of NBA history, I mean, we have data going all 00:00:13.699 --> 00:00:16.559 the way back to 1947. The first thing that hits 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:19.320 you isn't the pattern. No. It's the disruption. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:21.420 It's the thing at the very, very bottom that 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:23.780 just... breaks the mold. You're talking about 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:27.460 the entry for June 2025. Exactly. The ink is 00:00:27.460 --> 00:00:30.199 it's barely dry on this. We have to start right 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:33.340 there because the 2025 NBA finals didn't just 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:35.700 give us a champion. No it felt like it felt like 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:37.880 a validation of something bigger. It did. It 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:40.399 validated a completely different way of building 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:44.100 a team. We are talking of course about the Oklahoma 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:46.820 City Thunder. And it is a massive moment for 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:48.439 the league. And you're right. It's not just that 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:51.299 they won but how they won. This wasn't a team 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:53.420 bought in free agency. Not at all. This wasn't 00:00:53.420 --> 00:00:55.799 a super team cobbled together over a single summer. 00:00:56.420 --> 00:01:00.920 This was a harvest. A harvest. Oh, I like that. 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:04.299 That's good. Because for years, we watched... 00:01:05.540 --> 00:01:08.219 OKC horde draft picks like they were preparing 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:10.260 for the apocalypse. Right. They were a running 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:12.760 joke. They were. They were the punchline of every 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:15.159 trade deadline. But then, you know, you fast 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:18.260 forward to 2025 and you have coach Mark Danielle 00:01:18.260 --> 00:01:21.560 orchestrating this this seven game masterpiece 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:24.000 against the Indiana Pacers. And that series was 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.959 a grind. I mean, four or three. It came down 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:29.219 to the absolute wire. Which makes it even sweeter 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:31.099 for them, doesn't it? You look at the finals 00:01:31.099 --> 00:01:34.579 MVP, Shai Gilchrist Alexander. He's. in the face 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:37.260 of this whole long game strategy. Watching him 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:39.719 lift that trophy, it really did feel like a signal 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:42.599 that the quick fix era of the NBA might be over. 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:44.519 It felt like a turning point. But here's the 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:46.579 kicker. And this is where the history gets messy. 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:49.140 This is technically the franchise's first title 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:53.019 since 1979. Right. And that is a wound that hasn't 00:01:53.019 --> 00:01:55.000 quite healed up in the Pacific Northwest. Not 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:56.799 even a little bit. If you trace the lineage, 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.780 which, you know, we have to do to be accurate, 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:02.560 the 1979 championship belongs to the Seattle 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:05.250 Supersonics. That's right. The franchise relocated 00:02:05.250 --> 00:02:08.550 to Oklahoma City in 2008. So in the record books, 00:02:08.729 --> 00:02:11.330 this is technically title number two. But for 00:02:11.330 --> 00:02:14.770 the city of Oklahoma City, for those fans, it's 00:02:14.770 --> 00:02:16.590 number one. Oh, absolutely. It's their first. 00:02:16.770 --> 00:02:19.550 It's a complicated legacy. But that's sort of 00:02:19.550 --> 00:02:21.349 the mission for today, right? We aren't just 00:02:21.349 --> 00:02:23.389 reading a list of winners from a spreadsheet. 00:02:23.629 --> 00:02:25.710 No, anyone can do that. We want to unpack the 00:02:25.710 --> 00:02:28.580 how and the why. We want to understand why the 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:31.199 league spent like 50 years being dominated by 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:34.259 just two teams, why the 90s were basically a 00:02:34.259 --> 00:02:37.340 dictatorship and why the 2020s have turned into 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:40.560 absolute chaos. Chaos is the right word. I mean, 00:02:40.580 --> 00:02:42.219 if you look at the landscape of winners from 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:46.199 1947 all the way to 2025, it really looks like 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:48.159 a mountain range. OK, explain that. You have 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:50.460 two massive peaks that just tower over everything, 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:52.979 a few smaller hills scattered around and then 00:02:52.979 --> 00:02:55.699 a whole lot of, you know, flat land where teams 00:02:55.699 --> 00:02:57.439 are just trying to survive. Let's talk about 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.280 those peaks, because if you're a fan of, say, 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.400 the Atlanta Hawks or the Sacramento Kings, looking 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:04.400 at this chart has got to be a little depressing. 00:03:04.580 --> 00:03:07.180 Oh, it's brutal. The league is so incredibly 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:10.080 top heavy. It is the definition of an oligopoly. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:13.699 If you just, you know, count the rings, the Boston 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:15.419 Celtics are standing right at the summit. With 00:03:15.419 --> 00:03:18.780 their win in 2024, just a year before this thunder 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:24.060 victory, they reached 18 championships. 18. That's 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:26.240 a number that doesn't even feel real. 18. That 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.960 is a ridiculous number. And the Lakers are staring 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:31.539 right at their backs. Right at them. The Los 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.360 Angeles Lakers, and we're including their time 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:36.520 in Minneapolis here, which is important, they 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.379 have 17 titles. Okay, so do the math on that 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:43.400 for me. So 35 championships shared between just 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:46.699 two franchises. 35. We've had, what, roughly 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:49.539 80 seasons of this league? Just about. That means 00:03:49.539 --> 00:03:54.099 nearly 45 % of NBA history ends with either green 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:56.639 confetti or purple and gold confetti falling 00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:59.219 from the rafters. That is staggering. It really 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:01.659 is. It distorts the entire perception of success 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:04.389 in the NBA. How so? Well, in other sports, you 00:04:04.389 --> 00:04:06.810 know, like the NFL or MLB, you have dynasties, 00:04:06.810 --> 00:04:09.590 sure. But you don't have two teams that essentially 00:04:09.590 --> 00:04:11.990 own half the history of the entire sport. Right. 00:04:12.069 --> 00:04:14.310 The Packers don't have 18 Super Bowls. Exactly. 00:04:14.530 --> 00:04:18.069 And it also, you know, it skews the conference 00:04:18.069 --> 00:04:22.189 balance. As of 2025, the Eastern Conference has 00:04:22.189 --> 00:04:25.600 41 titles to the West's 38. Which feels wrong, 00:04:25.660 --> 00:04:27.199 doesn't it? I mean, it feels like for the last 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:30.319 25 years, the West has been the dominant conference. 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:32.779 The Wild West, right? It has been. For most of 00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:34.519 the 21st century, the West has been a tougher 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:38.779 road. But history is long. The East banked a 00:04:38.779 --> 00:04:41.339 massive surplus of championships, mostly in the 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:43.319 60s and 90s, that the West is still trying to 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:45.680 catch up to. And there's a weird clerical note 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.220 about that West -East split. involving the year 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:51.579 1950, isn't there? Oh, the 1950 season is a headache 00:04:51.579 --> 00:04:53.680 for historians. I mean, the Minneapolis Lakers 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:55.399 won, but they were technically playing in the 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:57.459 Central Division that year. The Central Division, 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:00.060 which doesn't exist anymore. No, it was a short 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:02.639 -lived experiment. But for the sake of the East 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.240 versus West tally, statisticians usually just, 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:08.220 you know, lump that Lakers win in with the West 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:09.860 to keep the accounting clean. That's a little 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:12.339 asterisk. It's a definite asterisk. We love a 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:14.810 good asterisk. Okay, so... We've established 00:05:14.810 --> 00:05:18.610 the Titans, Celtics 18, Lakers 17. But we need 00:05:18.610 --> 00:05:21.370 to zoom in on how this happened, because it wasn't 00:05:21.370 --> 00:05:23.490 a polite taking of turns, was it? Oh, not at 00:05:23.490 --> 00:05:26.430 all. This was a war. It was the rivalry that 00:05:26.430 --> 00:05:28.490 built the league. Absolutely. The Celtics and 00:05:28.490 --> 00:05:31.370 Lakers have met in the NBA Finals a staggering... 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:34.259 Twelve times. Twelve. To give you some context, 00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:36.980 the next most frequent matchup is the Lakers 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.379 versus the Sixers. And that's only happened six 00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:42.879 times. So Celtics -Lakers is literally double 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:45.519 the next closest rivalry. Double. But when you 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:47.500 look at the head -to -head record in the finals. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:50.779 It's not really a rivalry, is it? It's a beatdown. 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:54.139 It's pretty lopsided, yes. The Celtics lead the 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:57.040 finals head -to -head 9 -3. Oof. If I'm a Lakers 00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:58.720 fan, I'm looking at that number and feeling a 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:00.920 little sick. Nine losses to the same team on 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:03.360 the biggest stage. Well, the pain is concentrated. 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:05.920 It really is. If you look at the timeline, the 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:08.220 1960s were essentially a horror movie for Los 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:10.420 Angeles. A horror movie. They played the Celtics 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:12.779 in the finals seven times in that decade alone. 00:06:13.149 --> 00:06:17.949 1959, 62, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69. Yeah. Seven times 00:06:17.949 --> 00:06:21.209 in 10 years. That is an absurd frequency. You 00:06:21.209 --> 00:06:23.029 can't get away from them. And the Celtics won 00:06:23.029 --> 00:06:26.209 every single one. Wait, wait. All seven. All 00:06:26.209 --> 00:06:28.970 seven. That is psychological torture. I mean, 00:06:28.990 --> 00:06:31.370 imagine being Jerry West. Imagine being Elgin 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:35.430 Baylor. Yeah. You are objectively top tier Hall 00:06:35.430 --> 00:06:37.649 of Fame talent. You do everything right. You 00:06:37.649 --> 00:06:40.910 get to the final seven times. Yeah. And you run 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:43.639 into Bill Russell. Every single time. It's the 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.139 Sisyphus myth brought to life on a basketball 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:49.319 court. I mean, pushing the boulder up the hill 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:51.800 all year long just to have it roll back down 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:54.199 on you in June. And it was always the same story. 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:56.480 It was. No matter how well the Lakers played, 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:58.720 the Celtics, specifically Bill Russell's defense 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.180 and Red Auerbach's system, they just always had 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:03.139 an answer. But the Lakers did eventually punch 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:05.100 back. The 80s were different. That was the Magic 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:07.860 versus Bird era. Exactly. The 1980s saved the 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:09.680 rivalry. It made it a real rivalry. They met 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:12.990 three times. Right. The Celtics won in 84, the 00:07:12.990 --> 00:07:15.829 famous Heat game in Boston. But the Lakers finally 00:07:15.829 --> 00:07:17.990 exercised their demons. They finally got over 00:07:17.990 --> 00:07:20.230 the hump. They won in 1985 and then again in 00:07:20.230 --> 00:07:22.949 1987. So they went two for three in the 80s. 00:07:23.009 --> 00:07:25.110 That's respectable. It evens things out a little 00:07:25.110 --> 00:07:26.990 bit. It was. It balanced the narrative. And then 00:07:26.990 --> 00:07:28.990 in the modern era, they split. That's right. 00:07:29.430 --> 00:07:32.610 Celtics won in 2008 with the big three, Garnett, 00:07:32.629 --> 00:07:35.089 Pierce, Allen. And then the Lakers got their 00:07:35.089 --> 00:07:38.430 revenge in 2010 with Kobe and Pau Gasol. That 00:07:38.430 --> 00:07:41.589 2010 series was a grinder, a real rock fight. 00:07:41.730 --> 00:07:44.449 But I want to go back to 1969 for a second. Okay. 00:07:44.490 --> 00:07:46.170 Because you mentioned the Lakers lost again that 00:07:46.170 --> 00:07:48.550 year. But there is a detail in the source material 00:07:48.550 --> 00:07:51.629 that just screams tragedy. You're looking at 00:07:51.629 --> 00:07:54.790 the italics in the MVP column. I am. The losing 00:07:54.790 --> 00:07:57.750 MVP. This is just an incredible story. This is 00:07:57.750 --> 00:07:59.589 one of the most fascinating anomalies in all 00:07:59.589 --> 00:08:02.610 of sports history. So 1969 was the first year 00:08:02.610 --> 00:08:05.730 the NBA decided to award a finals MVP trophy. 00:08:05.949 --> 00:08:08.490 The very first one. The very first one. The series 00:08:08.490 --> 00:08:11.089 goes to seven games. The Lakers have a super 00:08:11.089 --> 00:08:13.689 team. They had acquired Wilt Chamberlain to pair 00:08:13.689 --> 00:08:15.850 with Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. They were the 00:08:15.850 --> 00:08:18.170 favorites. Overwhelming favorites. Game seven 00:08:18.170 --> 00:08:21.069 was in L .A. at the Forum. They even had balloons 00:08:21.069 --> 00:08:23.170 in the rafters ready to drop for the victory 00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:26.410 celebration. Oh, the hubris. Never have the balloons 00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:29.230 in the rafters. Never. The Celtics saw the balloons 00:08:29.230 --> 00:08:32.009 and apparently got furious. They used it as motivation. 00:08:32.210 --> 00:08:35.429 They won the game 108 -106. But here's the thing. 00:08:35.490 --> 00:08:38.669 Yeah. Jerry West played so incredibly well. He 00:08:38.669 --> 00:08:41.490 averaged nearly 38 points per game in that series. 00:08:41.690 --> 00:08:45.250 He had a 40 -point triple -double in Game 7 that 00:08:45.250 --> 00:08:47.750 the voters couldn't bring themselves to give 00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:50.190 the MVP to a Celtic. So they gave it to West. 00:08:50.490 --> 00:08:52.610 They gave it to West on the losing team. The 00:08:52.610 --> 00:08:55.190 only time in NDA history a player on the losing 00:08:55.190 --> 00:08:58.370 team has won finals MVP. The only time. And it 00:08:58.370 --> 00:09:01.690 remains this... Ultimate consolation prize. It's 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:04.070 like, sorry we ruined your dream and wasted your 00:09:04.070 --> 00:09:05.809 prime, but here's a trophy for your troubles. 00:09:06.009 --> 00:09:09.129 Brutal. Absolute brutality. But, you know, that 00:09:09.129 --> 00:09:12.230 dominance by the Celtics. It brings us to our 00:09:12.230 --> 00:09:14.450 next big theme. We have to talk about what makes 00:09:14.450 --> 00:09:17.129 a dynasty. Right. Anatomy of a dynasty. Because 00:09:17.129 --> 00:09:19.830 the Celtics of the 60s didn't just beat the Lakers. 00:09:19.870 --> 00:09:22.450 They beat everybody. They broke the math of the 00:09:22.450 --> 00:09:24.590 league. I mean, if you look at the consecutive 00:09:24.590 --> 00:09:27.529 championships section of our data, there is a 00:09:27.529 --> 00:09:29.539 number that just looks like a typo. Yeah, it 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:32.320 doesn't seem real. The Boston Celtics won eight 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:36.799 consecutive titles from 1959 to 1966. Eight. 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:38.740 And I could eat a row. I mean, in the modern 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:41.120 NBA, winning two in a row is considered almost 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:43.440 impossible. A three -peat is legendary. Right. 00:09:43.539 --> 00:09:46.179 Three is the stuff of legend. Eight is just, 00:09:46.220 --> 00:09:49.940 it's greedy. It's a monopoly. And what's so incredible 00:09:49.940 --> 00:09:52.960 is the transition within the dynasty. They started 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.019 with Red Auerbach coaching. But by the end of 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:58.730 the run. Bill Russell was the player coach. He 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:01.149 was coaching the team while playing. While playing 00:10:01.149 --> 00:10:03.909 and grabbing 20 rebounds a game. Yeah. They won 00:10:03.909 --> 00:10:06.350 again in 68 and 69 with Russell as the coach 00:10:06.350 --> 00:10:08.470 on the floor. So let me get this straight. Between 00:10:08.470 --> 00:10:13.429 1957 and 1969, a 13 -year span, they won 11 titles. 00:10:13.809 --> 00:10:16.549 11 in 13 years. Correct. That's not a dynasty. 00:10:16.669 --> 00:10:18.529 That's an empire. But they weren't technically 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:20.490 the first dynasty, right? If we go way back, 00:10:20.529 --> 00:10:22.409 back to the black and white footage days. Right. 00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:25.350 Minneapolis was doing work before Russell even 00:10:25.350 --> 00:10:27.169 showed up in the league. We have to give credit 00:10:27.169 --> 00:10:29.789 where credit is due. The Minneapolis Lakers. 00:10:29.970 --> 00:10:33.049 George Mikan was the first true superstar of 00:10:33.049 --> 00:10:35.169 the league. The first real giant. The original 00:10:35.169 --> 00:10:38.470 big man. He was. And they pulled off the league's 00:10:38.470 --> 00:10:42.960 very first three -peat from 1952 to 1954. And 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.360 they had won in 49 and 50 before that, right? 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:48.139 Uh -huh. So five titles in six years. A truly 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:50.600 dominant run. Now, you touched on 1950 earlier 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:52.700 as being a weird year. I want to dig into that. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:55.600 You said they were in the Central Division. How 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.799 did the playoffs even work with three divisions? 00:10:57.980 --> 00:11:00.899 It was a logistical nightmare. I mean, math is 00:11:00.899 --> 00:11:03.039 stubborn, right? You can't have a normal four 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:05.720 -team semifinal bracket when you have three division 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:08.379 winners. That's an odd number. So the league, 00:11:08.580 --> 00:11:12.320 in its... Infinite wisdom at the time decided 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:14.500 that the team with the best regular season record 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:16.940 would get a bye straight to the finals. A free 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:18.960 pass to the finals? You just get to skip around? 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:22.259 A free pass. That spot went to the Syracuse Nationals, 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:25.340 so they got to sit at home and rest. Meanwhile, 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:28.019 the Minneapolis Lakers, who won the Central, 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:30.799 had to play a semi -final series against the 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.679 Western champs, the Anderson Packers. Wait, the 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:36.860 Anderson Packers? The Anderson Packers, a team 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:39.399 that doesn't exist anymore. That seems incredibly 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:41.240 unfair. The Lakers have to grind out a whole 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:43.679 series while Syracuse is just chilling. It was 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:46.179 totally unfair, but it didn't matter. The Lakers 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:48.220 beat Anderson, and then they marched into the 00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:50.600 finals and beat their well -rested Syracuse team 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:53.980 4 -2. Wow. It just goes to show how dominant 00:11:53.980 --> 00:11:56.519 Mikan was. The format was basically rigged against 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:58.700 them, and they still won the whole thing. That's 00:11:58.700 --> 00:12:02.200 amazing. Okay, so we have the Mikan era. We have 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:05.139 the Russell era. But for a huge chunk of our 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:07.759 listeners, the word dynasty means one thing. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.200 Oh, yeah. It means red jerseys. It means the 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:13.460 Alan Parsons Project intro music. And it means 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:17.240 the 1990s. The Chicago Bulls. The double three 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:19.419 -peat. Even the phrase double three -peat sounds 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:21.279 mythological. It sounds like something out of 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:23.440 a fantasy novel. It really is the gold standard 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:25.519 of modern dominance. And the structure of it 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:27.320 is what makes it so unique. Lay it out. They 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:29.480 win three straight championships. Yeah. 1991, 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:34.200 1992, 1993. Then Michael Jordan retires to go 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:37.539 play baseball. And the entire league breathes 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:40.179 a collective sigh of relief. Everyone does. The 00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:42.299 Houston Rockets sneak in and grab two titles 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:44.559 while he's gone. Right. The Hakeem Olajuwon years. 00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:47.179 Exactly. But then Jordan comes back. He gets 00:12:47.179 --> 00:12:49.440 his legs under him for a bit. And then they rip 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:53.500 off another three straight. 1996, 1997, 1998. 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:56.720 There is a stat about the Bulls in the finals 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:58.980 that I think defines them even better than the 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:01.340 six rings. It's the loss column. It's the zero. 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:04.559 The Chicago Bulls are 6 -0 in the NBA finals. 00:13:05.389 --> 00:13:07.889 But he goes deeper than that. It does. They never 00:13:07.889 --> 00:13:10.509 even required a game seven. That is the wild 00:13:10.509 --> 00:13:12.809 part to me. Every other dynasty we've talked 00:13:12.809 --> 00:13:15.429 about, the Celtics, the Lakers, even the modern 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:17.769 Warriors, they've all been pushed to the brink 00:13:17.769 --> 00:13:20.429 at some point. They faced elimination games in 00:13:20.429 --> 00:13:23.169 the final. Right. The Bulls. Never. They were 00:13:23.169 --> 00:13:25.269 the ultimate closers. It was like once they got 00:13:25.269 --> 00:13:27.529 you in a series, it was over. There was no coming 00:13:27.529 --> 00:13:29.519 back. You have to look at the ring list generation 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:32.259 they created. Oh, the list of victims. We talked 00:13:32.259 --> 00:13:34.320 about the Lakers losing to the Celtics in the 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:38.419 60s, but the Bulls denied an entire era of superstars 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:41.100 from ever reaching the top. It's a Hall of Fame 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:43.639 quality list. It really is. I mean, they beat 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.159 the Lakers in 91. That was Magic Johnson's last 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:49.039 hurrah. They beat the Clyde Drexler -led Blazers 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:53.179 in 92. The Suns in 93. That was Charles Barkley's 00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:56.149 best shot. Poor Charles. Then the Sonics in 96. 00:13:56.429 --> 00:13:59.289 Sorry, Gary Payton and Sean Kemp. And then the 00:13:59.289 --> 00:14:03.490 Utah Jazz twice in 97 and 98. Carl Malone and 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:05.870 John Stockton, two of the all -time greats. And 00:14:05.870 --> 00:14:08.289 they never got a ring. I mean, you have to ask 00:14:08.289 --> 00:14:11.549 the question. If Michael Jordan decides he really 00:14:11.549 --> 00:14:13.950 likes baseball and stays retired. Did the Utah 00:14:13.950 --> 00:14:16.850 Jazz have two championships? Does Charles Barkley 00:14:16.850 --> 00:14:18.909 have one? Does Patrick Ewing get one? Almost 00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:22.009 certainly. The 90s were a closed shop. It was 00:14:22.009 --> 00:14:24.110 just a foregone conclusion. If you weren't on 00:14:24.110 --> 00:14:25.529 the Bulls, you were playing for second place. 00:14:25.690 --> 00:14:27.389 And Phil Jackson was the architect for all of 00:14:27.389 --> 00:14:29.070 them. Phil Jackson on the bench and Michael Jordan 00:14:29.070 --> 00:14:32.269 was the finals MVP for all six. Yeah. Every single 00:14:32.269 --> 00:14:34.889 time. Just the perfect storm of coaching, mental 00:14:34.889 --> 00:14:37.269 toughness, and, you know, maybe the greatest 00:14:37.269 --> 00:14:39.769 talent the sport's ever seen. Absolutely. So 00:14:39.769 --> 00:14:41.990 we leave the certainty of the 90s and we move 00:14:41.990 --> 00:14:45.350 into the 2000s and 2010s. We had the Kobe Shack 00:14:45.350 --> 00:14:48.809 Lakers. We had the Spurs dynasty, which was more 00:14:48.809 --> 00:14:51.389 of an every other year kind of dynasty. A very 00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:54.450 quiet dynasty. Very quiet. But then we hit the 00:14:54.450 --> 00:14:58.009 mid 2010s. And this is segment three. modern 00:14:58.009 --> 00:15:00.149 history, and the shift to parody. This is where 00:15:00.149 --> 00:15:02.909 the modern NBA really takes shape. We entered 00:15:02.909 --> 00:15:05.269 the era of the Warriors and the Cavaliers. So 00:15:05.269 --> 00:15:06.850 when we talked about how the Celtics and Lakers 00:15:06.850 --> 00:15:08.750 played a lot, but they never played four years 00:15:08.750 --> 00:15:10.590 in a row. That's the distinction right there. 00:15:10.710 --> 00:15:14.710 From 2015 to 2018, the NBA Finals was literally 00:15:14.710 --> 00:15:17.480 just a standing appointment. between Golden State 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:19.519 and Cleveland. It was like a TV show getting 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.919 renewed every year. It was. Four consecutive 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:24.559 years. Yeah. Steph Curry versus LeBron James. 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:26.519 It felt like the rest of the league was just, 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:28.580 you know, window dressing. They were just playing 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:31.620 out the string until June. Pretty much. And the 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:34.580 Warriors were clearly the dominant force in that 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:36.740 rivalry. Yeah. They won three of the four meetings, 00:15:36.899 --> 00:15:39.539 2015, 2017, and 2018. But the one they lost. 00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:43.279 Oh, man. 2016. That's the one everyone remembers. 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:45.379 That is the historic anomaly. I mean, you had 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:48.759 the 73 -win Warriors, the best regular season 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:50.600 record of all time. They were up 3 -1 in the 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:54.059 series. It was over. It was over. And the Cavaliers 00:15:54.059 --> 00:15:58.080 stormed back to win that series 4 -3. It ended 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:01.360 a massive, massive championship drought for the 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:03.440 city of Cleveland, not just in basketball, but 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:05.899 in all major sports. With LeBron James as MVP, 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:08.559 of course. Of course. And that one series, that 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.580 comeback, it prevented the Warriors from having 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.120 a four -peat, which would have put them in that 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:15.919 Bill Russell territory. It really would have. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.620 But once that rivalry broke up, you know, LeBron 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:20.519 went to L .A., Kevin Durant left the Warriors, 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:24.200 the league just broke wide open. Yes. We entered 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:26.639 what the notes here call the recent revolving 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:28.919 door. And this is the era we are living in right 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:31.600 now. I'd call it the era of parody. If you look 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.110 at the champions starting from 2019. the whole 00:16:34.110 --> 00:16:37.350 concept of a repeat champion just vanishes. Let's 00:16:37.350 --> 00:16:39.070 run down the list because the variety is actually 00:16:39.070 --> 00:16:41.210 startling compared to the eras we just spent 00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:44.090 all this time discussing. Okay, 2019, the Toronto 00:16:44.090 --> 00:16:46.330 Raptors. Kawhi Leonard comes in for one year, 00:16:46.450 --> 00:16:48.850 leads them to a title against the Warriors, wins 00:16:48.850 --> 00:16:51.129 MVP, and then just leaves. It was like a one 00:16:51.129 --> 00:16:52.990 -and -done mercenary mission. Yeah. And it was 00:16:52.990 --> 00:16:57.100 successful. Then 2020. 2020 is the bubble. The 00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:59.600 Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron and Anthony Davis 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:01.799 win it all in Disney World against the Miami 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.700 Heat. A very strange year. A very strange title. 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:08.440 Okay, 2021. The Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:11.460 has that legendary performance. Drops 50 points 00:17:11.460 --> 00:17:13.380 in the closeout game against the Phoenix Suns. 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:17.039 Amazing. 2022. The Warriors have a resurgence. 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:20.839 The old guard, Steph, Klay, Draymond, they come 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:23.680 back and beat the Celtics. And Steph Curry finally 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:26.720 gets his finals MVP. Which was a big moment for 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.069 his legacy, 2023. The Denver Nuggets. Nikoli 00:17:30.069 --> 00:17:32.069 Jokic and the Nuggets just dominate the Miami 00:17:32.069 --> 00:17:34.210 Heat. It's the first title in their franchise's 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:37.029 history. And 2024. The Boston Celtics. They finally 00:17:37.029 --> 00:17:38.630 get over the hump. They break the tie with the 00:17:38.630 --> 00:17:41.009 Lakers by beating the Dallas Mavericks. And finally, 00:17:41.069 --> 00:17:43.190 that brings us back to where we started, 2025. 00:17:43.789 --> 00:17:46.289 The OKC Thunder. So seven seasons, seven different 00:17:46.289 --> 00:17:48.609 organizations hoisting the Larry O 'Brien trophy. 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:51.069 We have not seen a back -to -back champion since 00:17:51.069 --> 00:17:54.230 the Warriors did it in 2017 -2018. We see repeat 00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:55.849 franchises. You know, the Lakers and Warriors 00:17:55.849 --> 00:17:58.329 popped up again. But no team has been able to 00:17:58.329 --> 00:18:00.769 hold the throne. for two straight years. Not 00:18:00.769 --> 00:18:02.849 at all. Why do you think that is? Is it the salary 00:18:02.849 --> 00:18:05.430 cap? Is the talent just better and more spread 00:18:05.430 --> 00:18:07.890 out? It's a combination of a few things. The 00:18:07.890 --> 00:18:10.049 new collective bargaining agreements, the CBAs, 00:18:10.049 --> 00:18:12.289 make it very, very punitive from a financial 00:18:12.289 --> 00:18:14.930 standpoint to keep three superstars together 00:18:14.930 --> 00:18:17.410 for a long time. So it basically forces teams 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:20.450 to break up sooner. It does. But also, you're 00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:22.430 right, the talent pool is just deeper and more 00:18:22.430 --> 00:18:26.369 widespread. You have legitimate superstars in 00:18:26.369 --> 00:18:30.730 Milwaukee, in Denver. in Dallas, in OKC, in Boston, 00:18:30.849 --> 00:18:33.769 in Philly, the days of one team having, say, 00:18:33.890 --> 00:18:37.390 three of the top five players in the world, those 00:18:37.390 --> 00:18:39.410 seem to be over, at least for now. It's definitely 00:18:39.410 --> 00:18:41.349 stressful for the GMs trying to build a dynasty, 00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:43.509 but it's amazing for the fans. I mean, you genuinely 00:18:43.509 --> 00:18:45.289 don't know who's going to win in October. It 00:18:45.289 --> 00:18:47.710 keeps the stakes incredibly high every single 00:18:47.710 --> 00:18:50.089 postseason. It feels like anyone in the top tier 00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:52.269 has a real shot. All right, let's get into the 00:18:52.269 --> 00:18:54.490 weeds a little bit. Segment four, deep cuts, 00:18:54.690 --> 00:18:57.750 quirks, and trivia. Because you can't look at 00:18:57.750 --> 00:18:59.910 80 years of history without finding some weird 00:18:59.910 --> 00:19:01.970 stuff. Oh, there are some real gems in here. 00:19:02.230 --> 00:19:04.609 Let's start with the hardware itself. We call 00:19:04.609 --> 00:19:07.549 it the Larry O 'Brien Trophy. We see it every 00:19:07.549 --> 00:19:10.910 June. It's that iconic golden ball going into 00:19:10.910 --> 00:19:13.490 the net. But it wasn't always called that, was 00:19:13.490 --> 00:19:17.190 it? No, not at all. From 1947 all the way up 00:19:17.190 --> 00:19:22.309 to 1976, the winning team received... The Walter 00:19:22.309 --> 00:19:25.490 A. Brown Trophy. Walter A. Brown. Not a name 00:19:25.490 --> 00:19:27.349 that rolls off the tongue quite like Larry O 00:19:27.349 --> 00:19:29.549 'Brien. No, but he was the original owner of 00:19:29.549 --> 00:19:31.789 the Boston Celtics and a key figure in founding 00:19:31.789 --> 00:19:34.069 the league, so he's very important. The current 00:19:34.069 --> 00:19:36.609 trophy design, the one we all know, was introduced 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:40.130 in 1977. Okay. But it wasn't actually renamed 00:19:40.130 --> 00:19:42.289 to honor Larry O 'Brien, who was the former commissioner, 00:19:42.569 --> 00:19:46.039 until 1984. So if you see those old photos of 00:19:46.039 --> 00:19:48.059 Bill Russell celebrating with all those championships. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.680 He's not holding the Larry O 'Brien. Right. No, 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:52.839 he's holding the Walter Brown Trophy, which looks 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:54.640 much more like a traditional cup or a silver 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:56.859 bowl. Interesting. OK, let's talk about the league 00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:58.819 structure again. We mentioned that weird Central 00:19:58.819 --> 00:20:00.720 Division, but the league itself wasn't even called 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:03.220 the NBA at the very start. That's right. From 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:07.059 1946 to 1949, it was the BAA, the Basketball 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:09.980 Association of America. There was a rival league 00:20:09.980 --> 00:20:12.710 called the NBL. the National Basketball League. 00:20:12.869 --> 00:20:15.170 They eventually merged to form the NBA as we 00:20:15.170 --> 00:20:18.029 know it. And in those BAA years, the playoffs 00:20:18.029 --> 00:20:20.910 were a little confusing. Confusing is a kind 00:20:20.910 --> 00:20:23.140 word. It was a three -stage tournament. And in 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:25.660 the very early years, the two semifinal winners 00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:28.099 played each other in the finals. But the bracket 00:20:28.099 --> 00:20:30.720 wasn't strictly East versus West. So it was just 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:32.880 based on seeding? It was based on seeding that 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:35.079 crossed division lines. It was all very experimental. 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:36.559 They were figuring it out as they went along. 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:39.220 Speaking of experimental, we have to talk about 00:20:39.220 --> 00:20:42.079 the shortened seasons. Because external events... 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:45.759 Lockouts, pandemics have forced the NBA to change 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.819 the rules on the fly. And I have a theory about 00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:50.980 this. Okay, let's hear it. My theory is that 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:53.099 chaos favors experience. Look at the winners 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:54.940 of the shortened seasons. Okay, let's test it 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:58.839 out. 1999, first major lockout season, only 50 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:01.960 games. Who won? The San Antonio Spurs, a team 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:04.099 built on discipline and defense. David Robinson 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:06.799 and a young Tim Duncan, vets. That's a valid 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:10.019 point. Okay, 2012, another lockout. 66 games 00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:13.769 that year. The Miami Heat. LeBron, Wade, Bosh, 00:21:13.910 --> 00:21:17.690 veteran superstars in their prime. Okay. And 00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:21.549 the last one, 2020, the COVID -19 bubble in Orlando. 00:21:21.869 --> 00:21:24.829 The Lakers, led by LeBron again, one of the oldest, 00:21:24.890 --> 00:21:27.269 most veteran -heavy teams in the league. You 00:21:27.269 --> 00:21:29.289 might be on to something. It seems that when 00:21:29.289 --> 00:21:31.309 the routine breaks, when you have fewer games 00:21:31.309 --> 00:21:34.490 or a strange, isolated environment, the teams 00:21:34.490 --> 00:21:36.950 with the most adults in the room seem to come 00:21:36.950 --> 00:21:39.890 out on top. Exactly. Young teams need rhythm. 00:21:39.930 --> 00:21:42.210 They need the full 82 games to figure things 00:21:42.210 --> 00:21:45.049 out. Veteran teams just need the gym to be open. 00:21:45.490 --> 00:21:47.309 That's a solid theory. I like that. All right, 00:21:47.309 --> 00:21:49.250 let's trace some lineages. Because looking at 00:21:49.250 --> 00:21:51.230 this list, I see team names that don't exist 00:21:51.230 --> 00:21:54.190 anymore. And it can be confusing for a new fan 00:21:54.190 --> 00:21:56.329 to realize that the Golden State Warriors actually 00:21:56.329 --> 00:21:59.289 started in Philadelphia. Relocation is the hidden 00:21:59.289 --> 00:22:02.380 story of the NBA. The Warriors are a prime example. 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:04.900 They won the very first title in 1947 as the 00:22:04.900 --> 00:22:06.779 Philadelphia Warriors. Right. Then they moved 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:08.819 west to become the San Francisco Warriors and 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:11.059 finally rebranded as the Golden State Warriors. 00:22:11.339 --> 00:22:14.240 What about the 76ers? They seem like such a Philly 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:17.769 staple. They are now. But that franchise actually 00:22:17.769 --> 00:22:20.869 started as the Syracuse Nationals. The Nats won 00:22:20.869 --> 00:22:23.710 the title in 1955. They moved to Philadelphia 00:22:23.710 --> 00:22:26.670 in 1963 to fill the void that was left by the 00:22:26.670 --> 00:22:29.289 Warriors leaving for the West Coast. That's wild. 00:22:29.509 --> 00:22:32.230 So Philly lost a championship team and then immediately 00:22:32.230 --> 00:22:35.190 gained another one. Correct. A very strange tradeoff. 00:22:35.269 --> 00:22:38.730 And the Wizards, their history is a total mess. 00:22:38.789 --> 00:22:41.289 The Wizards have a complete identity crisis in 00:22:41.289 --> 00:22:44.000 their history. They started as the Chicago Packers. 00:22:44.019 --> 00:22:47.240 The Packers? Like Green Bay? Yep. Then they were 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:49.900 the Chicago Zephyrs. Then they moved to become 00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:52.200 the Baltimore Bullets. Then they became the Washington 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:55.400 Bullets. who won the title in 1978 with Wes Unseld, 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:57.740 and then finally rebranded to the Wizards in 00:22:57.740 --> 00:23:01.119 the late 90s. So that 1978 Bullets title belongs 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.980 to the modern Wizards franchise. It does. Same 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:06.000 lineage. And we already touched on the Sonic's 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:07.799 Thunder connection. Which is still, I think, 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.059 the most contentious and emotionally charged 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:13.119 relocation in league history. For sure. Okay, 00:23:13.180 --> 00:23:15.259 one last bit of trivia before we wrap this up. 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.440 Yeah. We talked about the Bulls being a perfect 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:20.180 sixth seal in the finals. Are there any other 00:23:20.180 --> 00:23:23.390 teams with a perfect finals record? There are, 00:23:23.549 --> 00:23:25.910 but it's mostly a result of very small sample 00:23:25.910 --> 00:23:28.190 sizes. These are the one -hit wonders. Exactly. 00:23:28.490 --> 00:23:31.410 The Baltimore Bullets, and this is not the Wizards 00:23:31.410 --> 00:23:34.029 franchise, but an original team that folded back 00:23:34.029 --> 00:23:37.309 in 1954. They went to the finals once in 1948 00:23:37.309 --> 00:23:40.950 and won. So they are 1 -0 forever. Undefeated 00:23:40.950 --> 00:23:43.349 for eternity. Put it on the tombstone. Then you 00:23:43.349 --> 00:23:45.250 have the Sacramento Kings franchise, which is 00:23:45.250 --> 00:23:48.150 technically perfect. They won way back in 1951 00:23:48.150 --> 00:23:49.849 when they were the Rochester Royals. And they 00:23:49.849 --> 00:23:51.910 haven't been back to the finals since? Not once. 00:23:52.329 --> 00:23:54.609 So they are sitting on a perfect 1 -0 record 00:23:54.609 --> 00:23:57.930 for over 70 years now. That is a very, very long 00:23:57.930 --> 00:24:00.190 time to protect a perfect record. It is. And 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:02.509 then you have the recent ones. The Toronto Raptors 00:24:02.509 --> 00:24:05.009 are 1 -0 after their 2019 run. Right. And the 00:24:05.009 --> 00:24:08.190 Denver Nuggets are 1 -0 after 2023. So the strategy 00:24:08.190 --> 00:24:10.589 for perfection is simple. Go once, win the whole 00:24:10.589 --> 00:24:12.589 thing, and then just never go back. Avoid the 00:24:12.589 --> 00:24:14.890 heartbreak by simply avoiding the finals altogether. 00:24:15.309 --> 00:24:17.839 It's a bold strategy. It works for the record 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:19.759 books. OK, let's bring this all home. We looked 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:24.059 at the landscape from 1947 to 2025. We have the 00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:26.859 Titans, Boston and L .A. hoarding nearly half 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:29.380 of all the trophies. And then we have this huge 00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:32.900 field of scrappy winners, one and dones and everything 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:34.980 in between. It really is the big two and then 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:37.339 everyone else. But what stands out to me the 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:40.990 most is the shift over time. The first 50 years 00:24:40.990 --> 00:24:43.710 of the league were defined by these powerful, 00:24:43.849 --> 00:24:47.150 long -lasting dynasties. The Celtics, the Lakers, 00:24:47.309 --> 00:24:49.430 the Bulls. Right. And the last six or seven years 00:24:49.430 --> 00:24:53.210 have been defined by, well, next man up. By chaos. 00:24:53.529 --> 00:24:55.390 Exactly. And that brings us right back to the 00:24:55.390 --> 00:24:57.509 Oklahoma City Thunder. Right. They are young. 00:24:57.650 --> 00:24:59.789 They are loaded with talent and draft picks. 00:24:59.970 --> 00:25:01.529 They just won their first ring. The question 00:25:01.529 --> 00:25:04.849 everyone is asking is, is this 2015 all over 00:25:04.849 --> 00:25:07.450 again? Is this the start of the next great Thunder 00:25:07.450 --> 00:25:10.859 dynasty? Or is it 2011? Remember the Dallas Mavericks? 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:12.839 They won a brilliant title with Dirk Nowitzki, 00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:15.059 but they never got back to the top. That's the 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:17.640 scary part, isn't it? In this modern era of parity, 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:20.500 even a team as good and as well positioned as 00:25:20.500 --> 00:25:23.880 OKC isn't guaranteed a repeat. They aren't. Not 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.740 at all. But if any team is built to break this 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:30.059 parity curse, you could argue it's them. They 00:25:30.059 --> 00:25:32.339 have the youth and the assets to keep reloading. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:34.819 So here's the final provocative thought for you 00:25:34.819 --> 00:25:37.240 listening at home. We grew up on super teams. 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:39.259 We grew up knowing it was probably going to be 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:42.359 Jordan or Kobe or LeBron standing there at the 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:44.700 end. We found a certain comfort in the dynasty. 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:48.579 We did. But the expert perspective here is that 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:52.700 the era of the super team dynasty might actually 00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:55.480 be dead. The system itself, the salary cap, the 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:57.920 luxury tax, it's all designed to kill it. We 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:00.140 might be in a permanent state of rotation where 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:02.519 the window to win is only open for 18 months 00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:05.480 at a time. Unless. Unless. We're just waiting 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:07.339 for the next anomaly, the next Bill Russell or 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:09.599 Michael Jordan to emerge from the 2026 draft 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:11.660 class. Look at all the salary cap rules. Look 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:13.579 at the parity and just say, I don't care. I'm 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:16.740 winning anyway. And honestly, that's the player 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:18.539 I really want to watch. Me too. Thank you so 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:20.660 much for diving into this history with us. It's 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:23.119 a lot of dates, a lot of names, but every single 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.759 one of those banners tells a story. Check the 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:27.960 show notes if you want to see the full list and 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:30.119 settle some bets with your friends. We'll see 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:32.819 you next time on The Deep Dive. Goodbye, everyone.