Shout out to Dom2K. Since we are always split on asterisk championships, it's a good idea to rank past champions in tiers according to level of difficulty; not saying winning championships can be easy, but some can be easier than others. We'll only rank 2000-2018. Lettuce begin.
Tier 1 includes teams that virtually did the impossible after being massive underdogs. Not expected to win or a legacy defining moment. Greatest level of difficulty.
Tier 2 includes the neutral, more even matches. Nothing too great. Solid rings. Great stories.
Tier 3 includes the throwaway rings. Rings with no great historical value. Forgettable. Low level of difficulty. Never discussed among basketball circles.
Tier 1: Legendary/Historical
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2016 Cavs - No explanation needed. 3-1. 73-9. 50 year drought. Curse lifted. LBJ enters top 3 all time.
2011 Mavs - Greatest playoff run in NBA history. Beat Brandon Roys Blazers (though he wasn't 100%). Beat the defending Champ Lakers. Beat OKC, THEN beat the Heatles. So many HoF defeated on that run. Dirks 1st and only ring. Cemented his status as a top 15 player all time.
2004 Pistons - dynasty killer. Massive underdogs. No one, including me, expected them to win. Shaq and Kobe were too dominant. But they shocked the world and helped put the proverbial nail in the Laker dynasty coffin.
2019 Raptors - They will be here if they win (up 3-1 as this is typed) First time the NBA championship is won by a city outside of the USA. The Larry O'Brien trophy will actually return home for the 1st time ever since basketball was invented by a Canadian. Huge historical consequence. Warrior dynasty killer.
Tier 2: Solid
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2013 Heat - Great series that could've gone either way. Ray Allens shot, etc. Both teams could've won.
2014 Spurs - Even though they won in 5, this series was a love letter to basketball with the way the Spurs executed. Honestly, I expected the Heat to win this again but I had never seen superstars like the Heatles look utterly helpless like that. It was a great series to me worthy of tier 1 actually. Ended the Heat dynasty for good.
2012 Heat - Again, another interesting series because it was my first time realizing that this OKC team was really about to dominate the league. I knew the Heat would win but the way KD played and how efficient he was mind blowing to me.
2008 Celtics - Historic rivalry vs the Lakers. I didnt have a dog in that fight but seeing these two legendary franchises dual it out for 7 games and see KG win his first one was beautiful.
2009 Lakers - Kobe out for blood. Wanted his rematch vs the Celtics but got Dwights Magic instead. Kobe was so disgusted with the Magic that he later called them "collateral damage" on his quest to rematch and beat the Celtics. Kobes first ring without Shaq. Had it been against a better team, this ring could've been tier 1 but the Lakers were highly favored to win.
2010 Lakers - a very ugly series. Kobe struggled but he 2 peated. That ring has great merit because he inched closer to matching MJ.
2006 Heat - Shaq first ring without Kobe. DWades first ring. Solid series vs Dallas. I actually expected the Mavs to win.
2005 Spurs - 7 game series vs Detroit. Solid series. No star power forreal but great basketball to me. 2 teams relying mostly on execution rather than stars to win. Very evenly matched to me. Came down to coaching.
Tier 3: Forgettable
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2018 Warriors - Forgettable. Sweep. Possibly the most boring Finals of all time. Watching Bron drag a skeleton of a roster to the finals to play the stacked Warriors was dreadful. Everyone knew the outcome of this series. No one expected it to go no more than 5.
2017 Warriors - A bad matchup. Kds first ring. Overpowered Warrior team doing what they were supposed to do in beating a Cavs team that had no chance vs KD, Steph, Klay and Dray. Though I thought Cleveland could at least win 2 with Kyrie and Bron.
2015 Warriors - did what they were supposed to do beating a depleted Cavs team. Stephs 1st ring. Left a sour taste in the mouths of most. Beginning of the Warrior dynasty.
2000 Lakers - A chore to watch. Was hoping Indiana could get lucky and win Reggie his 1st ring. The beginning of the Laker dynasty.
2001 Lakers - Watching AI go off and win a game was awe inspiring but even still, no one expected the Lakers to lose. No drama after game 1. Didn't even watch after game 3. Forgone conclusion.
2002 Lakers - Yawn. Shaq and Kobe vs Jason Kidd. Don't even remember this series. Lakers 3 peat.
2007 Spurs - Did their job beating arguably the worse finals opponent in NBA history. The 2007 Cavs had no business being there and it showed by them getting swept. LBJ first finals appearance. Absolutely forgettable. Never spoken about unless by people trashing Bron getting swept.
2003 Spurs - No idea what happened in this series. Both teams were boring and thus a boring series.
Discuss
Tier 1 includes teams that virtually did the impossible after being massive underdogs. Not expected to win or a legacy defining moment. Greatest level of difficulty.
Tier 2 includes the neutral, more even matches. Nothing too great. Solid rings. Great stories.
Tier 3 includes the throwaway rings. Rings with no great historical value. Forgettable. Low level of difficulty. Never discussed among basketball circles.
Tier 1: Legendary/Historical
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016 Cavs - No explanation needed. 3-1. 73-9. 50 year drought. Curse lifted. LBJ enters top 3 all time.
2011 Mavs - Greatest playoff run in NBA history. Beat Brandon Roys Blazers (though he wasn't 100%). Beat the defending Champ Lakers. Beat OKC, THEN beat the Heatles. So many HoF defeated on that run. Dirks 1st and only ring. Cemented his status as a top 15 player all time.
2004 Pistons - dynasty killer. Massive underdogs. No one, including me, expected them to win. Shaq and Kobe were too dominant. But they shocked the world and helped put the proverbial nail in the Laker dynasty coffin.
2019 Raptors - They will be here if they win (up 3-1 as this is typed) First time the NBA championship is won by a city outside of the USA. The Larry O'Brien trophy will actually return home for the 1st time ever since basketball was invented by a Canadian. Huge historical consequence. Warrior dynasty killer.
Tier 2: Solid
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 Heat - Great series that could've gone either way. Ray Allens shot, etc. Both teams could've won.
2014 Spurs - Even though they won in 5, this series was a love letter to basketball with the way the Spurs executed. Honestly, I expected the Heat to win this again but I had never seen superstars like the Heatles look utterly helpless like that. It was a great series to me worthy of tier 1 actually. Ended the Heat dynasty for good.
2012 Heat - Again, another interesting series because it was my first time realizing that this OKC team was really about to dominate the league. I knew the Heat would win but the way KD played and how efficient he was mind blowing to me.
2008 Celtics - Historic rivalry vs the Lakers. I didnt have a dog in that fight but seeing these two legendary franchises dual it out for 7 games and see KG win his first one was beautiful.
2009 Lakers - Kobe out for blood. Wanted his rematch vs the Celtics but got Dwights Magic instead. Kobe was so disgusted with the Magic that he later called them "collateral damage" on his quest to rematch and beat the Celtics. Kobes first ring without Shaq. Had it been against a better team, this ring could've been tier 1 but the Lakers were highly favored to win.
2010 Lakers - a very ugly series. Kobe struggled but he 2 peated. That ring has great merit because he inched closer to matching MJ.
2006 Heat - Shaq first ring without Kobe. DWades first ring. Solid series vs Dallas. I actually expected the Mavs to win.
2005 Spurs - 7 game series vs Detroit. Solid series. No star power forreal but great basketball to me. 2 teams relying mostly on execution rather than stars to win. Very evenly matched to me. Came down to coaching.
Tier 3: Forgettable
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Warriors - Forgettable. Sweep. Possibly the most boring Finals of all time. Watching Bron drag a skeleton of a roster to the finals to play the stacked Warriors was dreadful. Everyone knew the outcome of this series. No one expected it to go no more than 5.
2017 Warriors - A bad matchup. Kds first ring. Overpowered Warrior team doing what they were supposed to do in beating a Cavs team that had no chance vs KD, Steph, Klay and Dray. Though I thought Cleveland could at least win 2 with Kyrie and Bron.
2015 Warriors - did what they were supposed to do beating a depleted Cavs team. Stephs 1st ring. Left a sour taste in the mouths of most. Beginning of the Warrior dynasty.
2000 Lakers - A chore to watch. Was hoping Indiana could get lucky and win Reggie his 1st ring. The beginning of the Laker dynasty.
2001 Lakers - Watching AI go off and win a game was awe inspiring but even still, no one expected the Lakers to lose. No drama after game 1. Didn't even watch after game 3. Forgone conclusion.
2002 Lakers - Yawn. Shaq and Kobe vs Jason Kidd. Don't even remember this series. Lakers 3 peat.
2007 Spurs - Did their job beating arguably the worse finals opponent in NBA history. The 2007 Cavs had no business being there and it showed by them getting swept. LBJ first finals appearance. Absolutely forgettable. Never spoken about unless by people trashing Bron getting swept.
2003 Spurs - No idea what happened in this series. Both teams were boring and thus a boring series.
Discuss
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:umadduncan:
So why isn’t it tier 1 then, fakkit?
