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We can talk all we want about the best NBA players of all time and the ever-famous GOAT debate, but nothing will ever be more important than collective success. The ultimate goal for every NBA team and player at the start of every season is to finish the season holding the Larry O'Brien trophy aloft, and titles are really what cements a player's legacy in the history of the league.
The NBA has seen a number of unique teams that have been dominant over the past century, including George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers (five titles in six years), Bill Russell's Boston Celtics (11 titles in 13 years), the 1971-72 LA Lakers, the 1980s LA Lakers and Boston Celtics, and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.
The 21st century began with dominance from one team, as the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers won three consecutive titles between 2000 and 2002. The San Antonio Spurs, who won their first title in 1999, followed it up by winning championships in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.
Top 5 regular-season teams in the NBA in the 21st century in terms of winning percentage
In recent times, LeBron James' lead teams have been dominant (Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and now LA Lakers) as he picked up four titles along the way. However, the Golden State Warriors emerged as the main rivals to the "King James" era. Golden State won three titles between 2015 and 2018, with only James' Cavaliers stopping them in 2016.
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors teams were incredible in the regular season, establishing a new all-time record. Impressive regular season records have always been the hallmark of great teams. That is exactly what we'll be looking at in this article as we give you the Top 5 NBA teams of the 21st century in terms of regular-season record.
Without further ado, let us take a look.
Note: Due to a couple of seasons of the 21st century being shortened (2011-12 and 2019-20) the list will be made according to winning percentage and not necessarily number of wins.
#5 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks | .817
Dirk Nowitzki led the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks to the best regular season in franchise history, before it all fell apart in the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors.
The 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks, coached by Avery Johnson and coming off playing in the 2006 NBA Finals, put up a 67-15 record and Nowitzki won the NBA MVP award on the back of such a huge season for his team.
Those Mavs were the first team to win 67 games in a season in the 21st century, but their potential home-court advantage throughout the entire NBA Playoffs fell in the first round, as the 'We Believe' Warriors took them down in six games.
Dallas was the first number one seed to lose to the eighth seed in a seven-game series, while also being the only team with a winning percentage greater than .800 to lose in the first round.
The San Antonio Spurs were the eventual NBA champions after beating LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
#4 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs | .817
The 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs had a brilliant regular season that was spent mostly in the shadows of the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Still, Gregg Popovich's team had a brilliant regular round that ended with the squad tying the all-time record at home for a single season (40-1, previously done by the 1985-86 Boston Celtics).
In Tim Duncan's final season and Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili nearing the end of their careers, Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge carried the team. The Spurs ended with the best Defensive Rating in the league, and also the best Net Rating in the NBA.
San Antonio lost to the OKC Thunder, led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, in the second round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. The 2015-16 regular season was the greatest in the San Antonio Spurs' history in terms of games won and winning percentage.
Also Read: How many rings does Bill Russell have?
#3 2014-15 Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors' dynasty was launched in the 2014-15 NBA season, right after the arrival of Steve Kerr as head coach. Kerr made some key adjustments to the team that Mark Jackson had led to the NBA Playoffs the previous two seasons.
One of those changes was adding Draymond Green to the starting lineup and convincing eventual NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala to assume a role coming off the bench, at least in the regular season (he started after Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Finals).
Stephen Curry won the 2014-15 NBA MVP after his exploits and tremendous shooting led the team to a 67-15 regular-season record (.817 winning percentage). Klay Thompson was also huge for the team on both ends of the court, while Draymond Green found his groove as the team's most versatile player.
Eventually, the Dubs defeated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 Finals in six games.
#2 2016-17 Golden State Warriors
After losing the 2016 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors regrouped and created a super team, with Kevin Durant joining from OKC Thunder via free agency, creating one of the greatest rosters ever assembled in the history of the league.
In the regular season, the 2016-17 Warriors got off to a 35-6 record in the first half of the season, and ended it with a 67-15 record (.817). Durant, Curry and Klay Thompson created one of the best offensive 'Big Threes' in NBA history due to their different yet complimentary styles of play.
Alongside the intergral fourth piece, Draymond Green, who would go on to win the 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The team went on to dominate in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, reaching the NBA Finals with a 12-0 against their Western Conference rivals and beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 in the NBA Finals.
Their record in the 2017 NBA Playoffs (16-1) is the greatest in league history.
#1 2015-16 Golden State Warriors
The 73-9 Golden State Warriors will always be remembered for putting on an electric regular season and ultimately suffering a heartbreaking loss at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the epic 2016 NBA Finals.
Stephen Curry had one of the greatest individual performances ever seen in the NBA during the 2015-16 regular season. He averaged a league-high 30.1 points per game, while also posting 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and a league-high 2.1 steals per game.
Curry won the 2015-16 NBA MVP unanimously (the only player to ever do it).
The team started the season with a 24-0 record, the greatest start in NBA history, and it put them second in league history in terms of game-winning streaks, as they won their last four regular-season games of the 2014-15 campaign.
The NBA Playoffs were a struggle for those Warriors. After beating the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers in five games, respectively, the team found itself down 3-1 against the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Stephen Curry had been dealing with injuries in the first few rounds of the playoffs, but Klay Thompson and the MVP came up big as the Warriors came back from down 3-1 to reach the NBA Finals.
In the NBA Finals, it was LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers who came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the title, which was the first and, so far, only time it has happened in The Finals.
Also read: Is LeBron James playing tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies? | 2021-22 NBA season
