What Is The Top Team In The Nba?
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The answer to this question may be a matter of opinion, but there are a few teams that stand out as the top contenders in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are two of the teams that come to mind. These two teams have met in the NBA Finals for the past three years, with the Warriors winning two of those three championship series.
The Regular Season
The regular season is the time when every team in the NBA plays against each other. This is to determine who the best team is. The best team is the one with the most wins. They are the ones who make it to the playoffs and have a chance to win the championship.
The Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Warriors have won three NBA championships, four Western Conference titles, and one division title in their history.
The Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers, also known as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team began play as an expansion team in 1970, along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Buffalo Braves. Home games were first held at Cleveland Arena from 1970 to 1974, followed by the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1994. Since 1994, the Cavs have played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland, which is shared with the arena football team Cleveland Gladiators. Dan Gilbert has owned the Cavaliers since March 2005.
The Cavaliers opened their inaugural season losing their first 15 games and struggled in their early years, placing no better than sixth place in the Eastern Conference during their first five seasons. The team won their first Central Division title in 1976, which also marked their first playoff appearance. The momentousness of earning their first playoff berth was overshadowed by a quickly whispered but shocking rumor: that superstar center and leading scorer Bill Walton had broken his foot and would miss the remainder of both the regular season and playoffs. As a result, Walton did not participate in what turned out to be one of the most thrilling series in NBA Playoff history; a second-round matchup against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s then-record setting Milwaukee Bucks. Abuld Jabaar went on to block 12 shots in Game 7, but Walton’s replacement at center Jim Chones scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers won 109–107 to take the series 4–3. They then faced Kevin Grevey’s Washington Bullets againsst whom they had lost all three regular season meetings.[2] Without Walton, they swept both Games 1 and 2 by scores of 106–95 and 103–99 respectively; David Crosier left Game 2 with an injury after only 12 minutes of court time.[3] Chris Ford replaced him for Game 3 which Washington won 103–94.[4] However Ford fouled out early in Game 4,[5] leading to 17 minutes for rookie Campy Russell who scored 18 points en route to a 105–101 Cavalier win giving them a 3–1 lead in the series.[6][7] Washington eventually tied it at 3 apiece with two close wins at home smoke-filled Capital Centre.[8][9] In Game 7 back at The Coliseum, Russel hit two key free throws late helping his team hang on for a 98–95 victory giving them their first ever trip to NBA Finals where they were swept by Magic Johnson’s dookie roasting Los Angeles Lakers 4-0.[10][11][12][13]
This was how things stood until LeBron James was drafted number one overall by his hometown Cavaliers out of St. Vincent – St Mary High School in Akron Ohio He quickly turned them into contenders again but they ultimately came up short against Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs losing 4-3 in seven games during his rookie year.[16][17] The coming years would not be much different as they would continuously be upset early on despite adding more All Stars like Shaquille O’Neal to play alongside LeBron James; Zydrunas Ilgauskas won NBA All Star MVP honors during this time playing with LeBron James but it still wouldn’t be enough as they would once again fall victim to Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic 4-2 despite having homecourt advantage during that year’s playoffs.[18][19] After being sent packing early on yet again by Derrick Rose led Chicago Bulls ,[20] James would finally find championship success when he joined forces with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on South Beach forming what came to be known colloquially as “The Big Three”.[21] After losing to Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas Mavericks ,[22] they went on win two consecutive championships against Kevin Garnett Rajon Rondo led Boston Celtics [23]and then beat longtime rivals San Antonio Spurs led by Duncan Tony Parker Manu Ginobili finally getting over hump that was Duncan Robinson Knicks .[24
The Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The Rockets play their home games at the Toyota Center, located in downtown Houston. The team was established as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego, in 1967. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston due to strong financial reasons.
The Rockets won only 15 games in their debut season as a franchise in 1967. In the 1968 NBA draft, the Rockets, picking first overall, selected power forward Elvin Hayes, who would lead the team to its first playoff appearance in his rookie year. The Rockets did not finish a season with a winning record until the 1976–77 season when they traded for center Moses Malone. Malone went on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award twice and led Houston to nine playoff appearances during his tenure with the team. He also led them to three conference finals appearances and their first NBA Finals appearance in 1981.
In 1984, the Rockets drafted center Hakeem Olajuwon who would be paired with 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson forming one of the tallest front courts in NBA history. Nicknamed “Twin Towers”, they led the team to four conference finals appearances during that time frame including two Finals appearances in 1986 and 1987 where they lost back-to-back seven-game series against Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics having Olajuwon losing both Finals MVPs to Bird despite averaging over 28 points per game respectively during those series; he finally won his first Finals MVP as well as his only championship ring when they defeated Magic Johnson’s Lakers 4–2 on The Dream Shake play during Game 6 of 1995 NBA Finals en route to their second title overall while post-season wins leader Olajuwon Retired As A Champion which is considered one of basketball’s best comebacks en route To Victory! After Yao Ming was drafted by the Rockets as their new Franchise Center in 2002, he quickly became one of China’s favorite athletes and had many successful seasons with the team making the playoffs eight times out of his nine seasons including taking them back to Conference Finals for a rematch against LeBron James and Kobe Bryant’s Lakers only losing 4–3 after leading 3–1 which is considered one of basketball greatest collapses and has been referred to by some analysts such as Sports Illustrated Chuck Klosterman as “Choke City”.
The Playoffs
It’s that time of year again. The time when the best teams in the NBA go head-to-head in the playoffs. This is when the real competition begins. The teams that have been fighting all season long for the top spot in their conference now have to face off against each other. This is where the real battles begin. Who will come out on top?
The Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are currently the top team in the NBA. They have a record of 73-9 and are the defending NBA champions. The Warriors are led by star players Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. They are a very talented team and are expected to make a deep run in the playoffs.
The Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers, also known as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team began play as an expansion team in 1970, along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Buffalo Braves. Home games were first held at Cleveland Arena from 1970 to 1974, followed by the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1994. Since 1994, the Cavs have played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.
The Cavaliers have featured many prominent players throughout their history, including LeBron James, Brad Daugherty, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mark Price, and Anderson Varejão. Dan Gilbert has owned the team since March 2005. The Cavaliers opened their inaugural season losing their first 15 games and struggled in their early years, placing no better than sixth in the Eastern Conference during their first five seasons. The team won their first Central Division title in 1976–77 under head coach Tom Nissalke and advanced to their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. They subsequently won four more Central Division titles between 1981 and 1988 under Nissalke, head coach Chuck Daly, head coach Lenny Wilkens a second time and head coach Mike Fratello. Between 1989 and 1993–94 under Daly’s leadership (which included an NBA Championship!), they reached the conference finals five consecutive times but failed to make it further each time despite star players such as Mark Price, Brad Daugherty and Hot Rod Williams on its roster during that period though they did have playoff success with teams led by Shooting guard Craig Ehlo during those years making it past Round 1 several times but ultimately falling short of greater success. As a result of early struggles in their expansion years as well as intermittent poor performances throughout other periods including failure to make Round 2 for 8 seasons (1994–2005), fans often joke about “the Curse of Cleveland”, similar to the infamous “Curse of the Bambino” which affected Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox from 1918 until 2004 or “the Curse of Billy Penn” which afflicted both Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies from 1883 until 2008 or historically bad play by various professional sports teams which were located or played around various sites associated with Freemasonry lodges where one particular lodge member allegedly placed a curse on those teams while he was angry over a business dispute related to those sites thus giving rise to rumors about a possible connection between that lodge & those teams’ struggles).
The Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are currently the top team in the NBA with a record of 58-14. They have clinched the top seed in the Western Conference and are on pace to finish with one of the best records in NBA history. The Rockets are led by MVP candidate James Harden, who is averaging a league-leading 30.4 points per game. Houston also has one of the best defenses in the NBA, allowing just 101.5 points per game. The Rockets are currently favored to win the NBA Championship this season.
The Finals
The Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
The Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the Warriors relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and took the city’s name, before changing its geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971. They play their home games at the Chase Center.
The Warriors won the 1967 NBA Finals, which was their first NBA championship. It also marked the beginning of the NBA’s end-of-season playoff system, which lasted until 1975 when a new system was introduced (the current system). The franchise won five championships between 1947 and 1975; including two more in 1956 and 1975 under head coach Al Attles. After 1975, head coach George Karl led them to two conference titles (in 1987 and 1988) but couldn’t get past Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in The Finals; Karl was let go after losing Game 7 of The Finals in that 1988 season.
Don Nelson became head coach in 1988; his up-tempo styleavored byrun-and-gun play leading to high scoring games suited Tim Hardawayand Mitch Richmond, giving rise to what was dubbed “Nellie Ball”. The team made the playoffs nine times during Nelson’s eleven seasons as head coach but failed to make it out of the second round of The playoffs during that time. After Nelson left following the 1995–96 season, Gary St. Jean coached them for two seasons; they made it back to The Finals but lost 4–2 to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls team that would win five titles in six years. Rick Adelman coached them for three consecutive seasons starting with 1997–98; his up-tempo style again led them back to The Finals where they were swept by Shaquille O’Nealand Kobe Bryant’s Lakers in 1999 and 2000 respectively.[1] In 2002, Eric Musselman coached them back into contention but Musselman was fired 18 games into his third season after a 1–17 start and replaced on an interim basis by former assistant Maurice Cheeks for the rest of that regular season plus The playoffs.[2][3] Cheeks led them back into The playoffs that year despite having one of only eleven sub-.500 records among playoff teams.[4]
In 2006, Chris Mullinretired as general manager and named former assistant Troy Windsor his successor,[5] then Chris Cohanbought out majority owner Danny Ferry’s interest,[6][7] becoming sole owner of the team. Ferry subsequently resigned as team president on April 17,[8][9] followed by Nellie Ball’s second tenure as head coach coming to an end when Cohan fired him on August 27 after Nelson led Golden State to within one win of making The playoffs with another young roster during 2006–07.[10][11][12] On October 18, 2006, Cohan brought Donnie Walsh out of retirementto serve as team president[13] while hiring former Sacramento Kings general manager Rod Higginsas vice president of basketball operations[14][15] and Dallas Mavericksassistant coach Keith Smartto replace Nellie Ball as head coach.[16][17 ]
The Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers, also known as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team began play in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference Championship in 2007. They have reached the NBA Finals ten times, winning seven times. Their most recent appearance and win was in 2016 when they defeated the Golden State Warriors 4–3.
The Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are currently the top team in the NBA. They have a record of 37-12 and are 8.5 games ahead of the second-place Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference. The Rockets have been led by James Harden, who is averaging 30.4 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game.