Unveiling the Ultimate NBA Powerhouses: Which Teams Dominated the Last 25 Years?
With so many jaw-dropping seasons, powerhouse teams, and all-time legends lighting up the hardwood since 2000, narrowing down the absolute best single franchise season might sound like trying to pick your favorite star in a packed galaxy. Think about it—Michael Jordan’s Bulls had dismantled the ’90s, and suddenly the torch was flicked over to Shaq and Kobe as a new era dawned. Fast forward through LeBron’s Finals streaks and Curry’s splashy dominance, and now we’re swirling in an era where any team can rise and claim glory. So, how do you fairly compare the 2016 Warriors to the 2024 Thunder or the Spurs’ dynasty runs? That’s where our historical NBA TRACR steps in—deciphering the chaos, normalizing league quirks, and measuring true dominance across eras—not just by trophies, but by pure, on-the-court excellence for the whole season. Because sometimes the best team doesn’t hoist the championship, but their greatness is undeniable. Ready to dive into who truly reigned supreme in the last quarter-century of basketball brilliance? LEARN MORE.
Because there have been so many unforgettable seasons, great teams and legendary stars, we’ve asked our historical NBA TRACR to help determine which franchise had the best single season between 2000-01 and 2024-25.
Magic, Larry and the Bad Boy Pistons were a distant memory. Michael Jordan’s Bulls had finally been broken up, and Shaq and Kobe’s run was just beginning.
Things were changing fast at the turn of the century.
Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Co. dominated most of the 1990s, but the San Antonio Spurs were starting to show signs of a future dynasty at the end of the decade. And Shaquille O’Neal won the first of his three straight NBA Finals MVPs at the end of the 1999-2000 season for Phil Jackson’s Los Angeles Lakers.
In fact, either the Spurs or Kobe Bryant and the Lakers won the Western Conference title every season between the 1998-99 campaign and 2009-10, except for the 2006 playoffs when Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks beat Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
In the past 25 years, we’ve witnessed the rise of LeBron James, who led his teams (the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers) to eight straight Finals from 2011 to 2018, and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, who won four titles in eight years from 2015 to 2022. More recently, we’ve entered an era with more parity, with different champs in each of the past seven seasons.
Because there have been so many unforgettable seasons, great teams and legendary stars, we’ve asked our historical NBA TRACR (Team Rating Adjusted for Competition and Roster) for help in determining which team had the best single season between 2000-01 and 2024-25.
TRACR normalizes performance from league environmental factors that can either inflate or deflate its numbers, making it possible to compare teams across eras. It uses advanced metrics and other factors on both ends of the court to calculate how many points per 100 possessions better or worse teams are or were compared to the league-average club during a season (including the playoffs).
It’s important to note that our model measures performance over the entirety of the season. So when it comes to our rankings, the best team during a given season may not have won the championship. We’re looking to do more than just list the title winners.
The Top 25 NBA Teams of the Past 25 Years
1. 2016-17 Golden State Warriors (12.84)
With Kevin Durant on board in 2016-17, the Warriors won 67 games, had the second-best final TRACR between 1986-87 and 2022-23 and won the title. The Bulls went 203-43 (.825) during the regular season from 1995-96 to ’97-98. It was the best winning percentage by any team in a three-season span in NBA history before the Stephen Curry-led Warriors went 207-39 (.841) from 2014-15 to ’16-17.
2. 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder (12.40)
The 2024-25 Thunder that won the team’s first title since arriving in Oklahoma City finished with one of the best single seasons of the TRACR era behind regular-season and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a defense that also ranks as one of the best of this timeframe.
3. 2023-24 Boston Celtics (12.10)
It might surprise you that the best Celtics team isn’t one with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. But the Celtics had the fifth-best regular-season win percentage (64-18) in franchise history during their run to the title in 2023-24 and had one of the best seasons of any franchise over the past 37 years.
4. 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs (11.67)
Any argument about which team was the best during the Spurs’ dynasty could go on for a while. For some perspective, San Antonio posted a TRACR of 6.0 or better 15 times in 19 seasons between 1998-99 and 2016-17. The 2015-16 team set a franchise record with 67 victories but was stunned by the Thunder in the conference semifinals when the top of the West was about as daunting as it gets.
5. 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (10.96)
The Warriors finished 73-9 in 2015-16, winning the most games in NBA history and causing debates about whether they were the best team ever. But they were upset by LeBron, Kyrie Irving and the Cavs in the NBA Finals and weren’t even the best team in Warriors history (according to our model).
6. 2014-15 Golden State Warriors (10.92)
This was the start of a ridiculous three-year stretch in which the Warriors won 67, 73 and 67 games to go along with the first two of their four titles in eight years. Curry won back-to-back NBA MVPs in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
7. 2007-08 Boston Celtics (10.62)
The Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo 2007-08 Celtics that posted the best record since Larry Bird and the 1985-86 Celtics at 66-16 are the celebrated franchise’s second-best team of the past 25 years.
8. 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers (10.30)
You had to figure this was going to come down to which LeBron James-led team was No. 1. And the 2008-09 team was the most dominant overall, winning a franchise-record 66 games before getting upset by the Orlando Magic in the conference finals.
9. 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs (9.92)
The best season of the David Robinson era came in 1998-99 when he teamed with a young Tim Duncan. The Spurs won 37 games in that 50-game season and beat the Knicks in the NBA Finals. Two Duncan-led teams topped that mark: the 2013-14 Spurs that beat the Heat in the Finals and the previously mentioned 2015-16 team.
10. 2024-25 Cleveland Cavaliers (9.83)
On Jan. 9, 2025, the Cavs were 32-4 after an impressive 129-122 victory over the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder. They would go on to win an East-best 64 games, but they battled injuries throughout the playoffs and were stunned by the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals.
11. 2012-13 Oklahoma City Thunder (9.65)
Where did the best Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant Thunder team rank? Though they were upset by the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round, the 2012-13 team with KD and Westbrook that won 60 games had the franchise’s second-best season of all time, per TRACR.
12. 2006-07 San Antonio Spurs (9.44)
The Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan Spurs were the third seed in the West, but they went 16-4 in the 2007 playoffs – including a clean sweep of LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the Finals. San Antonio captured its fourth title in nine years.
13. 2008-09 Los Angeles Lakers (9.30)
The Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal Lakers. The Kobe and Dwight Howard Lakers. The Kobe and Paul Gasol Lakers. The LeBron and Anthony Davis Lakers. So many teams have valid arguments here. But the Kobe-Gasol Lakers finished with the third-highest victory total in franchise history (65) and dispatched the Magic in five games in the 2009 NBA Finals.
14. 2004-05 San Antonio Spurs (9.24)
The Spurs had to work for their second title in three years. Facing the defending champion Pistons, San Antonio pulled out a grueling 81-74 win in Game 7. Duncan was named the Finals MVP after averaging 23.6 points and 12.4 rebounds in the postseason.
15. 2018-19 Milwaukee Bucks (9.06)
If you believe the Bucks’ 2021 title team was the franchise’s best over the past quarter century, we’re here to tell you that the data says they were better the two years prior. Milwaukee won 60 games and had a 9.06 TRACR in 2018-19 but lost after holding a 2-0 lead in the conference finals against Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors.
16. 2024-25 Boston Celtics (9.02)
The narrative was that the Celtics would be a threat to win the title every year after beating the Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. But things always happen that you don’t expect in the NBA. Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the conference semifinals and the Celtics’ bid to repeat was over two games later.
17. 2009-10 Orlando Magic (8.90)
While Shaq and Penny Hardaway’s Magic had TRACRs of 4.04 in 1993-94, 6.49 in 1994-95 and 6.05 in 1995-96, Dwight Howard’s teams posted a 5.72 in 2007-08, 7.54 in 2008-09 and 8.90 in 2009-10. And Howard won three straight NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards from 2009 to 2011.
18. 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers (8.71)
For some perspective, the Showtime Lakers with Magic Johnson had a 9.21 TRACR in 1986-87, while the Kobe-Shaq Lakers ended up at 8.71 in 2001-02 after posting an 8.91 in 1999-2000.
19. 2003-04 San Antonio Spurs (8.69)
The Spurs finished with a winning percentage better than .646 for the seventh year in a row before facing the Lakers for the fourth straight postseason. Los Angeles won for the third time in those four meetings, but the Spurs would bounce back and win it all the following year.
20. 2011-12 Miami Heat (8.63)
The Heat, who started play in 1988-89, have been to seven NBA Finals, winning three titles with 2006 NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade playing a key role in each of those championships. However, all three of their top TRACR performances came during the LeBron James era.
21. 2000-01 San Antonio Spurs (8.60)
Two years after winning their first title, the Spurs went 58-24 before losing in the Western Conference finals to Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers. However, good things were on the horizon.
22. 2017-18 Houston Rockets (8.56)
The Rockets have won a couple of titles, but the best team in franchise history by the data – and it really isn’t close – is the James Harden and Chris Paul-led 2017-18 team that won a franchise-record 65 games and had the mighty Warriors on the ropes in the West finals. The Rockets had a 3-2 series lead before losing Paul to a hamstring injury and missing 27 consecutive 3-point attempts in Game 7.
23. 2019-20 Milwaukee Bucks (8.53)
The Bucks went 56-17 for the third-best winning percentage (.767) in franchise history in 2019-20 but fell to the Heat while Giannis Antetokounmpo battled an ankle injury.
24. 2001-02 Sacramento Kings (8.50)
There was little doubt that Sacramento’s best season was going to come in the early 2000s when the Kings threatened to overtake the mighty Lakers. The Kings won 50 or more games five years in a row between 2000-01 and 2004-05. In 2001-02, Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic and Co. won a franchise-record 61 games, marched to the conference finals and had a 3-2 series lead on the Lakers but ended up losing in a Game 7 overtime thriller.
25. 2012-13 Miami Heat (8.47)
The move to team Wade with LeBron and Chris Bosh to create a “Big 3” paid dividends in 2012-13 when Miami won a franchise-best 66 games and beat the Spurs in seven games.
For more coverage, follow along on social media on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.
The post Y2K to Today: Ranking the Top 25 NBA Teams of the Past 25 Years appeared first on Opta Analyst.
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