By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The 2016-17 NBA season is officially over. Golden State defeated Cleveland 129-120 in Game 5 to win their second championship in three years. Kevin Durant won his first ring and was named Finals MVP.

This makes me wonder, how does this Golden State team stack up against all-time great teams? I think they might be one of the best ever.

Their roster is absolutely stacked. They have two-time league MVP Steph Curry. The other half of the Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson is a three-time NBA All-Star.

Power Forward Draymond Green was named on the All-Defensive team and he’s been selected as an All-Star twice. Swingman Andre Iguodala was on the All-Defensive team twice and an All-Star in 2012. He won a gold medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics and was Finals MVP in 2015. This group of players won an NBA record 73 games last season.

Then you add eight time All-Star and Kevin Durant. He’s also won scoring titles and two gold medals. This is the most talented roster in league history. They won 67 games in the regular season and swept their way to the Finals. Their postseason record is 16-1.

What are some teams that can legitimately stack up to Golden State? The first choice would be the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. We all know they set the record for most wins in a season that year with 72. They were led by the greatest player ever, Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen is a Hall of Famer and was named a Top 50 player of all time. Dennis Rodman is also a Hall of Famer and great athlete. He was a great defensive player and amazing rebounder.

They had solid role players like Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, Tony Kukoc and Luc Longley. I think they would beat the Warriors because Golden State relies heavily on three point shooting. Shots don’t always fall and Chicago would be able to rebound and score points.

An overlooked great team would be the 2000-01 LA Lakers. They went 15-1 in the postseason and swept their way to the Finals. The stars were Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. They had role players like Horace Grant, Rick Fox, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Isaiah Rider and Tyronn Lue.

The 1985-86 Celtics won 67 games and beat Houston in six games to win the championship. They were led by Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Bill Walton won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.

The Show Time Lakers won five championships in the 80’s so it was hard to pick a specific year. I’ll go with the 1986-87 team that won 65 games. They lost only one game on the way to the Finals and beat Boston in six games. That team featured Hall of Famers like James Worthy, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The game is clearly played differently in this era because it’s less physical. So, I’m not sure if the Warriors would be playing by the rules of the previous era or from the current time. I would give an advantage to the older teams playing by previous rules because they would be allowed to hand check and disrupt Golden State’s shooters.

In the current NBA fouls are called for touching a guy so the Warriors would have an advantage. It’s interesting to debate but I think this years’ Warriors are a top 5 team.