Category: Sports

We’ve ranked the best 75 individual season teams ever, which is featured in our SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time special issue. This week, we’re unveiling which squads made it on our top 10. To find out who else made it on the list, read here.

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3. 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Bill Sharman

Record: 69-13

Roster: Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jim Cleamons, Leroy Ellis,  Keith Erickson, Gail Goodrich, Happy Hairston, Jim McMillian, Pat Riley, Flynn Robinson, John Trapp, Jerry West

It had been an ugly decade for the Lakers, after they left Minneapolis and settled in L.A. From 1949-54, the franchise won five titles. It played for another championship in 1959. But the ‘60s? Six trips to the Finals. Six losses—all to the Celtics. Legendary guard Jerry West was beginning to wonder whether he would ever get to feel like a winner.

The situation was particularly painful in 1969, when L.A. hosted the Celtics in the seventh game of the Finals at the Fabulous Forum. Owner Jack Kent Cooke was so convinced his team would finally win that he had dozens of purple-and-gold balloons trapped behind netting in the arena’s rafters, ready to flutter to the floor when the Lakers clinched the championship. But instead of a celebration, there was another disappointment, as the Boston dynasty came to a close with its 11th crown in 13 seasons.

Things weren’t any better the next season. Los Angeles dropped another deciding game in the Finals, this time to the Knicks, who fed off Willis Reed’s heroics and Clyde Frazier’s excellence. When the Lakers dropped a Western Finals decision to Milwaukee in 1971, it was time for a change. Cooke directed GM Fred Schaus to sign Bill Sharman as coach. Thus began L.A.’s transformation from sad-sack also-ran to NBA champion.

Sharman re-cast the Laker approach, convincing center Wilt Chamberlain to focus more on rebounding and defense and less on scoring. The Lakers had guards Gail Goodrich and West, both of whom scored more than 25 a game, for that. Power forward Happy Hairston hit the boards with a ferocity, and wing man Jim McMillian hit a ton of corner jumpers and got out on the break with a fury. In fact, the whole team ran with abandon. The Lakers averaged 121.0 ppg.

Sharman also instituted the shootaround concept in 1971, primarily to make sure Chamberlain got out of bed early enough in the day so that he was ready to play that night. It worked. Not only did The Dipper play in all 82 games, he helped the Lakers to an NBA-record 69 victories. Included was a 33-game winning streak—the longest in history for any major US sport—during which the Lakers beat their opponents by an average of 16.7 ppg.

L.A. breezed to the Pacific Division title and swept away Chicago in the opening round of the playoffs. Waiting in the Western Finals were the defending champion Bucks, who had won 63 games and boasted the terrific tandem of center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and guard Oscar Robertson. After Milwaukee whipped the Lakers, 93-72, in the first game—in Los Angeles—some doubt crept into the collective Laker psyche.

The Lakers won a wild Game 2, 135-134, to even the series and went on to overcome the Bucks in six. One of their nemeses had been vanquished. Another—New York—was waiting. The Knicks had routed Boston in the Eastern Finals in five games and were hoping to relive their 1970 title success at the expense of L.A. When the Knicks won the first game, in Los Angeles, by 22, many were shocked. The Lakers were motivated.

That would be it for the Knicks’ success. The Lakers evened the series with a triumph in the second game, and Chamberlain had 26 points (on 9-10 shooting) and 20 boards to key a 107-96 victory in the third. The Lakers won the series in five games, capping a tremendous season and bringing vindication to the franchise. Chamberlain was the Finals MVP, and West could finally feel like a winner.

Boy, did it feel good.

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Photos via Getty Images.

Andre Iguodala hasn’t played since Game 4 of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Denver Nuggets due to a neck injury. The injury has sidelined Iguodala for 13 of their last 16 playoff games, including 12 straight, while he recovers. As of Wednesday, Iggy has been ruled questionable for Game 1 of the FInals along with Gary Payton II.

But Iggy’s injury woes haven’t prevented him from playing a vital role for the Warriors as a player-assistant coach while in street clothes. This is mainly done by mentoring Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody all season and keeping this deep playoff run in perspective. According to Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News, Iguodala has made sure to remind the rookies to take plenty of pictures and keep memorabilia.

“Historically, they aren’t supposed to take on everything that comes with being in the Finals,” Iguodala said. “They’re supposed to be on college campuses learning about themselves, learning who they are as people, learning what they like, learning what they don’t like, instead of these guys making five-plus million dollars a year, got all the pressures, the madness of having money and being in the spotlight. You can become jaded. You can start taking these things for granted.

“It’s not their fault. I’m guilty of it, just being in the Finals so many times where I feel nothing. I just know it’s my job to go out and win. Really no joy in it; it’s just going to work.

Iggy has also maintained his brutal honesty with playoff vets like Kevon Looney and players playing in the playoffs for the first time like Jordan Poole. The third-year guard said Iggy “doesn’t leave any rock unturned,” and as a three-time champ, he coaches “how he sees the game unfold.”

“Extremely meticulous,” Poole said. “He likes to point out the details and small things. He has a lot of knowledge, and he’s willing to share, which is really cool to be a part of — He’s also extremely real. He’ll keep it a rack; he won’t sugarcoat anything. Being able to have him in our corner as a vet is huge.”

Iguodala’s knowledge as an 18-year vet and a player who played a significant role in the Warriors’ title runs as a versatile defender in Golden State’s small-ball lineups has earned him the ear of the younger Warriors.

His institutional knowledge of Golden State’s playstyle and culture has helped him stay in the League just as much as his quick hands, length, and athleticism. At 38-years-old, Iggy isn’t a part of the Warriors’ long-term plan, but for the time he’s relied on to be a strong voice on the bench.

He’s been given even more leeway as a veteran and player-coach because the Warriors championship core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson trust him to help Poole, Kuminga, and Moody see what they see on the floor. Having him in their collective ear will only make playing on the biggest stage of basketball even more when it matters the most.

“He has access, not just physical access but emotional access that the coaching staff does not have,” Coach Steve Kerr said. “Frankly, there’s a trust factor that exists that can’t possibly exist between players and coaches. That’s why the role is so important. He has a different vantage point, and the guys believe in him so much, and he’s just brilliant at demanding and embracing and everything in between.”

Iggy awaits clearance for Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

With the NBA Finals between the Warriors and Celtics tipping off tonight, the current average secondary market list price is $3,241, making the 2022 NBA Finals the second most expensive Finals series TicketIQ has ever tracked. The only series that was more expensive was the 2019 series between the Warriors and Raptors, which had an average price of $3,899. Last year’s Bucks vs Suns series is 3rd on our list, and the 2016 and 2017 Warriors vs Cavs matchups take the 4th and 5th spots. Only the 2019 and 2022 Finals had overall average prices north of $3,000. 

The Warriors home average for the series is $3,526, which is the highest of any of their six trips to the Finals since 2015, and the second-highest we’ve ever tracked. The Boston Celtics home average for the series is $2,860, the second most expensive for any Eastern Conference team that we’ve tracked, and the 5th highest overall.

When it comes to the least expensive tickets for these NBA Finals, prices in Golden State range from $740 for game one to $1,479 for a possible game 7, while prices in Boston range from $866 for game 3 to $1,190 for a possible game 6. Below is a look at the get-in prices for each game of the series:

On the high end of the spectrum, ticket prices in Golden State go as high as $80,000+ for a courtside seat to game 7, and $65,000+ in Boston for a courtside seat in game 3. Below is a look at the most expensive tickets for each game of the series:

If you’re in the market for 2022 NBA Finals tickets, TicketIQ offers Fee Free tickets for all events, as well as a Refund Guarantee. Their Refund Guarantee states that if an event is canceled or deemed unfit for fans to attend, TicketIQ will refund ticket buyers in within 15 days. That means that you can buy from TicketIQ worry-free. Customers on TicketIQ save between 15%-25% compared to other secondary market ticketing sites.

They’re also offering Slam readers a special promo code for $75 off any NBA Finals purchase. Just use promo code SLAM75 at checkout.

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Photo via Getty Image.

We’ve ranked the best 75 individual season teams ever, which is featured in our SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time special issue. This week, we’re unveiling which squads made it on our top 10. To find out who else made it on the list, read here.

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4. 1985-86 Boston Celtics

Coach: KC Jones

Record: 67-15

Roster: Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Rick Carlisle, Dennis Johnson, Greg Kite, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Jerry Sichting, David Thirdkill, Sam Vincent, Bill Walton, Scott Wedman, Sly Williams

From the 1983-84 season all the way through ’87-88, Larry Bird averaged 27.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Three of those seasons ended with Bird winning League MVP honors. Two of them ended with championships. For a few years in the middle of arguably the NBA’s greatest decade, Bird was the best player alive.

Whether the ’85-86 Celtics are the greatest of the franchise’s 17 NBA title teams is up for debate; there are, after all, a lot of great ones to choose from. Let’s just agree that this squad is on the short list. It starts, of course, with Bird, the 6-9 assassin who did everything there was to do on a basketball court very, very well. In his third and final League MVP season, Bird averaged 25.8 points, 9.8 boards, 6.8 assists and 2 steals per.

Equally as consistent and nearly as productive was Kevin McHale, the low-post menace who accounted for 21.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Alongside veteran center Robert Parish (16.1 ppg and 9.5 rpg) and reserve big man Bill Walton, the future Hall of Famer getting his last chance at glory after an injury-riddled career, they formed the most imposing frontcourt in the League.

Though less acclaimed, the backcourt of Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge could kill you with scoring, defense and—especially in Ainge’s case—sheer distraction. These two knew their roles and played them to perfection. The group was coached by KC Jones, an eight-time champ during his own Celtic playing days who caught an unfair rep as a roll-the-balls out spectator on the bench, but who knew exactly how to motivate his tough and talented squad.

Make that tough, talented and motivated as hell going into the ’85-86 season. The previous summer, they’d lost 4-2 to L.A. in the Finals, Boston’s first ever Finals loss to the franchise they’d dominated throughout their history. They weren’t about to let the Showtime squad do it back-to-back.

The Celtics set the tone early that season. After an OT loss to the Nets on opening night, Boston roared to a 17-2 start. They put together a 13-game win streak in mid-winter, and topped that with a 14-game unbeaten run in March and April. Their League-best 67-15 record included a pair of head-to-head victories over the team everyone assumed they’d once again meet in the Finals: a 15-point home blowout in January, and a 6-point win at the Fabulous Forum a month later.

They hit the playoffs in stride and never let up: a 3-0 sweep of the Bulls, a 4-1 series win over the Hawks and a clean sweep of a 57-win Milwaukee squad in the Eastern Conference Finals. And then it was time for the Finals matchup they’d waited all year for. And waiting for them was… Houston?

Indeed, Houston. The Rockets rode the Twin Towers pairing of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson to a 4-1 WCF upset of L.A., earning a well-deserved spot in the Finals but spoiling the widely expected L.A.-Boston rematch. Houston might have ruined the narrative, but if the Celtics were disappointed, it certainly didn’t show in their play.

The Rockets showed up, and led by 23-year-old future Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon (24.7 ppg, 11.8 rpg and 3.2 bpg for the series), they kept things competitive. But this series was only ever going to end one way. Boston took a 2-0 lead at home with a pair of comfortable wins at the Garden, then stole the middle of three games in Houston to ensure they returned home in control. In Game 6, they smothered the Rockets from the jump, rolling to a 55-38 halftime lead
and never let up, posting a 114-97 victory to clinch the title. McHale scored 25.8 points per game, but it was Bird, with a staggering stat line of 24 points, 9.7 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game, who rightfully claimed his second Finals MVP trophy.

Lakers or no Lakers, this was Bird’s—and Boston’s—year.

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Photos via Getty Images

Los Angeles painter Keezerfeld has just released “The Ghost of the ’90s,” a 1-of-1 NFT that is an abstract interpretation of the Chicago Bulls’ six NBA championships.

The NFT is calibrated off the original acrylic on canvas, which was made using industrial rakes, brooms and tools—not paintbrushes. Keezerfeld, who describes himself as a “Thrash Expressionist Artist,” has sold over 100 NFTs to collectors on five continents and is one of the first artists to be selling Solana-based NFTs. The sale of “The Ghost of the ’90s” NFT will also include the original physical piece.

“The cross section of sports and art has always fascinated me, I’m excited about the convergence of so many worlds with the release of this physical work via the 1/1 calibrated NFT,” Keezerfeld told SLAM.

The piece captures the legendary Michael Jordan-led Bulls in which Chicago won six championships in an eight-season span. Such a feat hasn’t been achieved since, as players like Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman have gone down as basketball icons. The Bulls championship squads of the ’90s are also featured in our SLAM Presents TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time special issue.

An anonymous artist, Keezerfeld found success with “The Quarantine Chronicles,” (TQC), a series of nine abstract paintings containing commentary on mental health during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The collection was featured in Elevator Magazine in April 2021. He says his most recent work features commentary on “the looming ghost of history that has existed for the team,” as the Bulls have not won a championship since Jordan left in January of 1999. In addition to his most recent work, Keezerfeld has over 100 pieces of artwork available for purchase on the secondary market via exchange art.

“The Ghost of the ’90s” is on sale now in celebration of the start of the NBA Finals. It can be purchased here.