The Top 10 American Professional Sports Dynasties of All Time
The Top 10 American Professional Sports Dynasties of All Time
10. San Antonio Spurs (1997 - 2017): The Gregg Popovich-Tim Duncan era began in 1997 then the Spurs organization never looked back. Since that time the Spurs have not missed the playoffs once, and have been a serious contender year in and out. They have won five titles in twenty years. One title every four years is hard to complain about from a fan perspective. Tim Duncan and Pop of course had help from guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili who ran the backcourt for all that time. To this day the Spurs have not missed the playoffs but aren’t serious contenders but that run has transformed the franchise into an all time NBA franchise.
9. Showtime Lakers (1980's): The Era that saved the NBA was all on Showtime. The 80s are usually looked at the ERA that the Celtics and Lakers fought for NBA dominance which is true but most don’t include that it was mostly dominated by the Lakers. The Lakers big three of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy made seven of the ten Finals, but won five of the ten championships in the decade. The team started to fade in 1989 when Abdul-Jabbar retired. All though Showtime was not over there they would not win another title putting an end to this great run.
8. New York Yankees (1996–2001): George Steinbrenner since buying the Yankees in the 70s was always looking to make them more of a winner. Which he got done early in 1977 and 78. However he always wanted a true dynasty. Something the 1980s definitely did not give him. Something the 90s and 2000s would. It all began when he begin to listen to his front office lieutenants who hoped they would be able to keep the new batch of blue chippers a group that included shortstop Derek Jeter, outfielder Bernie Williams, ace Andy Pettitte and closer Mariano Rivera. I’m sure you have heard of these guys before. These were homegrown dynasty talent. They won their first World Series in 1996 but it’s in 1998 when they started getting really dominate. In 1998 they finished the regular season at 114-48 before winning 11 of 13 postseason games, including a World Series sweep of the San Diego Padres. A key to much of their success was Joe Torre the manager who was able to keep such a control on so many personalities such as Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and Tim Raines, who were known for the trouble they could cause. From 1998 to 2001 the Yankees went 43-15 in the postseason. Winning four World Series titles in that time frame. The core group of players would later to go on to win another World Series in 2009 with a completely different team. However the dynasty would come to an end by a little bloop walk off single by Logan Gonzalez off of the untouchable Rivera to win the 2001 World Series.
6. Cleveland Browns (1946-69): Paul Brown and what the Browns used to be not what they are. The Browns in the beginning of organized professional football was actually the best team in the league. Brown took over as head coach of the AAFC’s Cleveland Browns in 1946, going 47-4-3 while winning four consecutive league titles, and earned the team a spot in the National Football League. Yes the NFL used to be like the English soccer Premier League where you could qualify for the league. The Browns then won the NFL title in their first year in the league. They would play in the league title game in each of their first six seasons, winning three titles. Even after Brown left they would win in 1964. The ERA would end in the start of the Super Bowl where they lost to the Chiefs in 1968 AFC Championship game and to the Jets in 1969. The Browns teams were led by quarterback Otto Graham and maybe the best at what he did running back Jim Brown. The Browns were not always a laughing stock.
5. New York Yankees (1949–53): After 1948 people were finally ready to see the fall of the Yankees empire and everybody thought that was the case after the hire of Casey Stengel. People believed that Stengel could tell jokes better than coach since he could never get past second place in the division, well those people were wrong. He did not have a stacked team like the other Yankee teams but he knew what talent he wanted for each position, and could get the most out of that. He was the baseball Bill Parcells basically. He had a pitching staff that was the best in baseball with Ed Lopat, Allie Reynolds and Vic Raschi (who combined for a 255-117 record from 1949-53) typically finished as the league’s best. This was the time when DiMaggio was going out and the star talent of Mickey Mantle was coming in. The Yanks also had a guy named Yogi Berra eleven time champion. The Yankees beat up on Brooklyn Dodgers unit in 1949, 1952 and 1953. The Yankees swept through the young, confident Philadelphia Phillies squad in 1950, and they deflated the Giants in six games in the 1951 Fall Classic. In 1954 they posted their best record of 103-51 but was not the best in the league which was the Indians who won 111 games that year. In 1954 the Yankees did not make it to the Fall Classic thus ending the dynasty winning five World Series titles in a row and nine of ten AL Championships.
4. Chicago Bulls (1990's): Every Michael Jordan fan is probably losing their mind right now seeing that the Bulls are only fourth but facts do not care about your feelings. No team has ever went 6-0 in the Finals but in the 1990s that is exactly what the Bulls did. With head coach Phil Jackson and arguably the GOAT Michael Jordan the Bulls dominated the 90s. They also had players like superstar Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. The 90s Bulls went 6-0 in the Finals, had a 72-10 regular season in 1996 which was the best regular season until the 2016 Warriors went 73-9. The Bulls kept some all time greats from winning titles like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller and many more. Even beating Magic Johnson in their first finals victory. The 90s Bulls one of the best brands in basketball.
3. New England Patriots (2001-???): In the 2000 the Patriots hired Bill Belichick as the head coach and with 199th overall pick in the draft they selected Tom Brady no one expected what they got all the way up to present day. Since 2001 the Patriots have made the playoffs 16 out of 18 years, and one of the two misses came when Brady missed the year with a knee injury when they finished 11-5 (tough break). In 2007 the Patriots became the first league team to pull off a 16-0 regular season in 2007 (Dolphins in 72’ went 14-0), and have won at least 10 games every year since. They would go on to lose that year to the Giants in the Super Bowl making them 18-1. Tom Brady was not always Brady at first they won with defense and Brady’s game management; then one day, Brady became the best QB of his generation, and they won with that instead. Brady won the league MVP award at age 40 in 2017 and basically plans to play forever, and somehow Belichick is still only 66 years old with six years left until retirement. With their Super Bowl win in 2019 marking the sixth in eighteen season also tying the Steelers for most Super Bowls of all time it doesn’t look this dynasty will ever end.
2. Montreal Canadiens, (1970-79): The Canadiens run in the 1970s is what puts them at the best NHL franchise of all time. In nine seasons, they won six Stanley Cups and six conference titles. Montreal had seven first-place finishes and finished with better than a .600 points percentage all nine seasons. They won the cup four times in a row. They held the Stanley Cup six times in 1971, '73, '76, '77, '78 and '79. The team included many Hall of Famers with head coach Kevin Dryden, then players like Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Jacques Lemaire and Rod Langway. Their first Stanley Cup team of the run featured 11, including Frank Mahovlich and Henri Richard. It took them nine years what it took the Patriots eighteen if you want to put in perspective how amazing this run was.
1. Boston Celtics (mid-1950's to late 1960's): When making the list we all knew who number one was but it was just filling in two to ten. The mid 1950s to the late 1960s Celtics was by far the greatest dynasty of all time. The Celtics won eleven championships out of thirteen, even winning eight in a row from 1959-1966. Making Jordan two three peats look like a walk in the park. Six of their eleven titles came at the expense of the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes that would be Wilt Chamberlain Lakers. Yes of course, the number of teams, and to some extent, even the competition might have lesser than it is right now but it still requires a lot of mental fortitude and competitive drive to keep winning like these Celtics have. The team was led by Bill Russell. Who would win championships with the team in 1968 and 1969 being a player head coach. Russell is often regarded as the greatest champion of all-time". As this team and he should be.
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