The Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs were the 2 most successful NBA franchises from 1999-2000 through 2008-2009. The Spurs had more regular season success than any team, having a league best record of 576-244 (only team with .700+ regular season winning percentage) and making the playoffs all 10 years. While the Spurs won 3 Championships in 3 Finals appearances, the Lakers won 4 Championships in 6 Finals appearances.
San Antonio made their run with Gregg Popovich at the helm. To their credit, they kept the same general core group in place throughout, with the centerpiece being future hall of fame forward/center Tim Duncan. This included Duncan taking the torch from now hall of fame center David Robinson. Among the team's key acquisitions were international draft picks Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The result was a team that ranked no lower than #4 in the Western Conference playoff seedings since the Spurs' first Championship at the end of last decade. Also to Popovich's credit, he served as both the team's Head Coach and General Manager through 2002--when he handed the GM reins to R. C. Buford--and has links to a number of successful coaches during the decade--including Larry Brown, Don Nelson, Avery Johnson, Mike Brown, and Doc Rivers. (More can be said about the coaching network in the NBA, as the above coaches and other successful coaches last decade, such as Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and Rick Carlisle, have links to each other or to the most successful teams last decade, including the Spurs, Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Detroit Pistons.)
On the other hand, the Lakers saw more changes to their franchise during the past 10 years. The duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant captained Los Angeles to 3 consecutive Championships to open the decade. However, the two players had both superstar talent and superstar egos, meaning neither future hall of famer could accept being secondary to the other player. As such, their last games played together were during the 2004 NBA Finals, when the Lakers fell to the Detroit Pistons. Mitch Kupchak--who had replaced hall of famer Jerry West as the team's General Manager in 2002--opted to sign Bryant to a new contract and trade O'Neal to the Miami Heat following owner Jerry Buss's request that Phil Jackson leave the team following the loss in the Finals. Mitch Kupchak then hired Rudy Tomjanovich to take over as Head Coach, but after Tomjanovich resigned due to health concerns, Jackson eventually returned as Head Coach a year later. To Bryant's, Jackson's, and Kupchak's credit, Los Angeles returned to the Finals twice and won the last Championship to close out the decade. Despite the roster changes, Jackson still runs the triangle offense as taught by former Assistant Coach and now Consultant Tex Winter. Forward Lamar Odom--who was acquired in the Shaquille O'Neal trade--brought a skillset to the Lakers that was similar to Scottie Pippen, who helped Jackson and Michael Jordan win 6 Championships with the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s. This complemented the acquisition of Pau Gasol, who helped stabilize the post positions for L.A.
Overall, the Lakers, Mavericks, and Pistons all made the playoffs 9 out of 10 years, with the Lakers and Mavericks joining the Spurs as the only 3 teams to win 500+ games and lose fewer than 300 games last decade. While both the Lakers and Pistons led the league in Conference Finals appearances with 6, the Lakers won all 6 of their Western Conference Finals appearances and the Pistons won 2 of their 6 Eastern Conference Finals appearances. On the other hand, of the 11 franchises that advanced to the NBA Finals last decade, 2 teams (the New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers) actually finished the decade with a sub .500 record. Granted, the Cavaliers had the 'pre-LeBron James' and 'LeBron James' eras last decade while the Nets saw much success with Jason Kidd as point guard for the bulk of the decade.
Regarding issues of parity, 29 of the 30 NBA franchises made the playoffs at least once, with 26 of the teams making at least 3 appearances. Only the Charlotte Bobcats, who joined the NBA in 2004-2005, did not qualify for the playoffs (though they may qualify in 2009-2010). The playoff situation makes sense, as, although a handful of franchises like the Lakers and Spurs dominated the league last decade, 16 teams make the playoffs each year, meaning that slightly more than 50% of the league makes the playoffs. The teams (other than the Bobcats) with the fewest playoff appearances over the past 10 seasons (Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors) all advanced past the 1st round. This included Golden State's historic upset of #1 seed Dallas in 2007.
While the Spurs dominated the decade alongside the Lakers, the Boston Celtics--who historically have been the Eastern Conference rivals of the Western Conference Lakers--found some success. At the beginning of the decade, Celtic legend Larry Bird coached the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Finals in 1999-2000 (where they lost to the Lakers). Then, the Celtics made some breakthrough trades, acquiring stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to complement captain Paul Pierce. The new "Big 3" (following after Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish) brought the Celtics back to the NBA Finals, where they defeated their rival Lakers and won a league-leading 17th franchise NBA Championship. At the close of the decade, the Lakers had won their 15th Championship, meaning that the 2 teams combined have won over half of the Championships in NBA history.
Aside from the dominant franchises, the 2003 NBA Draft was especially important for 4 other franchises looking to make their marks and win their first Championships. While the Cleveland Cavaliers landed LeBron James, the Denver Nuggets took Carmelo Anthony, the Toronto Raptors picked Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat selected Dwyane Wade. Along with former Lakers personnel center Shaquille O'Neal and Head Coach Pat Riley, Wade led the Heat to their first title. Under former Spurs personnel Head Coach Mike Brown and General Manager Danny Ferry, James led the Cavaliers to their first Finals appearance. Other picks during the decade, including Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, join James, Anthony, Bosh, and Wade as ambassadors for the league heading into the new decade.
Again, coaching remains critical to success in the NBA. Of the last 10 Coaches of the Year, 6 coached in the NBA Finals over the past decade. Larry Brown, who led the 76ers to the Finals in 2000-2001 and the Detroit Pistons to the Finals from 2003-2005 (including the 2003-2004 Championship), had already led the collegiate Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball team to the NCAA Championship in 1987-1988. He had also won 3 Coach of the Year Awards while coaching in the professional American Basketball Association, which merged with the NBA in 1976. Larry Brown is now trying to coach the Charlotte Bobcats to their first playoff berth in team history. Meanwhile, Hubie Brown, who was one of the Coaches of the Year last decade to not coach in the last 10 NBA Finals, returned as an NBA Head Coach after 15 years away from the bench, most of which was spent as a commentator. He won the Coach of the Year Award at age 70. Hubie Brown had won his first Coach of the Year Award back in 1977-1978, at age 44. Meanwhile, Jerry Sloan--who has yet to win a Coach of the Year Award--coached the Utah Jazz to 7 playoff appearances in 10 years, has been with the franchise since 1983, and has served as Head Coach since 1988. Sloan is the longest tenured Head Coach in American professional sports and has held his Head Coach position while over 200 head coaching changes have been made around the rest of the NBA.
*Special thanks to basketball-reference.com, sports.yahoo.com/nba, nba.com, and Wikipedia for statistics.
*Another article: "Who's the top ballclub of the decade? Lakers edge Spurs".
San Antonio made their run with Gregg Popovich at the helm. To their credit, they kept the same general core group in place throughout, with the centerpiece being future hall of fame forward/center Tim Duncan. This included Duncan taking the torch from now hall of fame center David Robinson. Among the team's key acquisitions were international draft picks Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The result was a team that ranked no lower than #4 in the Western Conference playoff seedings since the Spurs' first Championship at the end of last decade. Also to Popovich's credit, he served as both the team's Head Coach and General Manager through 2002--when he handed the GM reins to R. C. Buford--and has links to a number of successful coaches during the decade--including Larry Brown, Don Nelson, Avery Johnson, Mike Brown, and Doc Rivers. (More can be said about the coaching network in the NBA, as the above coaches and other successful coaches last decade, such as Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and Rick Carlisle, have links to each other or to the most successful teams last decade, including the Spurs, Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Detroit Pistons.)
On the other hand, the Lakers saw more changes to their franchise during the past 10 years. The duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant captained Los Angeles to 3 consecutive Championships to open the decade. However, the two players had both superstar talent and superstar egos, meaning neither future hall of famer could accept being secondary to the other player. As such, their last games played together were during the 2004 NBA Finals, when the Lakers fell to the Detroit Pistons. Mitch Kupchak--who had replaced hall of famer Jerry West as the team's General Manager in 2002--opted to sign Bryant to a new contract and trade O'Neal to the Miami Heat following owner Jerry Buss's request that Phil Jackson leave the team following the loss in the Finals. Mitch Kupchak then hired Rudy Tomjanovich to take over as Head Coach, but after Tomjanovich resigned due to health concerns, Jackson eventually returned as Head Coach a year later. To Bryant's, Jackson's, and Kupchak's credit, Los Angeles returned to the Finals twice and won the last Championship to close out the decade. Despite the roster changes, Jackson still runs the triangle offense as taught by former Assistant Coach and now Consultant Tex Winter. Forward Lamar Odom--who was acquired in the Shaquille O'Neal trade--brought a skillset to the Lakers that was similar to Scottie Pippen, who helped Jackson and Michael Jordan win 6 Championships with the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s. This complemented the acquisition of Pau Gasol, who helped stabilize the post positions for L.A.
Overall, the Lakers, Mavericks, and Pistons all made the playoffs 9 out of 10 years, with the Lakers and Mavericks joining the Spurs as the only 3 teams to win 500+ games and lose fewer than 300 games last decade. While both the Lakers and Pistons led the league in Conference Finals appearances with 6, the Lakers won all 6 of their Western Conference Finals appearances and the Pistons won 2 of their 6 Eastern Conference Finals appearances. On the other hand, of the 11 franchises that advanced to the NBA Finals last decade, 2 teams (the New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers) actually finished the decade with a sub .500 record. Granted, the Cavaliers had the 'pre-LeBron James' and 'LeBron James' eras last decade while the Nets saw much success with Jason Kidd as point guard for the bulk of the decade.
Regarding issues of parity, 29 of the 30 NBA franchises made the playoffs at least once, with 26 of the teams making at least 3 appearances. Only the Charlotte Bobcats, who joined the NBA in 2004-2005, did not qualify for the playoffs (though they may qualify in 2009-2010). The playoff situation makes sense, as, although a handful of franchises like the Lakers and Spurs dominated the league last decade, 16 teams make the playoffs each year, meaning that slightly more than 50% of the league makes the playoffs. The teams (other than the Bobcats) with the fewest playoff appearances over the past 10 seasons (Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors) all advanced past the 1st round. This included Golden State's historic upset of #1 seed Dallas in 2007.
While the Spurs dominated the decade alongside the Lakers, the Boston Celtics--who historically have been the Eastern Conference rivals of the Western Conference Lakers--found some success. At the beginning of the decade, Celtic legend Larry Bird coached the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Finals in 1999-2000 (where they lost to the Lakers). Then, the Celtics made some breakthrough trades, acquiring stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to complement captain Paul Pierce. The new "Big 3" (following after Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish) brought the Celtics back to the NBA Finals, where they defeated their rival Lakers and won a league-leading 17th franchise NBA Championship. At the close of the decade, the Lakers had won their 15th Championship, meaning that the 2 teams combined have won over half of the Championships in NBA history.
Aside from the dominant franchises, the 2003 NBA Draft was especially important for 4 other franchises looking to make their marks and win their first Championships. While the Cleveland Cavaliers landed LeBron James, the Denver Nuggets took Carmelo Anthony, the Toronto Raptors picked Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat selected Dwyane Wade. Along with former Lakers personnel center Shaquille O'Neal and Head Coach Pat Riley, Wade led the Heat to their first title. Under former Spurs personnel Head Coach Mike Brown and General Manager Danny Ferry, James led the Cavaliers to their first Finals appearance. Other picks during the decade, including Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, join James, Anthony, Bosh, and Wade as ambassadors for the league heading into the new decade.
Again, coaching remains critical to success in the NBA. Of the last 10 Coaches of the Year, 6 coached in the NBA Finals over the past decade. Larry Brown, who led the 76ers to the Finals in 2000-2001 and the Detroit Pistons to the Finals from 2003-2005 (including the 2003-2004 Championship), had already led the collegiate Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball team to the NCAA Championship in 1987-1988. He had also won 3 Coach of the Year Awards while coaching in the professional American Basketball Association, which merged with the NBA in 1976. Larry Brown is now trying to coach the Charlotte Bobcats to their first playoff berth in team history. Meanwhile, Hubie Brown, who was one of the Coaches of the Year last decade to not coach in the last 10 NBA Finals, returned as an NBA Head Coach after 15 years away from the bench, most of which was spent as a commentator. He won the Coach of the Year Award at age 70. Hubie Brown had won his first Coach of the Year Award back in 1977-1978, at age 44. Meanwhile, Jerry Sloan--who has yet to win a Coach of the Year Award--coached the Utah Jazz to 7 playoff appearances in 10 years, has been with the franchise since 1983, and has served as Head Coach since 1988. Sloan is the longest tenured Head Coach in American professional sports and has held his Head Coach position while over 200 head coaching changes have been made around the rest of the NBA.
*Special thanks to basketball-reference.com, sports.yahoo.com/nba, nba.com, and Wikipedia for statistics.
*Another article: "Who's the top ballclub of the decade? Lakers edge Spurs".