The debate about the greatest NBA team ever is always intense, with many fans, media members, and even players picking among incredible things that did impressive things on the court and left their mark on the game. In recent months, a controversy between the Chicago Bulls of the 90s, the Los Angeles Lakers of the 2000s, and the 2017 Golden State Warriors started, and many people had something to say about it.
While Draymond Green said his 2017 Warriors would beat the 1998 Bulls, others called him out for saying that. Shaquille O’Neal claimed that his Los Angeles Lakers would have beaten the Dubs too, so you know things got really interesting between all these people.
More recently, one player who was part of the ‘Bad Boys’ Detroit Pistons and the 90s Chicago Bulls made his pick between three incredible teams. As expected, he sided with his Bulls.
John Salley Picks The 1996 Bulls As The Best NBA Team Ever
4x NBA champion John Salley recently joined Byron Scott’s podcast, ‘Off the Dribble,’ where he talked about a variety of topics, including the tragic death of Len Bias. Salley also touched on the best team ever, and he picked the record-breaking 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
Besides the fact that he was a part of that team, Salley argued that they broke the record and went to win the championship. When Scott tried to say the 2000s Lakers were the best team ever, Salley mentioned the record, and when Scott mentioned the 2016 Golden State Warriors, John said they couldn’t win the title, which the Bulls did, and that gives them the edge.
“I was there at the best team ever,” Salley said. “We won 72 games.”
“The best team ever was still in Purple and Gold,” Scott said.
They started a little back and forth before agreeing that Chicago had the edge over the Warriors.
Salley: “Not according to the record.”
Scott: “Well, record-wise, the best team ever is Golden State.”
Salley: “Yeah, but they didn’t win the championship.”
Scott: “And they didn’t win the championship. Best regular season record, great, that’s fine. But if you don’t back it up by winning the championship, it don’t mean sh*t. And Golden State found that out, that it don’t mean sh*t. Y’all backed it up, 72 wins, you win the championship.”
Those Chicago Bulls were a terrific team and even though many people have tried to diminish their accolades recently, they remain arguably the greatest squad of all time in the NBA. Sure, the Warriors have the record, but they were one win away from completing a perfect season and choked. The Lakers had incredible teams, too, but not to the extent of the Bulls.
