Over the past 75 years, the NBA has seen many great and legendary teams dominate the game. From the Russell-led Celtics of the 60s to the miraculous ‘Showtime’ Lakers, this world is no stranger to overly talented basketball teams.
But when it comes to history’s greatest teams, there are two who stand above the rest: the 90s Bulls and, of course, the superteam Warriors of the late 2010s.
While fans have debated which team is better for years now, Steph Curry himself made his pick in a recent video with GQ Sports. Answering the question of a fan, he unsurprisingly gave the nod to his 2017 squad over the 1996 Jordan-led team.
“Absolutely. Obviously, we’ll never know, but you put us on paper with them… I like our chances. I’d say dubs in 6, too.”
Funnily enough, Scottie Pippen recently chimed in on the debate as well, stating that his Bulls would easily beat the Warriors… in six games.
I’ll stick our roster against the Warriors any day — especially our second three-peat teams.
Let’s go through the matchups:
Dennis Rodman or Draymond Green at power forward? Dennis. Luc Longley or Andrew Bogut/JaVale McGee at center? Luc. Michael Jordan or Klay Thompson at shooting guard? Michael. Me or Kevin Durant at small forward? You could go either way. The only matchup in Golden State’s favor would be Steph Curry over Ron Harper at point guard.
One more thing: the Warriors had nobody off the bench as skilled as Toni Kukoc.
Prediction: Bulls in six. (the series wouldn’t even go seven. After all, we never extended to a Game 7 in the Finals).
Needless to say, nobody is surprised that Pippen and Curry disagree on this topic. But who would actually win?
There is no doubt that the Bulls had considerably more strength and size than Golden State. Guys like Pippen, Rodman, and (of course) Jordan played with much more power than the 2017 Warriors ever did.
On the flip side, Golden State had shooting that Chicago just couldn’t match. The combination of Steph, Durant, and Klay Thompson would ensure that the Dubs dominate the perimeter.
Even with everything we know, picking a conclusive winner is just an impossible task. There will always be a case to be made for one team over the other.
Nevertheless, it’s fun to think about, and even better to watch some of the players who were on those teams make the case for their squad.
