Strongest NBA Team Ever: Ranking the Most Dominant Squads in Basketball History

As I sit here scrolling through old NBA highlights, I can't help but marvel at how certain teams just seemed to transcend basketball itself. Having followed the league religiously since the 90s, I've developed pretty strong opinions about what truly makes a team dominant. It's not just about winning championships—it's about how they made you feel while watching them play. That feeling of witnessing something truly unstoppable, much like the sentiment shared by that anonymous player who thanked fans for making him feel "unstoppable." That's the magic we're talking about here.

Let me start with the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls because, in my completely biased opinion, they might just be the greatest collection of basketball talent ever assembled. They went 72-10 in the regular season, a record that stood for twenty years until the Warriors finally broke it. But numbers alone don't capture their dominance. Watching Michael Jordan that season was like watching a master painter at work—every move calculated, every shot dripping with intention. Scottie Pippen was the perfect co-star, arguably the most versatile defender in league history. And Dennis Rodman? The man was a rebounding savant who averaged 14.9 rebounds per game despite being significantly shorter than most centers. What made them special wasn't just their talent but their mentality—they played with a ferocity that broke opponents psychologically before the game even started.

Then we have the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, the team that responded to blowing a 3-1 Finals lead by adding Kevin Durant to a roster that had already won 73 games. It was almost unfair, really. I remember watching their opening night game against the Spurs and thinking, "Well, the season's over." They went 16-1 in the playoffs, which is just absurd when you consider the level of competition. Steph Curry's gravity, Klay Thompson's catch-and-shoot perfection, Draymond's defensive genius—it was basketball as art. But what separates them from other great teams, in my view, was their unselfishness. They averaged 30.4 assists per game that season, which feels more like a video game stat than real life.

The 1985-86 Boston Celtics often get overlooked in these conversations, but they had Larry Bird in his absolute prime. Bird was averaging 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists while shooting over 49% from the field—numbers that would make today's analytics departments drool. What made that Celtics team special was their depth. They had four Hall of Famers in their starting lineup and two more coming off the bench. When your second unit includes Bill Walton, the former MVP, you know you're dealing with something special. I've always felt this team would dominate in any era because of their combination of size, shooting, and basketball IQ.

Now, I know some purists will argue for the 1971-72 Lakers, who won 33 consecutive games—a record that still stands. That team was led by Jerry West, who averaged 25.8 points and 9.7 assists at 33 years old, and Wilt Chamberlain, who was no longer the scoring machine of his youth but had transformed into a defensive anchor and rebounding force. Their style was different—more methodical, less flashy—but equally effective. What impresses me most about that team is how they adapted. They recognized their aging roster couldn't run like they used to, so they perfected the half-court game.

The 1986-87 Lakers get my vote for the most entertaining dominant team. Magic Johnson at his peak, running Showtime with that brilliant smile, making impossible passes look routine. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 39 years old but still averaging 17.5 points per game with that unstoppable skyhook. James Worthy running the break like a freight train. They went 65-17 that season and their playoff run felt inevitable. Watching them was like watching jazz—structured chaos that somehow always resolved into beautiful music.

What all these teams shared, beyond talent and championships, was that intangible quality the anonymous player referenced—that feeling of being unstoppable, both for the players themselves and for those watching them. It's the confidence that comes from knowing, deep in your bones, that you're part of something special. As a basketball fan, you could feel it radiating from these teams whether you watched them in person or on television decades later.

In the end, ranking these teams becomes somewhat arbitrary because they existed in different contexts with different rules and challenges. But if you put a gun to my head and demanded my pick for the strongest NBA team ever, I'd have to go with the 95-96 Bulls. Their combination of individual greatness, team chemistry, defensive intensity, and that Jordan-factor—the undeniable will to win that transcended statistics—just edges out the others. Though part of me wonders what would happen if we could pit all these legendary teams against each other. Now that's a fantasy basketball league I'd pay good money to watch.