The 5 Greatest Teams Since 1995
COLIN LINNEWEBER
Big City Bias Without The Boston Bullshit
I decided to nominate the five best teams that I have seen perform since the 1995 season.
There are a few caveats in regard to the list that I comprised.
For one, I focused my list strictly on professional sports teams who participate in the NFL, NBA or MLB.
Secondly, teams that participated from the 1995 season to present day are the only squads eligible to make this list. I selected the 1995 season because it was the first year that Major League Baseball instituted the wild card and because it was the year Michael Jordan returned from his first retirement.
Finally, if a great team won consecutive crowns, they can not make the list twice. For example, the 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 Chicago Bulls teams were both two of the greatest units ever assembled in the annals of professional sports. Nevertheless, only one of those two spectacular squads will be officially chosen for this selection.
Without further adieu, here are my choices for the greatest professional teams since the 1995 season.
1) 1998 New York Yankees- This Yankee juggernaut won an astounding 114 games in comparison to 48 losses in the regular season and they pranced through the postseason with a record of 11-2 en route to wining New York’s 24th championship in team history. In total, the Bombers went a mesmerizing 125-50.
2) 1995/1996 Chicago Bulls- This Michael Jordan-led team dismantled all foes. The Bulls went an NBA record 72-10 in the regular season and 11-3 in the playoffs to win the first leg of their second dominating three-peat in the 90’s.
3) 1999/2000 Los Angeles Lakers- The Lakers won 82 of the 105 games they played in the regular and postseason for the 11th best winning percentage in league history. Shaquille O’Neal in his prime and a young and exuberant Kobe Bryant proved to be too much for the league’s competition.
4) 1998/1999 Denver Broncos- After steamrolling the competition for the first three-quarters of the season, the Broncos stumbled a tad. Nevertheless, John Elway and Terrell Davis helped lead the team to a 14-2 regular season record before the Broncos trounced the overmatched Atlanta Flacons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII to win consecutive Lombardi Trophies.
5) 2003/2004 New England Patriots- After starting a pathetic 0-2, Tom Brady and the Patriots never lost again as they capped a 14-2 regular season with a narrow 32-29 victory over the mediocre Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
* Honorable Mentions:
1) 1996/1997 Chicago Bulls- Virtually as dominant as the 1995/1996 Bulls, one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
2) 1999 New York Yankees- Virtually as dominant as the 1998 Yankees, one of the greatest teams in Major League Baseball history.
3) 1999/2000 St. Louis Rams-“The Greatest Show on Turf” fielded one of the most potent offenses in the annals of the NFL.
4) 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks- In a 7 game series, with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling throwing in the primes of their careers, the Diamondbacks could have beaten any championship team in history.
Naturally, this list is subjective and open for debate. I would enjoy hearing the opinions of others on this topic. Please feel free to chime-in with your two-cents.
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My two cents: this list sucks!
Here’s my top 5:
1.) 2004 Red Sox- reversed 86-year-old curse
2.) 2001 Patriots- birth of a dynasty
3.) 2007-08 Celtics- ended 20+ years of futility
4.) 1995-96 Bulls- Jordan rules
5.) 1999 FSU Seminoles- my list includes college
Can only pray that you are kidding with your top-five….Your fucking delusional or on jimsen seeds if you are not
It depends what the definition of “greatest team” is here. Is it stuck together and overcame the odds (ala: Red Sox), is it, dominated the living crap at out of other teams (ala: Bulls), or is it the team that no one expected anything from, and came out of nowhere to win it all (ala: Marlins).
Anyway you look at it, I don’t know how Arizona is on your list. They had a epic 1-2 punch but the rest of their pitchers were mediocre. Luis Gonzalez had a great year, but the rest of the team was nothing special. And this is coming from a Diamondbacks fan.
If we’re including college how could you leave off the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, who flattened everyone they played.
Greatest teams is pretty simple…It means the best and most dominant teams…Don’t really understand how that is difficult to grasp…
As my article said, it is only three professional leagues (NBA, MLB & NFL)….So, obviously no college…..No Miami
Schilling and Johnson threw 5 times in a 7 game series in the primes of their careers…..Because of that, they could have beaten any team in the history of baseball in a 7 game series
I understand that Colin. I’m not saying I don’t get it. I’m saying the word dominant has many meanings. Arizona had a dominant 1-2 punch, but they couldn’t even win a road game in the World Series. That’s not dominant. In fact, their divisonal series with the Cardinals went to the maximum 5 games where they won in the 9th inning in dramatic fashion. What they did, knock off the 3 time champion Yankees was impressive, but it wasn’t dominant. That doesn’t make them one of the 9 or 10 greatest teams since 1995. IT just means they had a dominant duo. If your article was about dominant duos then yess I’d absolutley have them right up there. But the TEAM itself was not that great. They were good. Very good when they needed to be. But far from dominant. And that’s my point.
The Lakers of the 2000’s were great because of not just Kobe and Shaq, but because of their supporting cast (Horry, Fisher, guys like that)… They were a team. Arizona was basically a 2 man team, and Luis Gonzalez. IF you look at their starting pitchers besides Schilling and Johnson the numbers were mediocre at best.
Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers would be on my top lists.