A few days ago, I attempted to start a series of posts to start the crowning o####reatest franchise in NBA history. To make a long story short, it was as successful as the Edsel, New Coca-Cola, and Bush' Iraq War policy. It was in the midst of that mess, that a question from Hoffman (whose NBA opinion I hold in good esteem) that the inspiration for another series began.

In the last post I did for my original concept (those have since been erased, to avoid the blog world from being futher confused), Hoffman said "Are these (the teams I created) one-season teams, or a collection of players from all the teams all-time?". That got me to thinking "Why not just do a list of the best single-season teams of all-time? It will be less confusing.". So now, in the first of the series of lists, here are the 50 best teams in NBA history (according to me; it's not a be-all end-all, I'm always right" lsit.

Lets' start with #'s 50-41

50. 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs of the early-to-mid 1990s were seemingly always on the doorstep to greatness. With David Robinson at his peak, the Spurs would win four division titles between 1990 and 1996 (with a Western Conference Finals berth in 1995). Then, in 1997, Robinson got hurt, missed 76 games, and the Spurs went 20-62.

It was that bad season that set the foundation of the Spurs' dynasty to follow, as after they won the lottery, they selected Tim Duncan #1. Duncan paid immediate dividends, as San Antonio won 56 games his first season. In the lockout shortened 1999 season (the major reason they're so low), the Spurs were poised to win a title. They added Mario Elie, who had won two titles in Houston previous to then, and things looked promising.

The Spurs started slowly, going just 6-8 as fans and the media wondered what was worng. But a 31-5 finish brought then a division title (on tiebreakers with Utah) and the #1 seed. Duncan finished runner-up to Karl Malone in the MVP race, but he would own the playoffs.

After beating Minnesota 3-1 to start, the Spurs swept the Lakers (prompting the hiring of Phil Jackson) and the Blazers, with the dramatic Sean Elliott shot in game 2 providing inspiration. That set up a Finals showdown with the Knicks, who became the first #8 seed to reach the Finals.

The Spurs raced to a 2-0 lead, with Duncan averaging 29 PPG and about 15 RPG. The Knicks took game 3, then SA won the next two and the title, with the clinching field-goal scored by Avery Johnson, a castoff of several teams (including the Spurs twice). The win was the first by an old ABA team in the NBA Finals (also the first appearence by such). Duncan was named Finals MVP, and had established himself as an elite player.

49. 1950-51 Rochester Royals: The Kings franchise has suffered from incredible bad luck. The team has moved four times and has made just one appearence in the NBA Finals. This team listed was that finalist, and it was the stopper (briefly) for the NBA's original dynasty.

In the early 50s, the Lakers and Royals were the league's premier attraction. The two teams had finsihed 1-2 in their division races each of the teams' first two years in the BAA/NBA, with the Royals winning in 1949 and Minneapolis in 1950. The teams would finish 1-2 again in 1951, as George Mikan won his third straight scoring title.

In the playoffs, the teams met in the Western Division Finals, but unlike the two previous years, the Royals won 3-1, as Mikan suffered from a fracture of his ankle and wasn't 100%. That set up the Royals to face the Knicks, who made their first Finals as the three seed (out of four).

The series was hotly contested, as the Royals won the first three games, before the Knicks won three straight of their own, forcing the first game seven in Finals history. In that game, Rochester led by 16 early, then fell behind by two late. But Bob Davies hit critical free throws down the stretch, and the Royals won 79-75. The Royals would win the division the following year, but would never make the Finals again, and moved to Cincinnati in 1957.

48. 1955-56 Philadelphia Warriors: The Warriors were an NBA charter team in 1946, and in their first season, they won the BAA title over Chicago. The team would remain a mid-level team through the next decade, before the advent of the shot clock brought them to life. Led by Paul Arizin, Neil Johnston and Tom Gola, the Warriors improved by 8 their win total from the previous year and finished as the Eastern Division champs.

In the Finals, they faced the Fort Wayne Pistons, who won their second straight division title behind coach Charles Eckman (who officiated the first All-Star game). Eckman claimed he didn't actually run an offensive set; he just let George Yardley do his thing. But the Pistons couldn't stop Arizin, who averaged 28.9 PPG in the playoffs. The Warriors dusted off Fort Wayne in 5.

47. 1967-68 Boston Celtics: It appeared as if the Boston run of dominance was over. The 76ers stopped their record 8 straight title run, and with a majority of that team in or entering their primes, it looked like Philadelphia would reign for as long time to come. Too bad no one told the Celtics that.

The season unfolded routinely, as the Sixers won 62 games in the first season where 82 games were played. The Celts finished at 54-28, second in the East. When the two teams met in the division finals, the Sixers raced to a 3-1 series lead, and victory seemed inevitable. But the Celtics won the last three games (two in Philly) to stun the Sixers and advance to the Finals against the Lakers.

The Finals marked the sixth time the Lakers and Celtics met for the title, and like the previous five, Boston won (4-2), taking the final game in L.A. by 13 points. The win proved Bill Russell could coach and play effectively, and that the old dynasty still had life left in it.

46. 1954-55 Syracuse Nationals: The Nationals (who would become the 76ers) made their mark early in their NBA lives as immediate contenders; they made their first Finals in their 1st season (1949-50) and the year before this team, ahd taken the Lakers to seven in the Finals. Then, in the 1954 offseason, the NBA approved Nats owner Danny Biasone's shot clock suggestion. The results were immediate; league scoring went from 79..5 per game to 93.1, and the Celtics became the first team to score 100 PPG.

The first victors in this new world (post-Mikan) were, ironically, the Nationals. Winning the Eastern Division by 5 over New York, the Nats beat Boton 3-1 to advance to the Finals. There they met the Pistons, who had won their first division title since joining the NBA in 1948. Although not every game was high scoring (one game was 74-71), the Nationals prevailed in seven games for their first NBA title.

45. 1947-48 Baltimore Bullets: These Bullets are no relation to the Wizards franchise that exists today. This Bullets team was formed in 1947 and disbanded seven years later, but not before they did something no post-1946 team had or has done; win a title in their first year of play.

The NBA had been reduced in size (by teams folding) from 11 teams to 7, so they needed an 8th team to make two even divisions. The Bullets were added for that purpose. Led by player-coach Buddy Jeannette, the Bullets finished in a three way tie for second in the closest race for a division title in BAA/NBA history (the St. Louis team went 29-19; the other three teams finished 28-20).

The Bullets polished off the Knicks in their quarterfinals matchup, then beat Chiacgo 2-0 to reach the Finals against the defending champion Warriors. The Bullets won 4-2, setting a record (yet to be matched) by overcoming a 21 point deficit in game 2. They would never again win a playoff series.

44. 1949-50 Minneapolis Lakers: The Lakers had established themselves as the best team in basketball. They had won the BAA title the previous year and the NBL title in 1947. When the two leagues merged to form the NBA, they remained the best, winning their seond straight title.

George Mikan continued to set the bar for excellence in the league; he won his second scoring title with a 27.4 average. The Lakers had additional hurdles to cross, with the playoffs a jumbled mess because of three divisions.

The Lakers had to beat Chiacgo (2-0), Fort Wayne (2-0) and the Anderson Packers (2-0) to reach the Finals, while their opponent (Syracuse) needed just two series and 5 games (against Philadlephia and New York) to make it. But even with the HOFer Dolph Schayes, the Nationals couldn't match the Lakers' powerful front line of Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen and Jim Pollard, and lost in 6 games.

43. 1946-47 Philadelphia Warriors: The BAA had just been established, and Warriors owner Ed Gottlieb knew the league needed star power. So he had his SG, Joe Fulks, launch as many shots as he cared to think, believing that scoring would attract fans. Fulks thus became the league's first scoring champion (although he shot under 30%) and led the Warriors to a 35-25 record and second in the East.

The Wahington Capitols had dominated the league, going 49-11 (with Red Auerbach as coach), but had to face Western Division champion Chicago, led by MAx Zaslofsky (the original BAA/NBA playoff format was patterned after the NHL's format at the time; 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3). The Stags beat the Caps 4-2 to face the Warriors, who beat St. Louis and New York. The Warriors won the title 4-1 to capture the BAA's first title.

42. 1989-90 Detroit Pistons: It may seem low to rank these guys, but trust me, there are a lot of great teams here, and it was hard to rank them. Anyhow, the Bad Boys had just won their first title over an injury-ravaged Lakers team (putting Kareem into an unhappy reitrement), and were ready to do it again.

The depth of this team was reduced by the loss of Rick Mahorn to Minnesota in the expansion draft (Mahorn was soon after traded to Philadelphia). But Mahorn's absence actually wasn't all bad; James Edwards became a starter and gave the Pistons a needed low-post threat more consitently as a starter (after an experiment with John Salley as a starter failed). The Pistons overcame some early struggles to finish 59-23 and win the Central for the third straight time.

In the playoffs, the Bad Boys beat Indiana and New York fairly easy, then faced a stiff challenge against the Bulls. With each team winning at home, the Pistons prevailed in seven games. Hoping to face L.A. (healthy) again, the Pistons instead faced Portland, in their first Finals in 13 years.

The Pistons came back from an early deficit in game 1 to win 105-99, but then lost a heart-breaker in game 2 in OT. The series shifted to Portland, where Detroit hadn't won since 1974, but the Pistons didn't seem to mind; they won all three games (the last on a dramatic jumper by Vinnie Johnson) to take the title 4-1. Isiah Thomas (27.6 PPG in Finals) was MVP.

41. 1963-64 Boston Celtics: The Celtics were in the middle of their historic run of championships here, and this title was significant; by winning their sixth straight title, they broke the record held by the Yankees (1949-53) and the Montreal Canadiens (1956-60) of five straight.

Bill Russell remained the driving force of the team and the league; he led the league in rebounds, and finished runner-up to Oscar Robertson as MVP of the league. The Celtics captured the division by four over Robertson's Royals, then beat them 4-1 to advance to the Finals.

There they met the San Francisco Warriors, two year removed from moving from Philadelphia. The Warriors were the first team to feature a Twin Towers alignment, as Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond (two future HOFers) anchoring a team that had allowed a league-low 102.6 PPG and had beaten St. Louis 4-3 to get to the Finals. Ironcially, it was the first Finals meeting between great rivals Russell and Chamberlain.

The Warriors, however, had no chance against the deeper Celtics. The Celts won 4-1, with only one real close game, to take the title. This was the last series for original 6th man Frank Ramsey, who ceded his role to John Havlicek.

That's #50-41. Tomorrow, the List continues with 40-31.