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NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000

By Luke Duffy

Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O'Brian trophy as teammate Shaquille O'Neal (L) hold the MVP trophy after winning the NBA Championship against Indiana Pacers 19 June, 2000, after game six of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers won the game 116-111 to take the NBA title 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O'Brian trophy as teammate Shaquille O'Neal (L) hold the MVP trophy after winning the NBA Championship against Indiana Pacers 19 June, 2000, after game six of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers won the game 116-111 to take the NBA title 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) /
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NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 20: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors, his wife Ayesha, and daughter Riley celebrate with his NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award during the Victory Parade on June 20, 2022 in San Francisco, California. The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 4-2 to win the 2022 NBA Finals, NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000, NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Urakami/Getty Images) /

NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 NBA franchises since the year 2000: 1. Golden State Warriors

By no means a foregone conclusion, but if you look at what the Warriors have done over the last 10 years especially, then they had to get the top spot. They effectively took what the Spurs had put in place and perfected it, and the safe bet is on them continuing to be relevant for the next decade.

The fact the Warriors did nothing really of note (outside of stunning the first-seeded Mavericks when they were the eighth seed as part of the “We Believe” movement of 2007) actually helps their cause, rather than going against it. Could any other franchise be so irrelevant through the start of a period of time and by the end have won four championships in eight years?

Hard as it is to believe now, San Francisco was not a place players typically wanted to go. The tech boom changed that, and so did the Warriors drafting Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to spearhead a team that went to six out of a possible eight finals. There was the 73-9 season, and selecting a head coach in Steve Kerr who could have bombed, but was perfect.

The Rockets (22 games, 2008) and Heat (27 wins, 2013) boasted long regular-season win streaks, but the Warriors got to 28 across the end of the 2014-15 season and the start of 2015-16. There’s also the fact that Curry actually changed the way basketball is played thanks to his shooting ability, and you could argue he has been the best player in the league for the last 10 years.

There was the masterstroke in trading for Andrew Wiggins, while Harrison Barnes was the previous iteration of that crucially important player for the Warriors group. In Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Jordan Poole, and James Wiseman, they have bridged present and future perfectly, just as the Spurs did in drafting Tim Duncan after losing David Robinson to injury.

They’ve won championships, set records, boasted an all-time player in Curry, became a marquee destination and franchise, and did so while taking the regular season seriously as well. At 107 playoff wins in this timeframe, they have easily averaged the most points per win (109.7), flipping the narrative that defense wins championships. The gold standard, and rightfully so.

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