Again I know this is very late but the NBA is probably one of the toughest decades to break down and find the best and worst and I thought that with the All-Star Game being today it would be a perfect time to look back on the past Decade from the 1999-2000 season to the 2008-09 season.
Franchise of the Decade: TIE Spurs and Lakers-These two franchises have dominated the decade winning 7 of 10 championships and being in 9 of 10 finals combined. While the Lakers have won more titles (4 to 3) the Spurs have more playoff appearances (10 to 9). The Spurs have also had a greater impact on the NBA from being at the forefront of the international explosion especially when it comes to the draft to the fact that many of the other teams have taken GMs and Coaches from the Spurs including the Thunder and the Cavs.
Team of the Decade: 2000-01 Lakers: The Only Laker team of the Kobe-Shaq era who dominated in the playoffs (the 2000 version was pushed to 7 by the Blazers and the 2002 team was handed their series over the Kings by the Game 6 refs) in fact they only lost 1 game all playoffs and it took a dominanting performance by Iverson in the finals to do so. 2. 2007 Spurs 3. 2008 Celtics 4. 2005 Spurs 5. 2009 Lakers.
Player of the Decade- Tim Duncan (Spurs)- This was a 3 man race between Duncan, Kobe, and Shaq but Duncan was the only guy of the 3 with 3 finals MVPs and 2 Regular Season MVPs. He has never played with a future hall of famer at their peak and carried a team to a title (2003 Spurs) with only one other player who scored 12 or more Points per game (20 year old Parker). 2. Kobe 3. Shaq 4. Garnett 5. Lebron
Coach of the Decade- Gregg Popovich (Spurs) Unlike Jackson he coached all 10 years and made the playoffs all 10 of those years. Also Unlike Jackson he did not have 2 future hall of famers at or near their peak for 3 championships and Robert Horry and Steve Kerr who played for both said Pop was the better coach to play for. 2. Phil Jackson 3. Jerry Sloan 4. Larry Brown 5. Doc Rivers
Game of the Decade- 2005 NBA Finals Game 5 Spurs over Pistons- The best game of the only 7 game NBA finals of the decade saw a great performance by all the usual suspects but it was a 21 point outburst from Big Shot Bob (Robert Horry), who topped it off with another clutch game winner to give the Spurs a 3-2 lead which helped them win their 3rd championship ever in 7 games. Runners UP 2007 First Round game 1 Spurs over Suns and 2002 Western Conference Finals game 4 Lakers over Kings
Series of the Decade: 2002 Western Conference Finals Lakers over Kings although this series is shrouded in controversy with the Game 6 officiating debacle which even Laker fans and beat writers called a robbery of the Kings as the Lakers got calls that were questionable at best and the Kings needed to be mauled to get a call. This series was amazing and saw two last second Game winners (Horry in Game 4 and Bibby in game 5) and went to OT in Game 7. Runners up: 2006 Mavs-Spurs, 2005 Spurs-Pistons, and 2009 Celtics-Bulls
Story of the Decade: 2003 Draft Class- A class that included Heinrich, Bosh, Wade, Melo, Lebron and Darko (Great Pick Detroit). This draft helped saved 4 franchises and has supplied the NBA with many new superstars. These guys are also the center piece of the upcoming 2010 Free Agency class. Runners up- High School to Pros/One and Done, International Invasion, Team US
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