Winning a championship isn’t all about the players. Sure, they’re the ones that fight for every one of their 16 postseason wins en route to the Larry O’Brien trophy, but much of the responsibility falls on the front office. It’s hard to win a ring with one other-worldly talent and a bunch of role players. Just ask LeBron James, who, in 2007 and 2018, dragged the Cavaliers to the Finals despite the second-best players on each team being Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Kevin Love. Neither averaged over 20 PPG in their time in Cleveland. It’s also hard to win a ring with a collection of solid players but no stars. Since 1984 (the start of the salary cap era), every winning team had at least one all-star, and only five teams have ever won a championship without an All-NBA first-team player. Think about that. 86% of NBA champions since 1984 nave had a top 5 player in the league. So, if your best player isn’t in that exclusive club, you almost have no chance. But as we know from James’ trips to the Finals, it takes a lot more than one great player. Tough to find the balance, right?
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Which Team Has the Best Championship…
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Winning a championship isn’t all about the players. Sure, they’re the ones that fight for every one of their 16 postseason wins en route to the Larry O’Brien trophy, but much of the responsibility falls on the front office. It’s hard to win a ring with one other-worldly talent and a bunch of role players. Just ask LeBron James, who, in 2007 and 2018, dragged the Cavaliers to the Finals despite the second-best players on each team being Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Kevin Love. Neither averaged over 20 PPG in their time in Cleveland. It’s also hard to win a ring with a collection of solid players but no stars. Since 1984 (the start of the salary cap era), every winning team had at least one all-star, and only five teams have ever won a championship without an All-NBA first-team player. Think about that. 86% of NBA champions since 1984 nave had a top 5 player in the league. So, if your best player isn’t in that exclusive club, you almost have no chance. But as we know from James’ trips to the Finals, it takes a lot more than one great player. Tough to find the balance, right?