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NBA dynasties are dead. Long live parity.

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 At least to me, the Boston Celtics have the only true dynasty in the NBA's history. They won 11 Titles from 1957 to 1969, and not incredibly, Bill Russell owns all of those rings.


Thinga have changed in the League. No team has even won back-to-back Championships since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2017 and 2018. And the last six Titles have been won by different teams every season. 

Sports Dynasty (definition): A team or individual that dominates their sport or league for an extended length of time.

Sure, the Lakers, Warriors and Bulls had their runs as imitators of the Celtics, but none of them had the 8-in-a-row Titles (1959-1966) that Russell and his team had. But that is all in the rear view mirror now. A repeat of Boston's record will never be achieved again. And I believe that is a good thing.

Salary caps, payroll aprons, injuries and players with wanderlust (read: Lebron, Durant, etc.) have ensured that. The Russell-led Celtics of the 60s were so dominant, many of the games - unless the opponent happened to be the 76ers or the Lakers - were determined in the first quarter. 

NBA Commish, Adam Silver, wants parity in his League. Meaning, no superpowers that consistently blow other leams away year-after-year (per Adam Silver):

"I believe that parity of opportunity is good for the league," Silver told ESPN last month. "When more teams have a genuine chance at winning a championship, the competition on the court is more compelling, and fans in more markets are engaged.

"We didn't set out with the goal to have a different champion every year, and I'm not against dynasties so long as they are built within a fair system.

Dominance in any sport can be almost boring. The Auerbach/Russell Celtics crew of the 60s were fast-paced and potent. Auerbach was a strong-willed mastermind and Russ was the type of big, superbly-athletic center that the League had not seen before. And replacements were always groomed and prepared to take over. K C Jones, Sam Jones and John Havlicek took over for Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman and Tom Heinsohn when the latter three retired. Most opposing teams had little chance against them.

NBA fans won't see that happening again. And that is good for the League.




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