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Winning an NBA Championship is the ultimate goal for every franchise. Last season, the LA Lakers won their 17th NBA championship after a dominant run in the Orlando Bubble. Many, including Finals MVP winner LeBron James, have described this championship as one of the hardest ever won.
A topic of heated discussion is that not all championships are equal. Experts, fans, and analysts often debate over which title was more important than the other.
It is true that some championships were definitely harder to achieve. With that in mind, we take a look at the five toughest NBA title runs from the 21st century.
Top 5 hardest NBA title runs in the 21st century
The LA Lakers' 2020 championship was anything but easy but then, there are no easy NBA championships. While people point out the lack of fans in the stands as a pressure-release for the players, the bubble environment had its own unique obstacles.
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On that note, let us review the five toughest NBA title runs from the 21st century.
#5 San Antonio Spurs - 2003 NBA Playoffs
The 2002-03 San Antonio Spurs were arguably the greatest San Antonio team ever. Tim Duncan won his second MVP in the regular season and David 'The Admiral' Robinson was still with the team.
The team already had Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili in their backcourt. Stephen Jackson, Bruce Bowen, Malik Rose, Steve Smith, and Steve Kerr formed a solid supporting cast.
The Spurs took over the NBA in the regular season with a 60-22 record and advanced in a stacked Western Conference.
The Spurs faced the 44-38 Phoenix Suns in the first round and won a hard-fought six-game series against Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway, and Amar'e Stoudemire.
In the second round, the Spurs put an end to the Shaquille O'Neal - Kobe Bryant Lakers' (50-32) run of three consecutive NBA titles after a six-game series.
San Antonio then defeated the 60-22 Dallas Mavericks with Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and Nick Van Exel in the WCF.
In the NBA Finals, the Spurs won the championship against the Jason Kidd-led New Jersey Nets.
Their NBA title run included defeats of the reigning three-time NBA champions, LA Lakers, and a 60-win Dallas team with two Hall-of-Fame players in their prime.
#4 Detroit Pistons - 2004 NBA Playoffs
The 2003-04 Detroit Pistons had a solid group of players who had played in the previous year's Eastern Conference Finals. However, a mid-season trade for forward Rasheed Wallace made them a truly great team.
Still, other teams in the East (Indiana Pacers and the New Jersey Nets) and in the West (LA Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, and the Minnesota Timberwolves) were tipped as favorites to make it to the NBA Finals.
However, Detroit became one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history and managed to complete an unlikely but incredible NBA title run.
Detroit (third seed in the East) defeated Ray Allen and the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. They went on to beat the reigning Eastern champions, New Jersey Nets in seven games (without home-court advantage) in the second round.
The Indiana Pacers were the number one seed in the East and hosted Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, Larry Brown's team handed Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, and Reggie Miller a six-game loss in the ECF.
In the NBA Finals, Detroit competed against the LA Lakers. The Shaq - Kobe duo also had Karl Malone and Gary Payton on their side. However, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Richard Hamilton defeated that famous Lakers team in five games.
The LA Lakers did have a few locker-room issues, but they had dominated the Western Conference in the NBA Playoffs until Detroit stopped them in the Finals.
#3 LA Lakers - 2020 NBA Playoffs
The 2020 LA Lakers won a unique NBA championship. The final games of the regular season and the entire NBA Playoffs were played in a bubble at Orlando due to the pandemic. And regardless of what many say, it was not easy.
All teams were confined in the NBA Bubble to complete the 2019-20 NBA season after it was suspended in March. Some highly-rated teams, such as the Milwaukee Bucks and the LA Clippers, did not with it effectively.
LeBron James and the LA Lakers, however, did a tremendous job and won the NBA title.
Moreover, they had to face strong competition in the postseason. The Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers and arguably the hottest scorer at the time, Damian Lillard.
They proceeded to beat the Houston Rockets, whose roster boasted two former MVPs in James Harden and Russell Westbrook, in five games.
The Denver Nuggets played the LA Lakers in the Western Conference Finals after two inspiring performances against the Utah Jazz and the favored LA Clippers. But James, Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers dominated them across five games.
Ultimately, the Lakers defeated a red-hot Miami Heat (12-2 in the East Playoffs) in six games to clinch the franchise's record-equalling 17th championship. LeBron James won Finals MVP for his performances in the 2020 NBA Finals.
#2 Dallas Mavericks - 2011 NBA Playoffs
The 2011 Dallas Mavericks had one of the most surprising runs in the history of the NBA Playoffs.
The Mavs were the third seed in the Western Conference in the regular season. They opened their run in the postseason against the Portland Trail Blazers (48-34).
After beating Portland in six games, the two-time reigning NBA champions LA Lakers stood in the Mavs' way. Dirk Nowitzki and his unfancied squad handed Kobe Bryant and the Phil Jackson-coached team a stunning sweep to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
In the WCF, they faced a young but highly talented OKC Thunder team. That Thunder team had three players (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden) who became NBA MVPs over the next decade.
Nowitzki was inspirational against OKC and led Dallas to their second NBA Finals appearances after beating OKC in five games. Dirk averaged 32 points per game in the WCF.
In the NBA Finals, the mighty Miami Heat with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh were awaiting Dallas. However, after staging a great comeback in the fourth quarter of the second game, Dallas found their way against the Heat.
LeBron James had arguably the worst postseason series of his career in the 2011 NBA Finals. Still, Miami managed to hold a 2-1 lead in the series before Dallas and Nowitzki defeated them in three consecutive games to clinch their first-ever NBA Championship.
#1 LA Lakers - 2001 NBA Playoffs
The 2001 LA Lakers had arguably the greatest NBA Playoffs run in the history of the league.
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant led the team to a dominant 15-1 record in the NBA Playoffs, but their path through the Western Conference was a daunting one.
After going 56-26 in the regular season and clinching the West's second seed, the reigning champions had to work hard to win their second consecutive title.
The Lakers faced four 50-win teams in the 2001 NBA Playoffs and three of those had won at least 55 regular-season games. They also faced six future Hall-of-Famers in the process (which is the third-most in NBA history).
They swept the Portland Trail Blazers in three games in the first round. The LA Lakers then registered another sweep in the second round against the Sacramento Kings.
Against the first seed in the entire NBA, the San Antonio Spurs with Tim Duncan and David Robinson, the Lakers performed at an astonishing level.
LA swept San Antonio and registered a points differential of 22.25 over the Spurs. They won Games 3 and 4 by 39 and 29 points, respectively.
In the 2001 NBA Finals, the Lakers saw their winning streak snapped by Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. However, they defeated the Larry Brown-coached team (with Dikembe Mutombo playing at center and Iverson as the reigning MVP of the league) in five games to repeat as NBA Champions.
Also read: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 Reasons why Philadelphia 76ers shouldn't give up Ben Simmons for James Harden
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