Ranking the 5 most successful NBA teams of the last 25 years

#3 Golden State Warriors - 3 championships

2016 NBA Finals - Game Seven - LeBron after winning the chip

The Golden State Warriors became an NBA championship contender team under the leadership of Stephen Curry and the coaching of Steve Kerr. The team quite literally changed the modern game of basketball and how the teams approach their offensive set pieces.

However, their ability and torch-bearer style of play isn't what makes them so successful, successful enough to be ranked above the Jordan-led Bulls and LeBron-led Heat. The real reason for their unquestionable success lies in their three championship wins off their five consecutive finals appearances.

They were first crowned kings in 2015 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers. They beat the LeBron James-led Cavs twice again in 2016 and 2017.

#2 San Antonio Spurs - 5 championships

The San Antonio Spurs in the last 25 years have served as the custodians of the league. They would come awake during a vacuum of power to be the underdogs everyone roots for. In later years they became balance keepers, bringing a young champion team stuck in hubris to their knees.

From 1999 to 2014, the Spurs would go on to win five NBA championships. They thwarted the New York Knicks in 1999, New Jersey Nets in 2003, Detroit Pistons in 2005, Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007, and Miami Heat in 2014.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili became the spine around which the San Antonio Spurs would build their legacy. Young Kawhi joined them in the legendary big threes one last NBA Championship campaign.

#1 LA Lakers - 6 championships

Tim Duncan contesting a lay-up during Spurs v Lakers in 2001

The LA Lakers are undoubtedly one of the two best teams in the history of the league. The Boston Celtics are the only ones in that can rival the Laker's 17 NBA Championships. The Lakers have won at least one championship every decade since the league's inception.

In the last 25 years, their success has been unrivaled. They have won six championships since the 1996-97 NBA season. Their 2000, 2001, 2003 championship stands as the only three-peat in the last 25 years.

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal are perhaps the most dominant duo in the league's history. Shaq's attack from the center, and Kobe Bryant's runs and assaults from the wings, were anything but stoppable.

Shaq: “I said Kobe there’s no “I” in team.”Kobe: “I know, but there’s a “ME” in that motherfu**er”😂🙏 pic.twitter.com/xTnjplDFYe

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 23, 2021

Black Mamba took the purple-and-golds to two more championships in 2009 and 2010. If not for Bryant's ankle injury, perhaps they could have repeated another three-peat. LeBron James and Anthony Davis helped the Lakers win their most recent NBA Championship in 2020.