20 Teams That Were Icons of Cool
In sports, the word cool has to be considered a blanket term. It’s a loose definition that covers various reasons of how and why.
During our time-traveling ways navigating through sports history, there have been countless teams that have crossed into cool territory.
Traversing all of that rocky terrain leads us to what makes these teams actually cool. We put together a list of teams that qualify, ranging from off the field style to on-court swagger and winning.
No matter what, there was something about each of the 20 squads you’re going to see gave them that James Dean, Marlon Brando, Uncle Jesse-from-Full House level of coolness.
By starting the slideshow, you’ll find out which teams made the cut and more importantly, why they did.
2003-04 USC Trojans
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Remember when Reggie Bush was the ultimate cool guy in college? His highlight-infested, USC days turned non-believers into worshipers of the dynamic tailback.
Everything he did on film warranted conversations about greatness.
Bush wasn’t the only member of Pete Carroll’s 2003-04 Trojans who helped this team carve out a place in history. Among all of the names on that roster, future NFL players like LenDale White, Matt Leinart, Ryan Kalil and Lofa Tatupu were also present.
This Trojans team turned out to be a powerhouse playing under the bright California skies. Dressed in red and yellow, the 2003-04 Rose Bow-winning Trojans oozed coolness. No team in college football even came close to reaching their level.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: The always-entertaining Reggie Bush.
2001 Seattle Mariners
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Was it possible to have a Seattle Mariners team without Ken Griffey Jr.? In 2000, that became a reality when the Mariners dealt Griffey to the Cincinnati Reds.
No less than a year later, the 2001 Mariners resurfaced with a new look and an even more aggressive attitude of leather-launching destruction.
Ichiro Suzuki primarily drove the team—and coolness—as a transplant hitter from Japan, who won not only Rookie of the Year honors, but also doubled down as the American League’s MVP. His .350 batting average and 242 hits helped turned the AL into his personal playground.
Suzuki lined up with other prominent sluggers at the time like Bret Boone, Edgar Martinez and Mike Cameron. That roster, plus excellent pitching, fueled the ‘01 Mariners to a 116-win season.
Baseball felt different with the 2001 Mariners, and that was cool.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: An influx of new talent.
2013 Philadelphia Eagles
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Time-machine thinking gives Chip Kelly’s inaugural season as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach a well-earned spot on this slideshow.
If you can pull yourself away from the recent calamity that ensued with Kelly, that first year was special. Rarely does a head coach get plucked from the collegiate ranks and generate such hype.
Kelly’s fast-paced, spread system at Oregon was something people wanted to see. When Philadelphia hired him, Eagles fan flocked to the airport to show their support, per ESPN.com.
A compelling narrative was written thanks to Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and many of the other offensive pieces on the roster.
Kelly’s system was a success at first. Not only did a 10-6 record thrust the Eagles back into the postseason after a two-year hiatus, but the team provided hours of enjoyment for fans.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Having an innovative offense.
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2000-01 Sacramento Kings
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The 2000-01 Sacramento Kings might not have been the best Kings team in history—peep the 2001-02 squad for example. But when we’re chopping it up over coolness, nothing beats the 2000-01 squad.
First and most importantly, Jason Williams was out there cutting up the hardwood. White Chocolate—as he was labeled—was a passer created for the YouTube era. Everything he did warranted attention.
Alongside Williams was a prime Chris Webber, a three-point sniper we called Peja Stojakovic and, of course, Vlade Divac.
The roster was tooled to entertain, perform and captivate the world. They achieved all of that winning 55 games in the regular season before losing in the Western Conference Semifinals.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: On-court style of play.
Real Madrid Galacticos
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Superstar teams have been formed before—the Miami Heat’s Big Three comes to mind. Outside of the United States, it’s nothing new. Real Madrid has spent the better part of 20 years building these types of squads.
The Galacticos Madrid team, circa 2000, was one of the best in terms of having that cool factor. Boasting the likes of David Beckham, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Walter Samuel and Luis Figo, this Madrid team was lethal from all parts of the pitch.
With so many dynamic players, it was hard not to fall in love with this squad. There was something for someone for every to like—if you need to jog your memory, Pedro Cesca over at Managing Madrid discussed the impact this team provided for Madrid as a whole.
Despite limited success—the club only won the UEFA Champions League at the conclusion of the 2001-02 campaign—the Galacticos Real Madrid team remains one of the coolest to ever grace this beautiful planet we all inhabit.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Building a team of superstars.
1995-96 Chicago Bulls
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Before the Golden State Warriors had to go and ruin things—sarcasm—the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, posted the best record in NBA history.
The main difference between the Bulls and Warriors at this point is nostalgia and the cast of characters who made up each club. Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen and, of course, Jordan, all evoke emotions of a time forgotten—an era when NBA basketball was played differently.
Gauging coolness in retrospect isn’t easy. But teams like the Bulls simplify things. They won an NBA title, dominated the regular season and did it all behind Jordan averaging 30.4 points per game.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Winning 72 games and having Michael Jordan around.
2003 Florida Marlins
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Before the Florida Marlins captured the 2003 World Series, “small market” teams weren’t usually able to achieve those types of things—this was way before baseball’s recent financial evolution.
In ‘03, the New York Yankees and big spending was commonplace. But the Marlins toppled the great empire with strong pitching and young talent—Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci compared that core of Marlins pitchers to the current New York Mets rotation.
The team was all about coolness with arms like Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis and A.J. Burnett around. Factor in a 20-year-old Miguel Cabrera and what you got was an underdog, dressed in black that set Major League Baseball ablaze in ‘03.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Winning the World Series as a small-market club.
'Showtime' Los Angeles Lakers
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The Los Angeles Lakers have helped reshape basketball’s landscape time and time again. But there’s never been a team to define cool like the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s.
Magic Johnson was the catalyst. A showman of vast skill, Johnson led the Lakers to five NBA titles. This team was constructed around fast-paced, fast-break basketball. Playing in The Forum, Los Angeles as a basketball city forever changed during the Showtime era—as this highlight reel proves.
Cool was redefined thanks to those Lakers. Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Michael Cooper and others were the forefathers of that movement.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Changing the way basketball was played.
1986 New York Mets
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New York as a city has hosted plenty of endearing, cool teams over time. The 1986 Mets are near the top of that list.
There hasn’t been a team as purely entertaining or wild. Between their antics, the way they extended the World Series—hello, Bill Buckner—this band of brothers' tale resembled more of Mad Max: Fury Road rather than a normal storybook ending.
The team was so outrageous, they even sparked a full book about their various in-season escapades, dubbed The Bad Guys Won.
Being cool isn’t easy. The ‘86 Mets just happened to make it look that way.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Winning the World Series with a wild roster.
1995 Dallas Cowboys
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You could have picked any of the 1990s Dallas Cowboy teams to fill a void here, but the ‘95 squad has a special meaning behind them.
That marked the year cornerback Deion Sanders was lured away from the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers in order to help Dallas regain its championship form.
The move by owner Jerry Jones worked. Sanders joined a core of quarterback Troy Aikman, wide receiver Michael Irvin and running back Emmitt Smith to bring the ‘95 Boys their third Super Bowl ring of the decade.
Sanders’ robust on-field style, fueled with Irvin’s skill, Aikman’s tenacity and Smith’s consistency allowed the Boys to takeover as the nation’s coolest team.
With stars pressed onto the side of their helmets, the Cowboys crew completed their dynasty.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Becoming a dynasty with Deion Sanders on the team.
2002 Oakland Athletics
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Having three pitchers who were equally as dominant—and young—became critical to branding the 2002 Oakland Athletics as a team built for the future.
Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito made up that sacred rotation of arms. When you threw their individual success into a pot—all three guys struck out more than 150 batters that season and won 15 games or more—with power hitters like Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada, the A’s were all the rage out in the American League West.
That whole Bay Area coolness factor was crazy in the early 2000s and the Athletics and their 103 wins that season were a driving force behind it, as Jonah Keri wrote over at Grantland.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Using three young arms to build a fresh identity.
Michigan Basketball's 'Fab Five'
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There comes a time when a certain group of players band together to radically change the way we look at sports. Michigan’s Fab Five achieved that during the 1990s.
Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson represented five freshmen athletes who led Michigan down a path of fashion and greatness.
The Fab Five never won an NCAA title despite playing for one on two separate occasions. Instead, the mark they left was centered on recruiting and fashion.
Baggy shorts, black socks and clean kicks turned the Fab Five into folk heroes. They changed basketball style for the better during the ‘90s.
Coolness doesn’t always have to translate to championship trophies and accolades. Sometimes bucking a trend and trailblazing a new path is all that’s needed to attain cult status.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: On-court style.
1994 San Francisco 49ers
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Sanders became a magnet of Super Bowl teams in the 1990s. Prior to his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys, Sanders inked a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.
Sanders’ signing helped the team launch to a 13-3 record under the guidance of head coach George Seifert before winning Super Bowl XXIX, as Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle explained.
Not to be outdone, the 49ers were also carried offensively by their megastars, wide receiver Jerry Rice and QB Steve Young. All together, this team fell into the ranks of cool because of the talent on the roster and the fashion they wore on the field.
The 49ers' ‘90s gold and red uniforms represented a state of visual bliss. They represented the decade and team perfectly.
It was hard not to love the ‘94 Niners for all the reasons stated above.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: On-field fashion.
2015-16 Golden State Warriors
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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s metamorphosis into the NBA’s coolest playmaker has been a few seasons in the making.
All of his shooting, passing and leadership antics came to fruition this past season, as the Warriors won an NBA-record 73 games.
Curry, and more importantly this team, made regular-season basketball cool again. Achieving that feat actually might be harder to do than winning an NBA title.
A testament to their talent and coolness is that the Warriors finished with the second-best road attendance in the NBA this past season, per ESPN.com.
Between Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Warriors’ 2015-16 team will be revered for their magical style of play, winning ways and willingness to conquer the record books.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Winning 73 games with the world's best shooter.
1976 Oakland Raiders
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The 1976 Oakland Raiders built a brand on being cold, calculated and brutal. That combination of traits gave this franchise a vibe many other NFL teams dreamed of having.
John Madden’s version of the Raiders defined all of those traits, turning them into the coolest team in the world.
Dressed in silver and black, legends of the game like QB Ken Stabler, safety Jack Tatum, wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff and left guard Gene Upshaw went out and brutalized their foes. A 13-1 record and Super Bowl win cemented their legacy as not only being cool but absurdly effective as well.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Fearless play.
1988-89 Detroit Pistons
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Being bad is always cool. So not having the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons on here would be a crime against humanity.
Point guard Isiah Thomas led a group of wild NBA stars to a 63-win season and the franchise’s first NBA title. Guard Joe Dumars, a pre-Chicago Bulls Rodman, center Bill Laimbeer and forward Rick Mahorn, combined with other parts, turned the Bad Boys into a band of brothers.
The 1988-89 team earns a special place on the coolness scale because it was the first to win an NBA title—and earn an ESPN 30 for 30 feature. It was a championship that put the wheels in motion for a repeat and a crowning of the Bad Boys as an all-time powerhouse.
Before Jordan’s Bulls, there was Thomas’ Pistons. A gritty team we’re eternally grateful for.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Being dubbed the NBA's Bad Boys.
David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy
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In 2007, Beckham arrived in the MLS. He signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
All these years later, Beckham’s time with the Galaxy now serves as a pivotal moment in MLS history. He helped the Galaxy become arguably the top franchise in the sport—winning back-to-back MLS Cups in 2011 and 2012.
Beckham alone provided the city of Los Angeles with a cool factor never seen before on a soccer field. The veteran midfielder didn’t simply turn the Galaxy into a franchise known around the world. He also was able to help the MLS grow, as the Associated Press (h/t USA Today) explained.
Breaking ground and making people take notice can also define the term cool. Beckham’s stint with the Galaxy achieved both those goals.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Changing the way people in the United States viewed soccer.
2000-01 Philadelphia 76ers
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We’ve seen throughout this article that one guy can turn a team into something far greater. Allen Iverson during the 2000-01 NBA is a divine example of that theory coming to fruition.
Iverson’s legendary season was staggering from a statistical view. He averaged 31.1 points, 2.5 steals and 4.6 assists per game, earning him the distinction of being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
The shooting guard’s triumphs pushed a 56-26 team to the NBA Finals, where the Sixers would lose four games to one against the overpowering Los Angeles Lakers.
While Iverson claiming an NBA championship would have been even cooler, this underdog squad fueled by a relentless scorer, dressed in black, was all we needed to remember the 76ers by.
Of all the players in NBA history, Iverson’s swagger and skill pushed him toward the top of the fictitious Cool Mountain.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Allen Iverson's infectious play.
1985 Chicago Bears
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What was it about the 1980s that sparked such cool teams? We already talked about the ‘86 New York Mets. But who remembers the ‘85 Chicago Bears?
As the pigskin counterpart to the Mets, these Bears were full of personality. Quarterback Jim McMahon, linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive linemen William Perry headlined a roster that became famous for walking all over the competition.
Chicago’s two main reasons for being cool came down to personalities and the winning ways that followed suit. This club won Super Bowl XX after going 15-1 during the regular season.
Oh yeah, they also became famous for performing the “Super Bowl Shuffle.” Now if you don’t think that’s retroactively cool, it’s time to reevaluate every aspect of your life.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: The "Super Bowl Shuffle."
1972-73 New York Knicks
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Looking back, it felt like every team during the 1970s was stylish in some sort of way. The 1972-73 New York Knicks just happened to take the style crown.
Walt Frazier was the man who led the way. Steve Marsh of GQ named him “the original NBA fashion icon.” He helped carry the Knicks to not only be fashion lords but also NBA champions.
There was always a timeless mystique and organic coolness that surrounded Frazier’s Knicks.
No. 1 Reason for Being Cool: Walt Frazier's impeccable off-court style.
All stats and information via Sports-Reference.com, unless noted otherwise.
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