Best NBA Team Ever: Where Do Scottie Pippen's Chicago Bulls Rank?

This summer, the Miami Heat assembled one of the greatest collections of talent in NBA history when they brought together LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. 

The Boston Celtics have four future Hall-of-Famers playing for them, alongside one of the best point guards in the league (Rajon Rondo) and a playoff-tested bench.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the reigning two-time NBA champions and return all their key players.

Each of these teams will contend for the 2011 title, but how do they match up with teams like the '64 Celtics, the '82 76ers, or the '88 Pistons?

Scottie Pippen, who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall-of-Fame later this week, won six titles playing alongside Michael Jordan on one of basketball's greatest teams. See where his Chicago Bulls rank among the best of the best.

6. 1969-'70 New York Knicks

Starting five:

Willis Reed

Walt Frazier

Dave DeBusschere

Dick Barnett

Bill Bradley

Record: 60-22

This team wasn't as dominant as the others on this list. It may not even have been as talented. But they were undeniably a great "team."

Head coach Red Holzman took a good collection of players and made them into one of the best and cohesive passing teams the NBA has ever seen. Six players averaged double figures for the Knicks, who managed 115.0 ppg. 

Leading the way was their gifted center, Reed, who in the '69-'70 season, won the trifecta of MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and Finals MVP (a feat only repeated by Michael Jordan). Reed averaged a double-double and allowed Frazier to reek havoc upon opposing defenses, leading the league in assists with 8.2. apg. 

This team also has the honor of providing NBA fans with one of the league's greatest moments. After missing Game 6 of the NBA Finals with an injured leg, Willis Reed returned to the floor in Game 7 and helped the Knicks finish off Wilt Chamberlain's Lakers.

5.. 1982-'83 Philadelphia 76ers

Starting five:

Julius Erving (Dr. J)

Moses Malone

Andrew Toney

Maurice Cheeks

Marc Iavaroni

Record: 65-16

The 76ers were already a great team in 1981, but apparently not great enough to win. Then they decided to add Moses Malone, only a physical freak who averaged 31.1 ppg and a league-leading 14.7 rbg in Houston the year before. Oh yea, he won the MVP award too.

The addition of Malone made Philadelphia virtually unstoppable. Dr. J was the electric athletic swingman, Toney was the sharpshooter, Bobby Jones was the defensive stopper off the bench, and Malone was the bruiser. 

The team was so dominant that Malone declared that the 76ers would go "Fo', fo', fo'" in the playoffs, sweeping every series. They almost did, finishing with a 12-1 playoff record that today is still the best in NBA playoff history.

4. 1964-'65 Boston Celtics

Starting five:

Bill Russell

Tommy Heinsohn

Sam Jones

K.C. Jones

Tom Sanders

Record: 62-18

Any Boston team from the 1960's would be worthy of this list as the Celtics won eight of the decade's titles, including a streak of eight straight. But if you had to pick one, the '64-'65 version is as good a choice as any.

Led by the immortal Bill Russell (24.1 rpg), the Celtics were the best defensive team in basketball. Russell was an unstoppable force in the middle—the likes of which the league had not yet seen. The two Jones' provided a terrific tandem in the backcourt, replacing the retired Bob Cousy.

The strength of this team, however, was in its bench. John Havlicek (18.3 ppg) was the 6th man, Willie Naulis (11.1 ppg) the backup forward, and Larry Siegfried and John Thompson provided valuable depth for head coach Red Auerbach.

The Celtics were challenged by the Wilt Chamberlain-led 76ers in the playoffs, but Havlicek and a certain "steal" helped Boston move forward on the way to their seventh consecutive championship.

3. 1986-'87 Los Angeles Lakers

Starting five:

Magic Johnson

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

James Worthy

Byron Scott

A.C. Green

Record: 65-17

Having a three-headed dog of Magic, Kareem, and Worthy is scary enough. Each one is a Hall-of-Famer in their own right. But when you add players like Scott (the sharpshooter), Green (the rebounder), Michael Cooper (the defensive stopper), Kurt Rambis, and Mychal Thompson (the size & depth), it's just not fair.

Magic was the star of the team but Kareem and Worthy were more than capable sidekicks, each capable of carrying the team on any given night. It wasn't necessary though, as the offense was unstoppable anyway. The Lakers were second in the league at 117.8 ppg, led by Johnson (23.9 ppg), Worthy (19.4 ppg), and Abdul-Jabbar (17.5 ppg).

The Lakers breezed through the playoffs and topped a very good Celtics team in six games. They would repeat a year later and cement themselves as one of the greatest dynasties in basketball history.

2. 1985-'86 Boston Celtics

Starting five:

Larry Bird

Kevin McHale

Robert Parrish

Dennis Johnson

Danny Ainge

Record: 67-15

The original Big Three (Bird, McHale, Parrish) was an unstoppable trio, perhaps the best ever (at least until 2010). But let's not forget that basketball is played not by three men but by a roster, and the '85-'86 Celtics had the deepest and most talented roster in NBA history.

In addition to 3-time MVP Larry Bird and two ultra-skilled big men in McHale and Parrish, the Celtics also had one of the best defensive backcourts the basketball world had ever seen. DJ was routinely on the NBA's All-Defensive team and Ainge was a scrappy guard who at 6'4" presented match-up problems.

Off the bench was who other than Bill Walton, one of the best passing big men in NBA history. The Celtics also had Scott Weldman, a former All-Star, at the forward spot, and Jerry Sichting as the third guard. The combination of Parrish, McHale, Walton, Bird, and Weldman gave the Celtics the best rebounding team in the league at 46.4 rpg (nearly 5 more than the next team).

The dominant frontcourt proved to be too much for NBA competition, with the Celtics rolling through the regular season while sporting a 40-1 record at home. In the NBA Finals, Boston defeated Houston's formidable duo of Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon in six games for the organization's 16th world title. 

1. 1995-'96 Chicago Bulls

Starting five:

Michael Jordan

Scottie Pippen

Dennis Rodman

Ron Harper

Luc Longley

Record: 72-10

What a team. As if having the greatest basketball player ever wasn't enough, the '95-'96 Bulls also had another superstar in Pippen, the league's best defensive player in Rodman, and a bench that included star Toni Kukoc and 3-point specialist Steve Kerr.

This team was special for many reasons. It was Jordan's first full season back after his 17-month "retirement" from basketball. It was also Rodman's first year with the Bulls, acquired in a training camp deal with San Antonio to replace Horace Grant. 

This team wasn't just great. It was historically great. The '95-'96 Bulls set the NBA record for the most wins in a single season with 72. They led the league in scoring at 105.2 ppg, on top of a stifling defense that gave up only 92.9 ppg (a 12.2 ppg differential). 

There was little to nothing the competition could do that year. The Bulls steamrolled their way to the NBA Finals, losing only one game to the Knicks. They captured the title, the first of three consecutive championships for the team, beating the Seattle Supersonics 4-2.