Sports "The Best of the Best": Sports Dynasties

[bdt2002]

I like playing video games a lot in my free time, and I also find writing to be a pretty fun hobby. But one thing you guys might not have known is that in recent years, I've started watching a lot more sports... well, sort of. That depends on if you count following live game updates on ESPN as "watching". Personally I think it's still fine, but I digress. There are few things as rewarding as seeing your favorite team go all the way after a long, grueling season. Sometimes the process there can be a bit controversial, but every now and then a team will go on an extended period of success. The criteria for most major sports leagues around the world vary wildly, but they all have one thing in common- these extended periods of success are known as "dynasties" amongst fans, although I suppose "dynasty eras" also works. So that begs the question- why am I making a thread like this now of all times?

About an hour or two ago before I started typing this, the 2022 Major League Baseball season came to a close with the Houston Astros winning Game 6 of the World Series 1-4 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Remember that part I said about controversy earlier? Well-versed MLB fans in recent memory will likely recall how the Houston Astros baseball club was involved with some controversial stuff regarding pitches and cameras during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, both years where the Astros made the postseason. Since 2019 and specifically 2020, it's generally agreed upon that most, if any possible cheating has been removed alongside the organization's newer staff hired after those first two years. What hasn't changed is the fact that the Houston Astros' postseason resumé from 2015 to 2022 has consisted of:

• 7 postseason appearances (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• 5 AL West division titles (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• 4 American League championships (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• 2 World Series (2017, 2022)

As such, a number of people have claimed the Houston Astros to be the MLB's next major dynasty team. I'm not entirely convinced, however. That's part of why I created this thread, because I'm curious about what you guys think of sports dynasties in general. What have been your favorites to watch? Do you think the late 2010s Astros should be held to this standard, or do you think other teams have a better chance of doing so? Happy discussing!

Here's a Wikipedia link to a page going over pretty much every major sports dynasty you could probably think of, in the meantime: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_(sports)

Update: If anyone's looking for it, this list did finally put the Astros on there a few minutes ago. As such, I've edited my post again.

 

[awyp]

As a Michael Jordan fan I'm going to go with the 1991-1998 Chicago Bulls. 6 Championships in 8 years is pretty dominating especially in an era where you have fantastic players like John Stockton, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and Patrick Ewing, who are all NBA 75 players (Best 75 players of all time) yet all ring-less because of the dominance of Michael Jordan. Also don't forget about the players who did win rings in that Era like Hakeem 'The Dream', Clyde Drexler, Shaq, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas (Also all NBA 75).

Honorable Mentions: Tom Brady / Bill Belichick's Patriots 6 rings (In 19 years and a lot more Super Bowl appearances).

 

[Ununhexium]

The Bill Russell Celtics from 57-69

They won 11 titles in that span

 

[energonkid]

The Warriors of 2015 to today (well, maybe not with how this season's going so far) are pretty exceptional. Most winning team ever in 16 before KD joined, multiple years with 4 all stars once KD came, forming that 2017 team that is probably the best basketball team ever. Consistently winning titles in what is the most talent-stacked era of the league, and coming back to win another this year after most people thought the dynasty was over; it's definitely one that deserves mention.

 

[bdt2002]

As a Michael Jordan fan I'm going to go with the 1991-1998 Chicago Bulls. 6 Championships in 8 years is pretty dominating especially in an era where you have fantastic players like John Stockton, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and Patrick Ewing, who are all NBA 75 players (Best 75 players of all time) yet all ring-less because of the dominance of Michael Jordan. Also don't forget about the players who did win rings in that Era like Hakeem 'The Dream', Clyde Drexler, Shaq, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas (Also all NBA 75).

Honorable Mentions: Tom Brady / Bill Belichick's Patriots 6 rings (In 19 years and a lot more Super Bowl appearances).

The NBA handles basketball as a 5-on-5 sport, naturally, but while I wasn't alive at the time, I'd imagine that a starting roster of those first five names, to say nothing of prime Hakeem, Magic Johnson, and Isaiah Thomas would be a truly scary combination even in today's NBA setting. The '90s Bulls consistently managed to compete with and against the best of the best, and I for one think they're one of the most important NBA dynasties, an honor I can only give to one other NBA dynasty. Speaking of which...

The Bill Russell Celtics from 57-69

They won 11 titles in that span

The Celtics are honestly one of those teams whose best dynasty period you can't really narrow down, but come on. Bill Russell is a name that even more casual NBA fans could still recognize. 11 league titles in 13 seasons is absolutely amazing, and this was happening at a time when other teams were trying to pop up again following previous dynasties.

The Warriors of 2015 to today (well, maybe not with how this season's going so far) are pretty exceptional. Most winning team ever in 16 before KD joined, multiple years with 4 all stars once KD came, forming that 2017 team that is probably the best basketball team ever. Consistently winning titles in what is the most talent-stacked era of the league, and coming back to win another this year after most people thought the dynasty was over; it's definitely one that deserves mention.

Historically I've counted this dynasty to start at some point in 2015 and end during the 2018-19 shift. The transition to the 2020s honestly really hurt the Warriors, with my current leader for "Most Likely To Be The Next Dynasty"- that being the Milwaukee Bucks- completing their rebuild earlier this decade, overshadowing anything Golden State has done in any of those seasons. The advent of a 2022 NBA title win is arguably the only reason fans could still consider this dynasty active, given how some players and their coaches remained with the team throughout the past few seasons, but realistically, the 2022 season for the Warriors was still probably worse than most of their late 2010s phase.

 

[energonkid]

Historically I've counted this dynasty to start at some point in 2015 and end during the 2018-19 shift. The transition to the 2020s honestly really hurt the Warriors, with my current leader for "Most Likely To Be The Next Dynasty"- that being the Milwaukee Bucks- completing their rebuild earlier this decade, overshadowing anything Golden State has done in any of those seasons. The advent of a 2022 NBA title win is arguably the only reason fans could still consider this dynasty active, given how some players and their coaches remained with the team throughout the past few seasons, but realistically, the 2022 season for the Warriors was still probably worse than most of their late 2010s phase.

Absolutely a worse season than the prior dynasty, but that's just natural when you lose a top ~15 player of all time, your core is all a couple years older, and the talent of the NBA just keeps getting more and more saturated. To this note though, would you consider the Spurs' Finals appearances in the early 2010s as a continuation of their dynasty of the aughts, or a separate offshoot entirely. I personally consider the Duncan era Spurs to be one contiguous entity, and consider the Dubs as such.

The Bucks as the most likely next dynasty is an interesting call though. It feels like there's just too many great players and teams in the league nowadays for a dynasty to even exist, I don't think I would even be able to call any team as likely on the verge of a potential dynasty, but I guess if it's anyone Giannis is the best bet.

 

[bdt2002]

Absolutely a worse season than the prior dynasty, but that's just natural when you lose a top ~15 player of all time, your core is all a couple years older, and the talent of the NBA just keeps getting more and more saturated. To this note though, would you consider the Spurs' Finals appearances in the early 2010s as a continuation of their dynasty of the aughts, or a separate offshoot entirely. I personally consider the Duncan era Spurs to be one contiguous entity, and consider the Dubs as such.

The Bucks as the most likely next dynasty is an interesting call though. It feels like there's just too many great players and teams in the league nowadays for a dynasty to even exist, I don't think I would even be able to call any team as likely on the verge of a potential dynasty, but I guess if it's anyone Giannis is the best bet.

I agree that the league is in a spot that’s very anti-dynasty right now, so to speak; it’s more because out of the NBA’s 30 teams, the Bucks have the most potential to make something like this happen, albeit not to the same extent as the 2015-19 Warriors or 2000s Lakers, for instance.

 

[Texas Cloverleaf]

NHL has the early 80s new York Islanders (mike bossy) who won four straight Stanley cups (19 straight series), the 70s Montreal Canadians (guy lafleur) who won six Cups in the decade, and the later 80s Edmonton oilers (Wayne Gretzky, mark messier) who won 5 in 7

 

[bdt2002]

Hey guys, it's me again. As the NFL regular season of 2022 is officially halfway over as of the end of Week 9 on Monday, another possible team that could be considered for this discussion has crossed my mind. What are your opinions on the 2013-21 Kansas City Chiefs?

The modern-day Kansas City Chiefs have performed at a level they haven't seen since arguably the 1960s, where the team (formerly known as the Dallas Texans) appeared in and won three AFL championships, two of which also led to Super Bowl appearances with one Super Bowl title in 1969. Through most of the '70s and the first half of the '80s the team would start to struggle, with another smaller period of struggles coming in the late 2000s. The Kansas City Chiefs hired Andy Reid as their head coach prior to the 2013 season, however, and the program's fortunes quickly started to turn around.

Since 2013, the Kansas City Chiefs have recorded over 110 wins including playoff games, and have not had a losing season during Andy Reid's tenure with the team. The real signs of a dynasty started in 2016, though, with the Chiefs consistently dominating the AFC West after the previous division leading Denver Broncos started to fall off after Peyton Manning's retirement. Since 2016, the Chiefs have recorded at least 10 wins per season and made AFC Championship appearances for four straight years from 2018 to 2021. With star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid continuing to consistently perform at a championship level, as well as with a new conference rivalry being formed with the Buffalo Bills in that time frame, I've started asking myself if the Chiefs could be considered a dynasty again if the 2022 roster manages to win another Super Bowl. Much like the Houston Astros in baseball, actually, this would be their third appearance in title contention in four years (World Series for MLB, Super Bowl for NFL), but unlike the Astros, the Chiefs would have had two titles in four years, and without much of the Astros controversy to boot. Overall, what do you guys think?

 

[rineko]

team australia in cricket during the late 80s / early 90s up until around 2007. they had some of the best talent the game the game has ever seen all in a single team with players like allan border, the waugh brothers, ricky ponting, shane warne, adam gilchrist, glenn mcgrath, brett lee, michael clarke, and so so many other players. during this time they were the most dominant team in both test cricket and odis, and would win three consecutive world cups in a row in 1999, 2003, and 2007. australia is still one of the best teams today but theyre not as dominant with other teams being as strong as them.