The Warriors are NBA champions once again. In beating LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals, Golden State won its third title in four years, giving them a resume that can compete with the best teams in NBA history.
MORE: Three takeaways from the Warriors' title-clinching Game 4 win over the Cavaliers
How do they really stack up with the NBA's greatest dynasties? Let's take a closer look.
Boston Celtics (1957-69)
Regular season record: 716-229 (70.5%)
Championships: 11 of 13
We probably won't ever see a team come close to accomplishing what the Celtics did between 1957 and 1969. After the St. Louis Hawks got some revenge by beating them in the 1958 NBA Finals, the Celtics won eight consecutive championships, most of which came in dominant fashion against the Hawks or Lakers. They then won back-to-back titles in 1968 and 1969, giving Hall of Famer Bill Russell an NBA-record 11 rings.
In honour of Russell, the NBA named the Finals MVP trophy after him in 2009.
"Who better to name this prestigious award for than one of the greatest players of all time and the ultimate champion," David Stern, the NBA's commissioner at the time, said .
Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics (1980-1988)
Lakers regular season record: 534-204 (72.4%)
Lakers championships: 5 of 9
Celtics regular season record: 550-188 (74.5%)
Celtics championships: 3 of 9
Before Michael Jordan came along, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird dominated the NBA. Magic or Bird won the championship in all but one season between 1980 and 1988, with the Lakers (five) holding the slight edge over the Celtics (three). The two Hall of Famers even played against each other in the Finals three times over those nine postseasons, with the Lakers getting the better of the Celtics twice.
The 1985-86 Celtics, featuring Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, and the 1986-87 Lakers, featuring Magic, James Worthy and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, are considered two of the greatest teams in NBA history.
Chicago Bulls (1991-98)
Regular season record: 490-166 (74.7%)
Championships: 6 of 8
Not only did Michael Jordan's Bulls 3-peat...they did it twice over a period of eight years.
Chicago's first 3-peat came between 1991 and 1993, when they took down Magic Johnson's Lakers, Clyde Drexler's Blazers and Charles Barkley's Suns in consecutive NBA Finals. Jordan then spent one season playing minor league baseball before returning to the league at the end of the 1994-95 season. While the Bulls were knocked out by the Magic in the second round of the 1995 NBA Playoffs, they won their first of three more championships the following season.
The 1995-96 season was particularly memorable because the Bulls won 72 games in the lead-up to the playoffs, an NBA record the Warriors have since broken. Those Bulls will forever be remembered as one of best - if not the best - teams in NBA history, fueled by another MVP season from Jordan.
Los Angeles Lakers (2000-02)
Regular season record: 181-65 (73.6%)
Championships: 3 of 3
Prior to their very public breakup, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal formed one of the most dominant one-two punches we've ever seen. Their first championship together in Los Angeles came in a hard-fought series against Reggie Miller's Pacers in 2000, but they dominated Allen Iverson's 76ers in five games in 2001 and Jason Kidd's Nets in four games in 2002 to complete the fifth 3-peat in NBA history.
O'Neal was spectacular during the Lakers' run. The Hall of Famer was named league MVP of the 1999-2000 season and carried the Lakers to a 15-1 postseason record in 2001 with averages of 30.4 points, 15.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. O'Neal was voted Finals MVP for each of their championships.
Had Bryant and O'Neal stayed together for longer, who knows how many more rings they would've won.
Miami Heat (2011-14)
Regular season record: 224-88 (71.8%)
Championships: 2 of 4
The superteam that started them all, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh led the Heat to four consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals, a feat only a few teams have accomplished in NBA history. They won two of those championships, one against Kevin Durant's Thunder, the other against Tim Duncan's Spurs in one of the more memorable NBA Finals matchups we've ever seen.
They didn't win as many titles as the other teams on this list, but the "Heatles" dominated the league with three future Hall of Famers in the primes of their careers. They averaged 59 regular season wins in their four seasons together and dismantled several teams in the Eastern Conference.
Golden State Warriors (2015-2018)
Regular season record: 265-63 (80.8%)
Championships: 3 of 4
Had Draymond Green not been suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, there's a good chance this would be Golden State's fourth championship in a row, which would've made them the first team since the Bill Russell-led Celtics to four-peat.
Instead, they'll have to live with being in the rare company of teams to have won three championships in four years. They've set a number of NBA records along the way, from winning 73 games in the regular season to waltzing their way to the championship in 2017 with a 16-1 postseason record.
The scariest part of it all? Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Green are all still very much in their primes.
This team isn't close to being done.
Honourable Mention
Minneapolis Lakers (1952-54) for being the original dynasty.
Detroit Pistons (1988-90) for being the team nobody wanted to play in the late 80s.
Houston Rockets (1994-95) for taking over the league in Michael Jordan's absence.
San Antonio Spurs (1999-2014) for being a looming threat that won five championships over 16 seasons.
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