1995-96 Bulls or 2016-17 Warriors? 'NBA 2K' declares the best team of all time

Bryan Wiedey

1995-96 Bulls or 2016-17 Warriors? 'NBA 2K' declares the best team of all time image

The Warriors staked their claim as best NBA team of all time by going 16-1 in the playoffs and capturing the NBA title. With a lineup that includes two league MVPs, two other stars and quality role players, there hasn't been a team like these Warriors ever before.

Could the 2016-17 Warriors beat the team that's widely considered as the best ever, though? The 1995-96 Bulls featured the best player in the history of the league in Michael Jordan, greats in Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman and a number of effective role players around them.

MORE: Warriors helped Durant capture first title — and recapture love of game 

How would the two teams fare when matched up against each other? We turned to the incredibly popular video game "NBA 2K17" to find out.

The "NBA 2K" series has a great track record with its simulation engine. Last year, when rumors began to swirl that Kevin Durant might consider joining the Warriors, it showed that doing so would lead to an NBA title by beating the Cavs and an MVP award. This season, it predicted Warriors over Cavs at the start of the year and determined the most likely NBA Finals result would be a 4-1 series victory with Durant winning Finals MVP. Can't get more accurate than that. 

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An earlier "NBA 2K" sim showed how the Bulls would dominate another great all-time team in the 1985-86 Celtics. I's time to find out whether the Warriors would fare better in challenging them for the crown.

We ran through 50 total simulations in "NBA 2K17" with the latest rosters, as well as the appropriate rotations and allotment of minutes. With that many simulations, there's no question which team "NBA 2K" believes would emerge victorious in a seven-game series.

The ruling? The 1995-96 Bulls should still be considered the greatest team in the history of the NBA. The Bulls won 39 out of 50 series, giving them a 78 percent chance of coming out on top. It's worth noting 20 of those 39 series did go seven games, so it was at least competitive in many of the simulations.

Jordan won MVP in every single one of the Bulls' victories. Durant was the MVP in eight of the Warriors' wins, while Stephen Curry picked up the other three.

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What the results showed was the more physical style of play from the Bulls was difficult for the Warriors to match. Going in, the question was which team would have to adjust, and it looks like that fell on the Warriors. While Golden State was more athletic and versatile, Chicago was effective with their defensive intensity and size advantage down low.

Statistically, Chicago generally had the advantage in rebounds, points in the paint and bench points thanks to Toni Kukoc and, ironically, Steve Kerr. The Warriors were better from 3-point range as expected, but it wasn't enough to compensate for the efficiency and second-chance points from the Bulls

Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the "Press Row Podcast" and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.

Bryan Wiedey

Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is a regular participant in the Press Row Podcast and Press Row Hangout shows, and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.