Decade Ending Stuff

I work for That's Hockey at TSN (ironic I know, given that I write a basketball blog... is it ironic? or just coincidental?)... and we've been doing a bunch of decade-ending stuff for the show of late. Top 10 plays, moments, players, etc... The one thing we haven't really touched on is the top team of the decade, because really, there's no discussion. The best franchise in the NHL since 2000 is the Detroit Red Wings. However, the NBA is a different case. I think there are two obvious contenders, the Spurs and the Lakers. Let's consider a few things:

First, championships. The Lakers have won four titles, the Spurs three. This would seem to give the edge to the Lakers. But, when looking at an entire decade, it's important to take note of what I like to call "sustained excellence." Who was the best and most consistent, year in and year out?

REGULAR SEASON WINNING PERCENTAGE

Games played from Jan. 1, 2000 thru Dec. 29, 2009

1. SAS 573 - 245 (.700)

2. DAL 561 - 260 (.682)

3. LAL 529 - 291 (.645)

4. DET 493 - 329 (.600)

5. PHX 493 - 330 (.599)

22. TOR 370 - 453 (.449)

I thought I would throw in the Raptors there just for fun.... can you imagine how much more enjoyable it's been over the course of the last 10 years to be a Spurs fan? 203 more regular season wins, countless more playoff wins, and 3 titles... I'm so envious.

Anyways, that's pretty impressive stuff. A .700 win percentage is pretty amazing over the course of a few months, let alone 10 years! This would seem to sway the argument in San Antonio's favour.

However, the defining statistic revealed itself when I looked at the Finals from each year:

MULTIPLE FINALS APPEARANCES

THIS DECADE

LAL 6

SAS 3

DET 2

NJ 2

The Lakers made six trips to the Finals!

STAT OF THE DECADE

Here's the big question: Why has anyone put any money on any team in the Western Conference other than the Spurs or Lakers to make it to the Finals? Like at all this decade? From 1999 to 2009, the Lakers and Spurs have accounted for 10 trips to the finals, and 8 championships.

I will be flabbergasted by that note until at least the end of this decade.

Anyways, to send you off, I'll leave you with some individual stat leaders since the start of the 2000-01 season. Enjoy!

STATISTICAL LEADERS

SINCE START OF 2000-01 SEASON

GAMES: Andre Miller, 766

MINUTES: Kobe Bryant, 28101

POINTS: Kobe Bryant, 20477

REBOUNDS: Kevin Garnett, 8553

OFF. REBOUNDS: Ben Wallace, 2628

ASSISTS: Steve Nash, 6974

STEALS: Jason Kidd, 1393

BLOCKS: Ben Wallace, 1675

3PT FG: Ray Allen, 1853

PERCENTAGES

FG%: Shaquille O'Neal, .585

3PT%: Jason Kapono, .450

FT%: Reggie Miller, .915

ADVANCED STATS STUFF

PER: Lebron James, 26.4

TS%: Brent Barry, .629

OFF REB%: Jeff Foster, 15.0%

DEF REB%: Marcus Camby, 30.2%

TOT REB%: Reggie Evans, 20.8%

Off. Rating: Chris Paul, 121

Def. Rating: David Robinson & Ben Wallace, 94