Dynasties matter. So I’m not going to say this year’s Boston Celtics, the new NBA champs, are the best team ever based on one season’s awesome performance. But are they the best single-season team in NBA history? Based on their season and playoff records, they’re up there. 

And I do wonder if they’re the best single-season Celts team ever. Image the current Tatum-Brown going up against the Big Three, or Bird/McHale/Parish, or Havlicek-Cowens, or Russell-Cousy. They can drive people nuts with weird bouts of stink-the-joint-out play, but today’s Celts are so intense when they’re on a roll. I’d stack the current Celts up with the best of the past best, the ’86 Celts, definitely.

Fyi: ESPN’s Zach Lowe and The Athletic’s Steve Buckley heap praise on the current team.