Ranking each decade’s best dynasty

1960s Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics were one of the first extremely dominant teams in professional sports. A very strong argument could be had for the 1920s Yankees, but even they pale in comparison to what the Celtics did. Their dynasty started in the 1950s with titles in 1957 and 1959. Starting in 1959, they won an unheard of eight straight championships. They won every single title in the 60s except in 1967 when the Philadelphia 76ers won.

Forget about a “Big Three”. The Celtics had a “Big Five”. Their dynasty was led by Hall of Famers Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones, and Tom Heinsohn. The impressive part? There was no such thing as free agency back then. The Celtics built their dominant dynasty by drafting the best players and executing some brilliant trades.

Over half of the Celtics’ 17 titles came in the 1960s. A decade of dominance like that is something that no other professional team has pulled off. The Montreal Canadiens of the early 20th century might be the only team that can brag that they had so many Hall of Famers on their team for such a long period of time. But even the storied Habs, as dominant as they were in the Original Six era, never won nine titles in 10 years.

Honorable Mentions: Montreal Canadiens (four titles in five seasons), Green Bay Packers (five titles in seven seasons), UCLA Men’s Basketball (five titles from 1964 to 1969)

Next: 1970s UCLA Men's Basketball