Ranking each decade’s best dynasty

1970s UCLA Men’s Basketball

Led by the greatest college basketball head coach of all-time John Wooden, UCLA Men’s Basketball had an impressive dynasty in the 1970s. It actually started in the 1960s, but it continued to flourish well into the 1970s. Wooden was able to recruit the best players and he was able to get the most of his players. That was a deadly combination.

Wooden was especially potent at coaching big men, who at the time, were extremely difficult to guard. Kareem Abdul-Jabar (then Lew Alcindor) was the first in the 1960’s. Bill Walton followed him to be named to three consecutive All-American teams. But the UCLA Bruins were way more than just a big man. Wooden was also an expert at teaching forwards, as Jamaal Wilkes, a two-time All-American.

The Bruins won an unprecedented 88 games from 1971-1974. Their dominance on the basketball court was unheard of at the time. It has since been passed by the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team, but no men’s team has come close to touching UCLA’s record.

UCLA forever changed the game of basketball. Centers were already beginning to take over the game, but UCLA pushed it along and produced two of the most dominant big men (Abdul-Jabar and Walton) to ever step on a basketball court. Their dominance is one that basketball fans might never see again in the men’s game.

Honorable Mentions: Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Steelers

Next: 1980s Edmonton Oilers