Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 22, 1993 TAG: 9306220038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ED SHERMAN CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Pharoahs had some good dynasties in Egypt. And then there was the Ming dynasty, which was a big deal at the time. Of course, there was the television show, "Dynasty," which didn't have as big an empire, but Joan Collins and company did get better ratings.
The dictionary defines "dynasty" as "a sequence of rulers within the same family; period during which they ruled."
To put the Chicago Bulls' "three-peat" into perspective, in the entire modernhistory of professional sports there have been only 12 times when a team won three consecutive championships, and five of those were in hockey. The last franchise to win three in a row in any sport was hockey's New York Islanders, who won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980 through 1983.
The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the National Football League during the 1970s, but they never won three Super Bowls in a row. Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers never rolled three. The greatest of Babe Ruth's New York Yankees teams didn't reach three straight.
Indeed, the Bulls join some exclusive company by winning their third straight NBA title. But they will still have to win five more in a row if they want to catch the all-time leader, the Boston Celtics led by Bill Russell.
The Celtics started their run in 1958-59 and put together eight titles in a row until they were stopped by Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers in 1966-67. The Celtics then won two more in a row.
"I know there's going to be a lot of opinions about who is the greatest team," Bulls star Michael Jordan said. The Celtics were great, but "never won the championship when there were 28 teams."
Jordan, who joined Magic Johnson as the only three-time MVPs in the NBA Finals, sees the Bulls' accomplishment as significant because it surpassed the level of excellence of his contemporaries - Johnson, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas.
Bird's Celtics won three titles in the 1980s, but never two in a row. Johnson's Lakers won five championships, including 1987-88, and Thomas' Detroit Pistons won in 1989-90.
Chicago has some negatives in comparison to the great teams, however.
Their finals record-low 12 points in the fourth quarter, nine by Jordan and John Paxson's game-winning 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left, don't speak well for a team that wants to be considered the best ever.
Jordan and Scottie Pippen could be the best all-around duo on the same team in league history. Jordan averaged 41 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists in the series, while Pippen averaged 21.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 8.3 assists.
Vince Lombardi's great Green Bay teams were the only ones to win three NFL titles in a row. However, the Packers won only two Super Bowls in a row, capturing the first two after the 1966 and 1967 seasons. In 1965, they beat the Cleveland Browns in the NFL title game a year before the merger with the American Football League.
Hockey has produced the most dynasties, with the Canadiens, not surprisingly, being at the forefront. In the 1970s, Montreal, with goalie Ken Dryden and Guy LaFleur, took four in a row from 1976 through 1979. In the 1950s, players like Maurice Richard and Jacques Plante enabled Montreal to win five straight (1956-60).
However, when most people think of dynasties, they think of the Yankees. But only twice were the Yankees able to win as many as three straight.
Charlie Finley's Oakland A's were baseball's last great dynasty. Reggie Jackson & Co. won three straight World Series from 1972 through 1974.
The Associated Press contributed some information to this story.
by CNB