When someone mentions the sport of professional basketball, everyone might have a different team or player that initially comes to mind.
But when discussing the most iconic franchises in NBA history, only a handful of teams will come to mind. The most common teams are the LA Lakers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and most recently the Golden State Warriors.
But if you ask Dallas Maverick’s guard Tim Hardaway Jr., only one team will trump the rest.
Hardaway Jr. declares the Boston Celtics are the most iconic basketball team in America (and probably the world). He even went as far as to call them “America’s Team” of basketball.
The Celtics and Lakers both have 17 NBA titles, which are the most in NBA history. The Lakers had by far the most shots at a championship with 32 Finals appearances. The Celtics rank second with 22 Finals appearances.
Together, the Lakers and Celtics have combined to win 34 of the NBA’s 76 championships.
The Celtics won the majority of their championships in the Bill Russell era during the 1960s. The Lakers’ championships have been more sporadic, winning their most recent title in the NBA bubble in 2020.
More recently, the Golden State Warriors have won four titles during the Steph Curry Era.
Why Not Golden State?
Hardaway Jr. made his claim on the while appearing on Theo Pinson’s “Run Your Race” podcast recently, where he said, [America’s basketball team] is definitely not the Warriors. … I think it’s [the Celtics]. …They’ve been winning since the start of this sh*t. It’s either [Lakers] or Boston for me, but I’d say Boston.”
The Warriors not only just recently began enjoying a string of success, they also didn’t make it on many fan’s “America’s Team” lists before signing Kevin Durant and winning two championships with him.
The Bulls had MJ, Scottie, and Rodman, and they won plenty of championships and had two three-peats as well. They also never lost in the Finals, going 6-0 in the Jordan Era.
Celtics Influenced Pop Culture More Than Lakers and Bulls?
But the reason why Hardaway Jr. doesn’t consider them to be in consideration could be attributed to their lack of influence on pop culture during their run in the 90s.
The Bulls won a lot of games because they had arguably the greatest player of all time in Michael Jordan, but outside of winning championships and instilling fear in every team they played, the Bulls, says Hardaway Jr., didn’t have much impact on the basketball culture, outside of MJ, of course.
It’s hard to separate the most influential and culturally impactful player of the last 50 years from his team, but Hardaway attempts to do so.
The Lakers and Celtics have crossed almost every box off to be named the nation’s iconic team. In addition to the championships, they both have numerous iconic players and legends to boast about and, to be fair, both have made a huge impact on basketball culture.
Whether it was the electrifying Hollywood nightlife that surrounded the Lakers, or the tough, gritty, brash style and attitude of the Boston Celtics led by “The Great White Hope” Larry Bird, who only enhanced the NBA’s popularity with its white audience as the complexion of the league darkened each season.
The Cowboys are known as “America’s Team” in football mainly due to the success of their Tom Landry-led teams in the ’70s and ’80s and then Jimmy Johnson’s early dynasty in the ’90s. On top of their historic success, they boast so many iconic players and coaches and the most renowned owner in all of sports right now in Jerry Jones.
The Lakers also had iconic ownership in with Jerry Buss, so they aren’t lacking any qualifications as a candidate for NBA’s most iconic franchise.
Tim Hardaway Jr. isn’t wrong in choosing the Celtics as the most iconic franchise, but the Lakers are definitely their top contenders, and if you took a poll in 2023, the Celtics might not even be in the top two.
