National Basketball Association

How do all-time Celtics teams match up against 2015 Golden State Warriors?

Published Jun. 18, 2015 11:27 a.m. ET

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The NBA crowned another champion on Tuesday night when the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in what some can fairly describe as a non-competitive six-game series.

Every year one team wins it all and 29 don't.

But this year's champion was a special group. They won 67 regular-season games and lost just five times in the playoffs. Their point differential was historically great, from opening night until champagne bottles popped in the Quicken Loans Arena's visiting locker room.

ESPN's Kevin Pelton took a look at how they compare to some of the greatest teams in NBA history, ranking them 15 out of the top 50. Scattered on his list are several all-time Boston Celtics squads, including the 1986 team that toppled the Houston Rockets in six games to win the championship:

"With four Hall of Famers in their starting lineup (Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish) and a fifth (Bill Walton) coming off the bench, the 1985-86 Celtics were more talented than anyone they faced. The problem was they knew it. So at times, Boston coasted through a 67-15 regular season, posting a pedestrian plus-9.4 point differential."

Pelton's numbers rank them as the second best team in NBA history, and he has 11 Celtic squads in total placing in the top 50. Not shabby. That's why this is the greatest organization the league has ever seen.

(h/t: ESPN)

Photo Credit: Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images