1986 Boston Celtics

Boston had the league's best record and its best defense. The key offseason move was acquiring Walton, the former MVP whose feet had betrayed him in Portland, to back up Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. With Walton healthy enough to play 80 games, the Celtics had a frontcourt rotation no one could match.

Bird led the team at 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. McHale scored 21.3 and Parish 16.1, giving Boston three skilled big men. Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge formed the backcourt, and Walton gave them passing and rebounding off the bench at 33. The home record told the story: 40-1 at the Garden.

The playoff run was nearly clean. Boston swept Chicago in the first round, the series in which Michael Jordan scored 63 points in a double-overtime loss at the Garden, then handled Atlanta and Milwaukee. The Finals against Houston went six games, with Bird controlling the series and taking Finals MVP.

It was the last title of the Bird era. Injuries soon caught up with the core, and the Celtics would not win again until 2008. The 1986 team is still the measuring stick in Boston.