NBA teams with four Top 75 players (historical analysis)

[Batguano]

The NBA announced their Top 75 Players of All Time list about a month ago to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the league.

https://www.nba.com/75

While this list is not an end-all-be-all and there have been many discussions about who got snubbed or who did/didn't deserve to be on the list, I thought it would be an interesting analysis to see how historically teams with four Top 75 Players fared (4 is the most any team has ever had). Especially since our current Lakers squad has four players on the Top 75 list (LeBron, AD, Westbrook, Melo):


1958-1961 Celtics: (4 seasons)
Bill Russell
Bob Cousy
Sam Jones
Bill Sharman
(3 Championships; 4 Finals)


1963 Celtics: (1 season)
Bill Russell
John Havlicek
Sam Jones
Bob Cousy
(1 Championship; 1 Final)


1972-1974 Knicks: (3 seasons)
Willis Reed
Clyde Frazier
Dave DeBusschere
Earl Monroe
(1 Championship; 2 Finals)


1983-1985 Lakers: (3 seasons)
Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
James Worthy
Bob McAdoo
(1 Championship, 3 Finals)


1981-1983 Celtics: (3 seasons)
Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Robert Parish
Nate Archibald
(1 Championship, 1 Finals)


1986-1987 Celtics (2 seasons)
Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Robert Parish
Bill Walton
(1 Championship, 2 Finals)


1997 Bulls: (1 season)
Michael Jordan
Scottie Pippen
Dennis Rodman
Robert Parish
(1 Championship, 1 Finals)


2004 Lakers: (1 season)
Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O’Neal
Karl Malone
Gary Payton
(0 Championships, 1 Finals) -*lost in Finals


2011 Celtics: (1 season)
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Ray Allen
Shaquille O’Neal
(0 Championships, 0 Finals) -*lost in ECSF's


2022 Lakers: (1 season [so far])
LeBron James
Anthony Davis
Russell Westbrook
Carmelo Anthony
(TBD?)


Analysis:

- 10 teams (including current Lakers) have had four Top 75 players on their roster.

- Out of the previous 9 teams, 7 of them (78%) won championships (only the 2004 Lakers [made the Finals] and the 2011 Celtics failed to win one).

- The 7 teams that won accumulated 9 Championships and 15 Finals appearances.

- Only 1 of the previous 9 teams failed to reach the Finals (2011 Celtics)

- *Context: Players like Robert Parish on the 97 Bulls or Shaq on the 2011 Celtics were shells of their former selves. Bill Walton on the 86-87 Celtics was past his prime but re-invented himself as a 6MOY. I strictly went by Top 75 players "on paper" (regardless of production) to get the maximum data possible.

- The worst outcome for a team with four Top 75 Players was a Conference Semifinals loss (2011 Celtics).


How it applies to the current 2022 Lakers:

- Out of the four Top 75 Players (LeBron, AD, Westbrook, Carmelo) I would say Melo is the only one that is "significantly past his prime", but he's managed to re-invent himself as one of the best 6MOY scorers off the bench. AD is in his prime, Westbrook is in the twilight of his prime, and LeBron is in the twilight of his ridiculously long/extended prime.

- Anything LESS than a Conference Semifinals appearance would be the WORST historical outcome for a team with four Top 75 players.