Pat Riley says the NBA has only had three dynasties: 'I don’t know if there’s one now'

In the NBA, it's commonly believed that any team enjoying a brief period of dominance - winning multiple championships and making consecutive appearances in the Finals - earns the label of a dynasty. However, Pat Riley disagrees with this notion. Recently, the 79-year-old admitted that, in his view, no modern-day team qualifies as a true dynasty. Instead, according to him, merely three teams deserve the dynasty tag - the Boston Celtics of the '60s, the Showtime Lakers of the '80s, and MJ's Chicago Bulls.

Riley on the three dynasties that exist in NBA history

Speaking on the "The OGs" podcast, Pat elaborated on his criteria for defining a dynasty. To "Riles," any team that exhibits sustained dominance over an entire decade, remaining virtually unchallenged by any opponent or built on the foundation of vengeance, can be derived a dynasty.

By this measure, Bill Russell's Celtics won 11 championships in 13 years, and Magic and Kareem's LA Lakers were hellbent on avenging the Celtics in the Finals. They reached the championship round eight times in the '80s. MJ's Chicago Bulls won two three-peats in eight years, depriving stars like Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Shawn Kemp, and Charles Barkley a chance to win a title, seemingly fitting into the criteria of being a dynasty.

"There's been three dynasties in my mind - Boston in the '60s - 11 (championships) in 13 years for Bill Russell. That's why his number hangs in the rafters of every arena in this league because he deserves to be there. Then the Lakers, Showtime… five championships in nine years so that was the dynasty. Michael's 6-7 years were dynastic without a doubt. I don't know if there's one now," Riley said. "You got San Antonio and Golden State winning four. But you know when you get to a rivalry like that, that it becomes so heated, you inherit it. So what happened to us in the '80s, we inherited the six consecutive losses my great friend - Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, they lost to the Celtics."

Should the Spurs and Warriors be counted among 'dynasties'

While the modern-day Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs achieved significant spells of dominance, Riley doesn't believe they match the consistency or level of control shown by the aforementioned teams.

Interestingly, Steve Kerr's Dubs, with their iconic Big 3 of Steph, Klay, and Draymond, won four championships and made six Finals appearances in eight years. Similarly, Gregg Popovich's Spurs had two distinct eras of dominance. They won three championships in five seasons during the early 2000s and then, after a five-year gap, made back-to-back Finals appearances, capturing another title.

So, while Riley acknowledges the success of teams that were dominant in the championship for the majority of years in a decade, there are many teams that his criteria misses that deserve to be called a dynasty, albeit if they had brief spells of dominance. Apart from the Spurs and Warriors, another team that could be called a dynasty is Shaq and Kobe's Purple and Gold, which won a three-peat and reached the championship round for four consecutive seasons

It's safe to say that Riley's perspective highlights how the consistency and magnitude of a team's achievements shape their place in NBA history.