Is it really better to have an era of rising heroes?

For the NBA, the fierce competition for championships in recent years is no longer news. From 2019 to 2025, the league championships were won by the Raptors, Lakers, Bucks, Warriors, Nuggets, Celtics and Thunder respectively.

The championships have been won by different teams for seven consecutive years, which is not common in NBA history, and is enough to see the difficulty of winning the championship, not to mention completing the defending title the next year or establishing a three-game winning dynasty.

There are many reasons behind this, such as the restrictions on team salary by the new version of the labor-capital agreement, which makes it difficult for the team to win the championship to maintain its core lineup; injuries have also become key factors. For example, after the Celtics won the championship in 2024, although they maintained the core lineup, Tatum was eliminated due to injury this year due to an injury in the playoffs this year; and the improvement of the overall competitiveness of the league, any team faces huge challenges to even the championship.

From the perspective of fans, will this situation of a group of heroes really be better?

For most fans, different teams enter the playoffs every year and even have the opportunity to taste the championship, which undoubtedly increases the league's commercial appeal. Even if the finals aren’t necessarily the team you support, different combinations every year can really bring freshness.

For example, the Nuggets vs Heat in 2023, and the Thunder vs Pacers in 2025, these unusual matches in the past also make fans full of freshness. From the league perspective, every team has stable competitiveness and everyone has the opportunity to compete for the championship. This balanced competitive environment naturally looks much healthier.

But what does such an alliance feel missing?

In the past, there would always be one or two teams that dominated the league, and they were even called dynasty teams by fans. And nowadays, with a hundred flowers blooming alliance, it is inevitable that there are some content that is worse than these eras with dynasties.

The first thing that is to bear is the special charm of the dynasty team.

The NBA had glorious eras for specific teams in the past. For example, the Bulls in the 1990s were led by Jordan, won six championships in six years, and established an unparalleled Bulls dynasty. In the 2000s, the Lakers' OK combination achieved three consecutive championships; the most recent Golden State Warriors won three championships in four from 2015 to 2018, sweeping the league with a three-point craze.

The biggest advantage of these teams that have dominated the league for many years is to attract the fanatical support of countless fans. Their competition is not only the pinnacle of competition, but also the establishment of culture. The Bulls' red jersey and the Warriors' three-point splash have become memories in the hearts of fans and even directly influenced popular culture. For example, Jordan's AJ sneakers are still a trendy label culture.

The charm of these dynasty teams is that they not only win games, but also create legendary stories that belong to that era. In contrast, although the league is fierce, there is a lack of a team that has dominated for many years. The Warriors' consecutive championships in 2017 and 2018 were the only team that barely matched the dynasty in the past decade, but they missed the three consecutive championships due to injuries and lineup changes.

This rapid rotation also makes it difficult for fans to establish long-term emotional attachment to a certain team, which naturally makes the league lack the story of the era label.

The second point is the culture of old enemies between the teams.

The past NBA was full of passionate stories of hostile confrontations, which were often established by teams' conversations in the playoffs or finals for years. For example, the Yellow-Green War in the 1980s, the classic duel between the Magician and Bird Bird, and the Qiyong's four consecutive years of dialogue. The confrontation between these teams and players has also become a topic that fans talk about.

These consecutive duels have gradually established a culture of old enemies worth talking about not only because of the competition between players, but also because of the complex and grudges between the team and the region.

In contrast, although there have been many Eastern Conference playoffs such as the Heat and the Celtics in recent years, these confrontations are hard to be called old rival teams. The reasons behind them are not difficult to understand. The key lies in changes in league culture, increasing player mobility, and frequent transfers of super stars, resulting in a significant weakening of the continuity of team confrontation. For example, after James switched from the Cavaliers to the Lakers, the original Cavaliers duel lost its subsequent continuation.

In addition, the playoffs combinations have begun to become more diverse, and the situation where the same teams met in the finals for many years has basically disappeared. Although this diversity brings a lot of freshness, it also makes fans lack a lot of "must win" confrontational passion. Just imagine, if the Thunder and the Pacers could face a steady battle in the playoffs for many years, they might be able to create a brand new story of their archenemy. The last link comes from the cultivation of stars.

For those dynasties before, not only did they create legendary teams, but they also trained a group of historical stars. Jordan, Kobe, James, Duncan, Curry, etc., these names become legends not only because of the players' personal performance, but also because they led the team to establish a championship moment.

Jordan's six championships, James's four championships, and Curry's four championships, these achievements have directly made these players the league's benchmark players.

Looking at the current NBA, there are indeed many superstars, such as Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Alexander, etc. Their players' strength is naturally unquestionable, but to become the greatest legend in history, it seems that a single championship or personal data is not enough.

Historical cases have proved that winning consecutive championships or dominating the league for a long time is the necessary condition for shaping legendary stars. In today's competitive environment, it is extremely difficult for a championship team to maintain its core lineup. For example, after the Nuggets won the championship in 2023, they were unable to continue their championship dominance due to salary caps and injuries. This strict environment directly makes it difficult for alliance stars to establish dynasties, which in turn affects their historical status rankings.

For most fans, the viewing performance of NBA games in recent years, especially playoffs, is no less than in the past. In the 2025 Thunder duel against the Pacers, the fast-paced confrontation between the two young teams can also make people watch it, but it is also a fact that the game's ratings have dropped. It is undeniable that the lack of participation of big city teams and the absence of the dynasty era are key factors that directly affect ratings. The power of the dynasty rich families brought greater topics, but this seems to be something that the alliance has not been replicated today, and it is one of the important factors in the alliance's reshaping its attractiveness. The Warriors were a good example from 2015 to 2018, and their dominance not only attracted a large number of new fans, but also made the victory of opponents more legendary.

In the current alliance environment, establishing a dynasty is undoubtedly a great challenge, but it is not entirely impossible. The Thunder, who won the championship this season, is one of the strong contenders. Relying on the young three-core core of Alexander, Jewish and Chett, as well as excellent salary control and lineup management, it is definitely one of the teams with the most chance to defend the champion.

However, before completing the consecutive championship goals, even before establishing a dynasty, the hidden dangers of injury, competitive crisis, salary pressure and other challenges that the teams have faced in the past also exist for the Thunder. Even if the lineup is excellent, the future prospects cannot be ignored.

From the league's perspective, for fans, do you prefer the league to be dominated by a power, or is it the current situation where a hundred flowers bloom?