Why There Were NO DYNASTIES in the 1970s 

Will we ever see another decade without a dynasty team? NOTE: It was brought to my attention that Uncle Hays did a video on this exact same topic 3 weeks ago. Feel bad now knowing that I posted this so soon after his, so I'll just plug his channel. Go check out Uncle Hays, and get his perspective on the 70s as well!

I actually like the parity of the 70's and imo the 2020's looks to be following a similar path with the same team winning at most two chips, and new teams winning championships.

2020's has the potential for being an era of parity as well. One reason could be superstars holding their teams hostage and threatening to leave very quickly and not getting a chance to build a competitive roster. Though the Nuggets are in a good position to buck that trend.

70s an underrated era, would’ve been cool to see if 2k24 could’ve added the 70s era and let you choose if you want to run teams in the NBA or ABA

70s basketball is probably the one most people wish they saw the most.

Thank you Jonny, 70s was underrated era for NBA basketball!

The 70’s has always been my favorite era for the league. So many underrated players who get really slept on nowadays. Guys like Bob Lanier, Wes Unseld, Maurice Lucas, Charlie Scott, Paul Westphal, Lou Hudson, Jo Jo White, Artis Gilmore, Bob Dandridge, Paul Silas and Phil Smith were great players in their day who rarely get talked about nowadays. I never have been much of a fan of dynasties, as I feel as if they make the league a lot more uncompetitive and one-sided. The 70’s to me feels the most balanced and competitive which is why it’s always going to be my favorite era. It’s a shame about all of the personal stuff that was going on at the time.

Thanks for showing love and breaking down the least-talked about era outside of the 1950’s

You should make a video one day ,where you talk about era biases, like how people discredit older players like wilt and bill saying their competition was weak and then talk about how people arent consistent about weak competition argument because no one criticizes lebron for playing in a weak east or magic for playong in a weak west , i think you would KILL this topic , what you think?

This is my favorite time period in NBA history. The ABA merger; the parity; and just the nutty 70s, period. It wasn't the best but among the most colorful and definitely unsung.

I love the parity of competition. Having multiple championship contenders keeps the fans more engaged.

Hey Johnny, thank you for the increase in content!!! Daily videos have not gone unnoticed so I definitely appreciate the work you got in and to maintain the high quality while doing it!!!!

So basically no one won consistently cause everybody was consistently too good. Must have been a great decade for those who witnessed it.

Because Bill Russell decided to let others have a chance 😂

Was thinking about this since you made the 2k eras video. Thanks for anwsering the question Jonny

So far, the 2020s looks like It might replicate the parity of the 1970s, since 2019 we have a new champion every year, and It looks like It Will continúe that way.

Good video. I think the 2020s might be another decade of parity. We've had four different winners in four years so far. Lakers and Warriors have old stars. The two defining 2020s players are Giannis and Jokic so far. The Bucks seem to be on the general decline at the moment so they'll need to seriously retool if they want another ring this decade. The Nuggets are really in the best position at the moment to be the dynasty of the 2020s. We'll see if they capture the 2024 title; if they don't, we could see the legends of the 2010s retiring and giving room for new talent to start winning like Tatum, Doncic and Shai.

Jonny Arnett has quality AND quantity

Salute to you and your work ethic, bc you've been hammering these out lately. That said, I've been thinking about this lately: imagine just how deep the league would've been im the 70s if there was no ABA. Imagine if among others Dr. J, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Dan Issel, Roger Browne, Spencer Haywood, David Thompson, Marvin Barnes, Louie Dampier, Larry Kenon, Rick Barry, & a rookie Moses Malone all were in the league between 1967 -1976. Doc, for example, would've been on the 1972 Bucks with veteran Oscsr Robertson and a stratospherically ascend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that in the real timeline makes the 74 Finals. Does Cap stay there a little longer now that Doc is there to lighten the load? Remember, Doc and Kareem were bar none the 2 best players of th 1970s. So much would change and IMHO this would've been the deepest era ever in terms of talent in such a short span of time.

Crazy how every time a team got on a roll, something happened that ruined it

I can't front...u really did your HOMEWORK..u Broke da NBA 70'S down likkah Shotgun. Good Work.

Jonny should do a Bill Walton video. Huge ‘what if’ career.

this era too gonna be very competitive 4 seasons 4 winners

already know this video is gonna be a banger

Uncle hayes is a good channel that talks about 70s and 60s basketball

the knicks went to 3 finals in the early in the 1970s. Also the Bullets. They are the closest

Bro you been working your ass off with these basketball lore videos. Keep it up bro I’m glad I subbed!

Johnny just blessin us with all these uploads 🐐 hoops youtuber

Hands down the best basketball channel on RU-vid

The Blazers won in 6 games and also had a key former ABA player in Maurice Lucas.

Love the concept of this era analysis. Perhaps in the future you can do a video on why the Eastern Conference in the 00s were famously bad.

Props to you being one of the most consistent nba RU-vidrs during the off-season

I know it will be great for us basketball fans to witness a potential parity era 2.0 but I don't know whether it will help the league's marketability since no matter the talent, it's gonna be difficult to have a clear face of the league, which seems like a necessity

Jonny you are killing it. Dropping high quality content every day. I applaud you and your wife for the best offseason content. Thank you ❤

This is definitely the closest we’ve been to the 70’s parity. Five different champions from 2019-23, the longest period since 77-81. Will be interesting to see if it goes to seven straight, something that has never happened in NBA history. If so, the Heat and Celtics would probably be the most likely teams to help accomplish that.

I really feel like we could have seen a Blazers three-peat from 1977-1979 had Walton not been injured. It's not like the '78 and '79 Bullets and Sonics were powerhouses, respectively, and Portland was cruising before Walton went down in '78 to the degree that he still won MVP despite playing in less than 60 games.

I think the 70’s is gaining a brand new appreciation thanks to RU-vid. I love all the different shooting and play styles

As always great video Jonny. I think Oarity in the NBA again would be an awesome thing. A major part of the being no repeat champions in the 70s was the merger with the ABA. Also in the 79s they had a major drug problem

Great video, Jonny! I have been wondering about why there were no dynasties in the 70s and you provided a great analysis. I am not sure if there will be a dynasty this decade, but either way, I am excited to see how this decade shapes up. Happy Sunday and have a great week 😊

Jonny dropping great content like crazy in the last few days! Keep it up Jonny! 💪

I really like these new animations you've added in recent videos. Sort of like the annotations you'd see in old facts/stat books.

I think an understated factor was the contracts and increased control teams had over players. A lot less blockbuster trades meant contenders couldn’t be formed in a season or two so the smaller retools often were deciding factors. And any dynasties that were starting to come together got hit with the merger

Dope vid Johnny

We are kinda in it now. DALLAS, TORONTO & MILWAUKEE recently won CHAMPIONSHIPS

Great video!

We are currently in a decade of parity and it's awesome

hey jonny back again!! just letting you know that you are the best nba channel on youtube

I love your videos

I think we're gonna see this parity in this era

Off season Jonny is uplifting!

60s 70s 80s is golden age basketball with competition

Excellent video- thoroughly enjoyed watching it. One thought I had was one you raised: the teams of the early 70s had very narrow windows of opportunity because their key players were older. Oscar Robertson was the key to the Buck's championship but he was then in his mid-30s. If a prime Robertson played alongside Kareem, it's hard not to see them winning multiple titles. The Laker's "Big Three" was largely a myth. Over the span of three years that Baylor, Chamberlain and West played together, they were on the court at the same time for something like 30 games. It is perhaps the ultimate basketball irony that Baylor had to retire just a handful of games into the magical 71-72 season because his body just gave out- and the Lakers go on to win the title. The Lakers also should have beaten the Knicks in 1970, though I still doubt they would have been a dynasty because of Kareem and the Bucks. But I'll go out on a limb and argue for a potential late 70s dynasty if things had turned out just a bit differently: the Kentucky Colonels. Hubie Brown, who coached a long time and some very good teams, says that the ABA Colonels were the best team he ever coached. They had not only the best frontline in the ABA (by a huge margin) but one better than almost any in the NBA. Artis Gilmore (later of the NBA Chicago Bulls) played center. Dan Issel (later of the NBA Denver Nuggets) played power forward, with Wil Jones- at 6'8"- playing small forward. At guard was an ABA legend in Louie Dampier and Teddy "Hound Dog" McClain. They added Caldwell Jones (later of the Philadelphia 76ers) in the year before the merger. They Colonels were not included in the merger, but I think they would have been contenders. Could they have beaten the Trailblazers, Bullets and Supersonics? I think they could have.

The pacers won 3 titles in the 1970's in the ABA. The biggest reason we didn't see a dynasty in the 70's is because a large percentage of the best players weren't in the league, so the quality was deluded.

Hey Johnny, can you talk about physicality? Can you talk about the old fist fights, the introduction of the flagrant, offensive fouls, hacking and so on. Oh and how these affect free throws.

So many great teams in the 70’s. Bucks , Lakers , Celtics , Knicks and Bullets. And very good teams , Sonics Blazers , Warriors , Suns , Braves and Hawks.

One thing not discussed was the rampant drug problems many players had through out the decade. Guys like David Thompson, who would've been a consistent top 10 player, had their careers cut short getting hooked on coke.

When Oscar joined the Bucks, they weren't a mediocre team. They had won 56 games the prior year, finished 2nd in the eastern division, and got to the eastern division finals (equivalent to the Eastern Conference Finals now).

There's no narrative machines before backed by Media compared today where being 4-20 gave you a 20 year era.

Just wanna help the video 🎉🎉

Which is actually a good thing. The Washington Bullets/Wizards being champs makes for a interesting thought.

I think competition with the ABA also contribute to what happen in the 70s

Another great Jonny. So far it looks as if the current decade may become a repeat of the 70s. We've had 4 different championship teams from 2020 to this year. It looks like it's anyone's championship to win this coming season. I would be interested to know your thoughts.

Yes, I think we will.. This is the perfect era for it, presently!

That was nice.

The 70s definitely felt like a transitional decade for the NBA especially with the merger. A lot of great talent but no strong identity as a league.

00:36, Tim Duncan must be surfing, somewhere, living is best life, then gives a disapproving little smirk.

The 70s was an interesting time, mainly due to massive changes in the skill and make-up of the league. The 70s really introduced the first generation of players that never knew life without high profile pro basketball. The biggest reason I think is this….the depth of quality big men in the league was the primer for a championship team. I also think the introduction of new teams (Phoenix, Washington, Seattle, Portland and the ABA additions) didn’t allow teams to consolidate power as much as the Celtics and Lakers did in the 60s.

Well also halfway through the 70s the ABA merged with the NBA. I'm sure it took a while for things to change and solidify again.

THE 1970'S WERE DOPE ALL AROUND, AND THE 80'S..

The reason for parity was the ABA. Talent being diluted through 2 leagues, both stars and especially, roll players. When they merged, teams had not been organically formed and developed, as a result, there was no chemistry.

Can you do more of the versus series?

I think we're in the midst of that sort of decade now. A lot of teams with little to no championship history winning the finals the past few years and no real dynasties in sight

I actually hope 2020s kinda have different ones and can easily be like that cause soon as a team makes a run, something happens since 2019.

One way that parity isn't good for the league is that it can hurt attendance. Attendance was not great in the '70s and it wasn't until the arrival of Bird and magic did they NBA takeoff in popularity.

The last 5 NBA Champions are different. Raptors, Lakers, Bucks, Warriors and Nuggets. It just refreshing and happy because many players from different teams win their championship for the 1st time. This is my predictions after 2023 for 2020's decade 2020 - Lakers 2021 - Bucks 2022 - Warriors 2023 - Nuggets 2024 - Suns 2025 - Heat (with Lilliard) 2026 - Mavs 2027 - Celtics 2028 - Mavs 2029 - Mavs I think Dallas Mavericks will be the future Dynasty

In the 1970s, the NBA was plagued by issues such as labor-management disputes and drug use among players, and the league's popularity was waning due to its negative image. The 1980 NBA Finals, in which rookie Magic Johnson played, was only broadcast late at night as a pre-recorded game, and viewer ratings were disappointing. At the time, 17 of the 23 teams were running deficits, and there was a possibility that the league's finances would collapse. Still, I'm very happy that the NBA regained its popularity in the 1980s thanks to Magic, Larry Bird, and David Stern.

Thank goodness for Earvin Johnson and Larry Bird.

Those Lakers weren't as horrible as indicated here. Yeah, they weren't contending for a chip after Wilt & Jerry retired, but Kareem was traded to the Lakers alongside Lucuis Allen. There were also some really good talent on those teams throughout the years like Gail Goodridge, Cazzie Russell, Kermit Washington, Adrian Dantley, & Norm Nixon. They certainly had enough talent to be better than what they were throughout the mid-late 70s.

80’s definitely was “Split” also!! Gotta add Boston! And Detroit, “almost” gets added too! 💯

I think we are moving in that direction again. The early 70s where characterized by high talent concentration (I.e. “super teams”) . The late 70s by a lot of plaster movement due to the ABA merger and shuffling around to compensate for retiring legends. In the modern era player movement makes building a dynasty tough. There are more top-heavy talent laden teams, those teams are harder to keep together, and new contenders are easier to piece together quickly. Golden State had the perfect storm, but even then they only won 3 times in 4 years before regressing. I think there is a chance at future teams becoming dynasties but more than 3 titles with the same core (60s Celtics, showtime lakers, Jordan Bulls) is really unlikely.

Willis Reed injuries probably prevented the Knicks from being a dynasty. Ofcourse Walton's injuries certainly derailed Portland from at least 2. If Oscar had been a few years younger Milwaukee may have run the table for a few years. He was ancient by 1973.

Anything looking like the old days of NBA is better then today's NBA

PLEASE A VIDEO ON DREAM TEAM 2 (94 FIBA TEAM). PLEASE

The 20s looks quite similar to the 70s with the Warriors dynasty ending cuz of injuries and KD leaving, also 5 different teams have rings this decade so it could be another dynasty less era like the 70s

No dynasties in the 70s is pretty simple. In 1966 when the celtics had won 8 in a row there was only 10 teams. 1967 12 teams, 1969 14 teams, 1970 17 teams to 1980 23 teams. More teams means more travel plane rides bus rides. better players being distributed around the league more evenly.

You should do a video on nick van exel

Go by the picture alone where you have three top 10 players of all time competing in the same era against one another.

I personally think it'd be good, but to paraphrase the late Commissioner Stern, the NBA would rather the Finals be Lakers vs Lakers. Their entire marketing model is to hope/pray/rig for media darlings to make deep runs, and league interest is usually at its highest when their marquee teams or stars play deep into June.

Had Wilt been able to steal one more chip he would’ve been seen even more highly I believe. It’s a shame cause he was still dominate at a mid 30’s age. I still believe he should’ve came back for 73-74.

Actually think that's something that's happening right now. The stars of the 2000s are all in their late 30s. And young European star talent is starting to crop up. We haven't had a repeat champion in the current decade yet. And the emergence of a three-point is allowing teams to go on hot streaks meaning both sitting and home court doesn't mean as much anymore.

The end of the title cut off for me but i guessed it was gonna be 70s anyway 😏

This is why I have Wilt (#2) over Kareem (#5) All Time Thanks to Jonny for this cool look back into the 70s. 👍🏼

We're in a parity era right now.

Leaving the Spurs out of the 00s at the beginning was uncool man 😡

🎉❤

Well said .. Well done ... On the mark ... You youngins..., take notes .. Know the history of any genre, before spewing nonsense.

❤❤❤

The way things are going, we might already be in a parity era

There was lack of quality in the league in the 70s with alot of quality being in ABA

It's hard to have a dynasties when the ABA split the talent pool from the nba. Like dr. J was drafted by the bucks but chose to play with The ABA.