The NBA has been on hiatus for a whopping four months. And though the season's reboot is looming, the league's history remains a captivating topic of conversation.

As we barrel toward the continuation of 2019-20, let's look at the best teams the NBA has ever produced.

We already broke down the 2010s, 2000s and 1990s. Now, let's look at the league pre-'90s.

You likely won't be surprised to hear that much of the discussion will focus on the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. When two teams combine for 33 championships, they take up a pretty big chunk of the history.

They aren't the only organizations that boast pre-'90s powerhouses, though. Three other Eastern Conference mainstays will crash this party.

To see where they all fall, scroll through the article. But first, some words on how we reached this order.

Methodology

*Takes a deep digital breath...

The methodology for this project was fairly complex.

First, one hard-and-fast rule was instituted: To qualify, teams had to make it to the NBA Finals. That eliminated a couple of regular-season powerhouses that fell apart in the playoffs.

Next, the following numbers for each of the remaining teams were found:

• Playoff and regular-season winning percentage
• Playoff and regular-season simple rating system (combination of point differential and strength of schedule)
• Playoff and regular-season offensive rating (team's points per 100 possessions minus the league average)
• Playoff and regular-season defensive rating (team's points allowed per 100 possessions minus the league average)
• Playoff and regular-season net rating (points per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions)

Points were also awarded to each team based on whether it won the title.

With all those numbers in place, the entire group was sorted by the average of their ranks in those numbers, with extra weight given to regular-season and postseason winning percentage, postseason net rating and whether it was a championship team.

That gave us a baseline. A couple of judgment calls were made here and there. For the most part, though, the statistical criteria remained our guide.

And finally, each of the pre-'90s teams from the exercise was separated from the group.

(For the purposes of these articles, decades will be defined as years zero through nine, with the year in which a season ended being used for counting purposes. For example, the pre-'90s constitute the dawn of the league through the 1989-90 season.)

*Phew...

10. 1980-81 Boston Celtics

A year after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the postseason, Larry Bird and the 1980-81 Boston Celtics dominated the league in the Hall of Famer's second campaign.

As an NBA sophomore, Bird averaged 21.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks. It was clear he was on the way to a dominant career, but he certainly wasn't a one-man show on this team.

In fact, Robert Parish, another Hall of Famer, was Boston's team leader in box plus/minus that season. And his basic averages of 18.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.8 assists in just 28.0 minutes were nothing to sneeze at.

This team also had a rookie Kevin McHale, who averaged 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in just 20.1 minutes, as well as an unlikely Finals MVP in Cedric Maxwell.

In six Finals games against the Houston Rockets, Maxwell averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 blocks while shooting 56.8 percent from the field.

This may have been something of an "Andre Iguodala in 2015" situation, though. Stephen Curry had the Warriors' highest average game score during those Finals, and Bird led the '81 Celtics in that same number.

Against the Rockets, he put up 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.3 steals.

"I was surprised," Boston coach Bill Fitch said of Maxwell winning the award. "I assumed it would be Bird."

There really wasn't a wrong answer here, though. Iguodala's defense was a critical component of the Warriors' win in 2015, and it's tough to imagine the Celtics topping Moses Malone and the Rockets without their leading scorer in that series.

9. 1964-65 Boston Celtics

For over a decade, Bill Russell and the Celtics essentially owned the NBA during its formative years. He won his first title in 1957 and his 11th in 1969. Picking one squad from that bunch is tough.

If we had made the statistical criteria already detailed the ultimate arbiter of these rankings, the 1963-64 squad would've been in the top 10.

But three more regular-season wins, a better simple rating system, Sam Jones' peak season and overcoming a monster Wilt Chamberlain performance in the playoffs gave the edge to the 1964-65 Boston Celtics.

That season, Russell won his fifth and final MVP award behind averages of 24.1 rebounds, 14.1 points and 5.3 assists. As mentioned, Jones was phenomenal too. He put up a team-leading 25.9 points. John Havlicek added another 18.3. And a supporting cast that included Tom Heinsohn, Tom Sanders, Willie Naulls and K.C. Jones provided plenty of help along the way.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics came up against Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers. The legendary big man averaged 31.4 rebounds and 30.1 points, but the balanced, team-first approach of the Celtics led to a Game 7 win for Boston that included one of the game's most legendary moments.

With five seconds to go and the Celtics up by one, Philadelphia's Hal Greer attempted to inbound the ball from the baseline toward the wing. Havlicek jumped the passing lane and tipped the ball back to Sam Jones, who dribbled up the floor and ran out the clock.

Johnny Most's "Havlicek stole the ball!" remains one of the widely known calls in NBA history.

Boston would go on to dominate the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, capping off perhaps the best single season of the team's Russell era.

8. 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers

Wilt Chamberlain spent much of his career putting up perhaps the gaudiest numbers the league has ever seen while always falling short of Bill Russell in terms of team accomplishments.

But in 1967, he and the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers broke through.

That season, Wilt averaged 24.1 points (a career low at the time), 24.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists (a career high, by far, at the time).

The additional trust in teammates went a long way toward unleashing Hall of Famers Hal Greer, Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham. Those three provided a balanced scoring attack from all over the floor that perfectly supplemented Chamberlain's dominance.

• Greer: 22.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists
• Walker: 19.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists
• Cunningham: 18.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists

Put it all together and it isn't hard to see why Philadelphia's immense talent overwhelmed the league to the tune of 68 wins and the best simple rating system of the 1960s.

In the playoffs, Wali Jones got in on the balancing act, averaging 17.5 points. And Greer shot up to 27.7. But it was Wilt's performance in the Eastern Division Finals that really stands out.

Against the venerable Russell, Chamberlain averaged 32.0 rebounds, 21.6 points and 10.0 assists in dispatching the Celtics in five games.

Rick Barry and the San Francisco Warriors offered a bit more resistance in the Finals, but Philly appeared a team of destiny once it vanquished Boston.

7. 1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers

Much has been made of the "Big Three" model of roster construction since Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined forces on the Celtics for the 2007-08 season, but they certainly weren't the first legendary trio to dominate an NBA season.

Led by the balanced scoring of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Magic Johnson, as well as the inspired floor generalship of Magic, the 1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers cruised to 62 wins in the regular season and a 15-4 record in the playoffs.

In his age-37 season, Kareem led the team in scoring at 22.0 points. He also managed 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 blocks. It was clear he was closing in on the twilight of his career, but he was still named to the All-NBA second team.

Worthy, meanwhile, in just his third NBA season, averaged 17.6 points and shot 57.2 percent from the field. The league average that season was 49.1 percent.

And then, of course, there was Magic. He averaged 18.3 points, 12.6 assists and 6.2 rebounds. And he was the conductor of "Showtime." His vision, unselfishness, passing ability and desire to get the ball quickly up and down the floor made this one of the most dynamic offenses in league history.

L.A.'s offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) was 6.2 points better than the 1984-85 average. And the team's 55.1 effective field-goal percentage was an epic outlier. The distance between it and the San Antonio Spurs' second-place 51.7 was the same as the distance between second place and 19th place.

The dominance continued well into the playoffs too. The Lakers went 11-2 through the first three rounds, before avenging a 1984 Finals loss against the Boston Celtics. In 1985, L.A. ousted its rivals in six games.

6. 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers

Sixteen years after winning a championship with the organization in 1967, Billy Cunningham led the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers back to the mountaintop. Of course, he had plenty of talent to work with.

Moses Malone was that season's MVP, thanks to monster averages of 24.5 points, 15.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in his first season in Philly.

Julius Erving, in his age-32 season, contributed 21.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.6 steals. Andrew Toney added 19.7 points. And Maurice Cheeks was the steady hand at the wheel, with averages of 12.5 points, 6.9 assists and 2.3 steals.

Those four, with Hall of Famer Bobby Jones coming off the bench, gave the Sixers a dominant rotation that led to an NBA-best 65 wins and loads of confidence for Malone heading into the playoffs.

His prediction for the postseason? "Fo', Fo', Fo'," or three straight sweeps.

Philadelphia couldn't quite back up Malone's prognostication, but it sure came close. After sweeping the New York Knicks in the first round, the Sixers went up 3-0 against the Milwaukee Bucks, who stole Game 4 before losing the series three days later.

In the end, Philly went 12-1 in a dominant postseason that included a sweep of Magic and Kareem's Lakers.

5. 1988-89 Detroit Pistons

On February 14, 1989, the 1988-89 Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers to move to 32-13 on the season.

Detroit's leading scorer, Adrian Dantley, put up 19 points in what would be his final game with a team he helped to a 58-win pace through 45 contests.

Keith Langlois of the team's website explained the lead-up to a trade that shocked the league and its fans:

"The body language of the Bad Boys was worrisome. Chuck Daly tipped [general manager Jack McCloskey] off that Adrian Dantley had become sullen, and both men were concerned his mood threatened to make for a toxic locker room.

"McCloskey pulled Dantley aside one day after a Pistons practice. They met in the tiny officials locker room at The Palace, off the tunnel entrance, and McCloskey pressed for an explanation. Dantley demurred.

"McCloskey finally told him bluntly: 'Adrian, if you don't want to talk about it, I'm going to trade you, and I'm not kidding you. I'm going to trade you. I'm not going to have you break up this team. I'm not saying you're at fault, but you know something that I don't know. I told him, flat out, 'I'm going to trade you,' and I think it was just two days later we flew down to Dallas and made the trade.'"

Detroit had just made the Finals with Dantley in 1988. The Pistons lost to the Lakers in seven games. And with things chugging along at a seemingly fine pace, trading Dantley was, to put it mildly, bold.

But over the remainder of the season, the Pistons went 31-6. Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Mark Aguirre (acquired in the Dantley deal) led the scoring charge. Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn and John Salley largely provided the "Bad Boys" philosophy. And everyone coalesced to dominate in the playoffs.

Detroit went 15-2 that postseason, with the only two losses coming against Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. The next series, against the Lakers squad that beat them one year earlier, was a sweep.

4. 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers

After years of a fairly evenhanded partnership between Magic and Kareem (and eventually Worthy), the 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers were very much Magic's team.

That season, he won his first of three league MVPs behind a 65-17 record and averages of 23.9 points, 12.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds. He had nearly as many wins over replacement player as the rest of L.A.'s roster combined.

The role of No. 1 option was new to Magic, but he was more than up to the task.

"I was ready to become a scorer," he said, per Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum. "I'm one of those players who can just turn the scoring on and off."

"On" is something of an understatement when describing Magic's own offense in 1986-87. He was 10th in the league in points per game, but when you limit the sample to those who matched or exceeded his 60.2 true shooting percentage, he trailed only Bird and McHale. Those two, of course, fell well shy of Magic's assist numbers (they combined for 10.2 per game).

Though Magic was clearly the engine of this team, he still received solid support from his teammates. Worthy was second on the team in scoring at 19.4 points per game. Kareem, in his age-39 campaign, added 17.5. And a rapidly developing Byron Scott pitched in another 17.0.

This team also featured Michael Cooper, one of the game's greatest defenders. He made eight All-Defense teams over the course of his career, but 1986-87 may have been his peak.

"Here is a player who guards Larry Bird like no one else," Sports Illustrated's Ralph Wiley wrote of Cooper shortly before he was named Defensive Player of the Year. "...whose idea of Nirvana is defending one-on-one against Bird or Michael Jordan."

With his perimeter defense supporting the absurd offense engineered by Magic, the Lakers were a juggernaut. And that's exactly how they played in a 15-3 postseason that included a six-game Finals win over the Celtics. 

3. 1985-86 Boston Celtics

The 1985-86 Boston Celtics may well have been the best basketball team of the 1980s. Not only do they have the decade's best simple rating system, they boasted an MVP in Larry Bird, Sixth Man of the Year and former MVP Bill Walton, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish still in (or near) their peaks and a solid supporting cast around the stars.

Bird, of course, was the clear No. 1. He led the team in points (25.8), rebounds (9.8), assists (6.8) and steals (2.0) per game while leading the entire league in box plus/minus (by a landslide). He also shot 42.3 percent from deep and hit 1.0 threes per game, a mark that trailed only Craig Hodges' 1.1.

He was undeniably the best player in the NBA that season. And he was starting to generate buzz of an even loftier distinction.

"He's the best player ever," Don Nelson, then coaching the Milwaukee Bucks, said in 1986. "The Celtics play on a different level. Bird? Well, he's on his own level."

That level the rest of the Celtics played on wasn't bad, either.

McHale was 10th in the league in box plus/minus. Walton and Parish were 23rd and 33rd, respectively. Facing that three-big rotation was daunting for the opposition.

McHale averaged 21.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Parish added 16.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 31.7 minutes. Walton, in just 19.3 minutes per game, pitched in with 7.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocks.

With those three, it's no wonder Boston finished fourth in blocks per game that season (behind Manute Bol's Washington Wizards', Mark Eaton's Utah Jazz and Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets).

The guards on this team did plenty too. Dennis Johnson, who made five All-Star teams prior to 1985-86, was good for 15.6 points and 5.8 assists. Danny Ainge added 10.7 points and 5.1 assists.

Altogether, the rotation seemed about as close to flawless as rotations get. And the Celtics annihilated the rest of the NBA on the way to 67 wins in the regular season and a 15-3 romp to the championship.

2. 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers

The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers were led by three experienced and hungry Hall of Famers.

Wilt Chamberlain had won a title with the 76ers in the '60s, but after spending much of his career chasing Bill Russell, another one would do wonders for his legacy.

Jerry West, meanwhile, had dominated the NBA as a scorer for 11 seasons prior to 1971-72 (he had the sixth-highest career scoring average of all time to that point) but had never won a title. His biggest postseason honor was being the only player to win Finals MVP in a losing effort (he's still alone on that front).

And though Gail Goodrich hadn't been around as long West and Chamberlain, he too was in search of his first championship.

(Elgin Baylor was on this squad too, though only for nine games.)

Jim McMillian and Happy Hairston didn't garner the same level of accolades during their careers, but they were certainly critical to the success of this particular team.

Those five were the leaders of a 69-13 Lakers squad that has the third-best simple rating system in NBA history. They destroyed their competition, running off an NBA-record 33 straight wins from November 5 to January 7.

Behind Goodrich (25.9 points and 4.5 assists), West (25.8 points and a league-leading 9.7 assists) and McMillian (18.8 points), they led the league in points per 100 possessions. Chamberlain (19.2 points and 14.8 rebounds in his second-to-last season) and Hairston (13.1 points and 13.1 rebounds) anchored the season's No. 2 defense.

The dominance on both sides of the ball carried into the postseason, where L.A. went 12-3 and outscored opponents by 10.5 points per 100 possessions (the seventh-best playoff net rating of all time).

1. 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks

Far too often, the NBA's GOAT debate is limited to just Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

"You may not put him at the top of your list," William C. Rhoden wrote for The Undefeated. "...but if Abdul-Jabbar is not part of the discussion, you're having the wrong conversation."

As a member of the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks, in just his second NBA season, Kareem won his first of six titles and first of six MVP awards. With averages of 31.7 points, 16.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists, it was clear the big man was going to be a fixture among the NBA's greats for a long time.

He had plenty of help in this campaign, though. Though he was well past his prime, Oscar Robertson averaged 19.4 points, 8.2 assists and 5.7 rebounds.

Bob Dandridge, who would go on to make four All-Star teams, one All-NBA team and one All-Defense team, added 18.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

Jon McGlocklin and Greg Smith both averaged double figures, as well.

With Kareem leading the way, these Bucks posted the best single-season simple rating system of all time. They went 12-2 and outscored opponents by 10.8 points per 100 possessions in the postseason.

From wire to wire, this was a completely and utterly dominant team performance.