It's never been tougher to build an NBA dynasty

The NBA is built on dynasties. At least, it always has been.

Bill Russell 's Boston Celtics teams dominated the 1960s. The Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry headlined the 1980s. The Chicago Bulls , Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs followed with dynastic runs to define eras in the 1990s and 2000s.

And more recently, the 2010s belonged to LeBron James -- both his Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers teams -- and the Stephen Curry -led Golden State Warriors .

But since the Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, the NBA has seen seven different champions hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the longest stretch of parity in league history. There have been 11 different finalists in that span, another league record. And in each of the past six postseasons, the de