Honorable Mentions
1 of 11
1997-2017 San Antonio Spurs
For 20 consecutive years, the Spurs won at least 61 percent of their regular-season games, as well as five NBA titles along the way. But there was never even a two-year arc in which they were THE team to beat in the Western Conference, let alone in the entire NBA. Still, two decades as a consistent top-five team in a sport with a salary cap is slightly absurd. They’re definitely the toughest honorable mention to leave out of the top 10.
2000-2003 New Jersey Devils
Thanks to 20 years of net-minding service from Martin Brodeur, the Devils were a strong contender in the Eastern Conference for a bunch of years. The apex of that dominance came in the form of two Stanley Cup wins and one Stanley Cup loss in four years at the beginning of the century. It was a close call to leave them out, but we opted for teams that either won more titles or won them in quicker succession.
2002-08 USC Trojans (CFB)
USC won at least 11 games in seven consecutive seasons, including two national championships. Or at least that’s what most of us remember. However, the NCAA retroactively stripped the Trojans of one of those championships, as well as every win in the 2005 season, because of violations involving Reggie Bush. Since we can’t credit them with those achievements, the Trojans weren’t officially a college football dynasty.
2004-09 North Carolina Tar Heels (CBB)
In the span of five years, UNC earned four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, played in three Final Fours and won two national championships. Going from Raymond Felton and Sean May to Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough was one heck of a luxury for fans in Chapel Hill. But two titles in five years isn’t much of a dynasty, considering none of the players on the title teams overlapped.
2004-08 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers won two Super Bowls in four years and went 15-1 the year before the first of those titles. But they failed to defend either crown and didn’t have much postseason success aside from the titles in that span.
2006-09 Florida Gators (CFB)
In Tim Tebow’s four seasons in the Swamp, Florida went 48-7, won two BCS championships and a Heisman. Had they beaten Alabama in the 2009 SEC Championship to reach a third title game in four years, they would have ranked in the top 10 here.
2009-15 Chicago Blackhawks
With three Stanley Cups in the span of six years, the Blackhawks are the NHL team with the best case for a spot in the top 10. However, with the exception of the lockout-shortened 2012-13, they were never anything close to the best team during the regular season. This wasn’t so much a dynasty as a pretty good team that occasionally went on a tear when it mattered most. Speaking of which…
2010-14 San Francisco Giants
Three World Series titles in the span of five years is better than any other franchise can boast since the 1996-2000 New York Yankees. But the even-year Giants missed the postseason in 2011 and 2013 and weren’t even the NL’s No. 1 seed in the three years that they won it all. More so a weird case of sustainable October magic than a dynastic run.
2021-Present Florida Panthers
The Panthers won the Presidents’ Trophy with 122 points in the first year of this run and won the Stanley Cup in both 2024 and 2025 after losing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2023. There are plenty of teams that reach their respective sport’s finals in three consecutive years, though. Doing it once more would give them a fairly unimpeachable case for the best NHL dynasty of the 21st century.
