This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

We all can agree that the NBA postseason has left something to be desired from a competitive standpoint. The Warriors and Cavaliers enter the NBA Finals with a combined 24-1 playoff record. Neither team has come close to being touched.

But all the criticism about the league needing to step in and do something about competitive balance, about how the product is suffering and how these two super teams are ruining the sport, has gotten too much attention.

What's been ignored during the playoffs: The NBA has been built rivalries between dominant teams in both the Eastern and Wester Conferences for 50 years.

There were Bill Russell's Boston Celtics against Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1960s. Wilt Chamberlain teamed up with West to create one of the most dominant teams of all time, facing off multiple times against Walt Frazier, Willis Reed and the star-studded New York Knicks in the 1970s. The 1980s belonged to Magic Johnson's Showtime Lakers and Larry Bird's Celtics. Michael Jordan and the Bulls reigned supreme in the 1990s, Kobe and Shaq's Lakers teams dominated the 2000s, and whatever team LeBron James has played for has owned the current decade.

The Cavs and the Warriors are without question the two best teams in the league. They have laid waste to the rest of the NBA, and they have three of the five best players in the league on their respective rosters in James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. I'm not sure how long their reign will last, but the rest of the league clearly has some catching up to do.

This is something to be celebrated, just like Magic and Bird were celebrated, and like Jordan was celebrated. Twenty years from now, we'll look back on LeBron's teams, and these Warriors, as some of the greatest Finals matchups in NBA history. It's fascinating to watch.

I'm aware of the criticisms. Durant did leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Warriors in free agency in a ring-chasing move. But it's a move he felt he had to make for the sake of his legacy. When we judge the hierarchy of players, we judge them on championships. Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Karl Malone are all-time great players, who also are overlooked a bit because they never won a title. Durant doesn't want that to be his fate — and can you blame him?

Truthfully, most of the dominant teams in history had a centerpiece player who wasn't drafted by that team. The 1980s Celtics traded for Robert Parrish. Those Showtime Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the late 1970s, setting them on the way toward legendary status. Jordan's Bulls went from great to unbeatable with the acquisition of Dennis Rodman, arguably the greatest rebounder ever and one of the best defensive power forwards in history. Shaq got tired of Orlando and left the Magic for the Lakers in free agency before Bryant was drafted.

The NBA always has been about dominant teams and rivalries. Remember the NBA Finals in the early 1980s? You probably don't because network television had it on tape delay. It can be argued that Bird and Magic's rivalry saved the NBA.

If you think the Warriors and Cavaliers are bad for the league, that's fine. Nothing wrong with having an opinion. But just know that Warriors and Cavs aren't a unique situation. This is what the NBA has been about for 50 years.

tjones@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribjazz