Typically, when fans talk about the dominance of the Boston Celtics teams from the 1980s, conversations naturally circle around three-time MVP Larry Bird, who was unquestionably the engine of the era.

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won 72 regular-season games in 1995-96. That mark broke a 24-year-old record by Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain's 1972 Los Angeles Lakers. In doing so, that ...