EPL - Manchester United - 1990s/2000s (13 championships over 20 years)
FGC - Justin Wong - 2000s/2010s (9 EVO championships over 14 years)
FIFA - Brazil - 1994-2002 (2 World Cup championships w/ 3 consecutive finals)
FIFA - Spain - 2008-2012 (3 consecutive international championships, Euro-WC-Euro) Golf - Tiger Woods - 2000s/2010s (14 majors over 11 years) La Liga - Barcelona - 2000s/2010s (8 La Liga championships and 4 champions league) LoL - SK Telecom T1 - 2010s (3 world championships in 4 years) MLB - New York Yankees - 2000s (5 championships over 14 years) NBA - Golden State Warriors - 2010s (3 championships over 4 years)
NBA - Los Angeles Lakers - 2000s (5 championships over 10 years)
NBA - San Antonio Spurs - 2000s/2010s (5 championships over 15 years)
NBA - Chicago Bulls - 1990s (6 championships over 8 years)
NHL - Chicago Blackhawks - 2010s (3 championships over 6 years)
NFL - New England Patriots - 2000s/2010s (5 championships over 17 years)
Tennis - Roger Federer - 2000s/2010s (20 grand slams over 16 years)
Tennis - Rafael Nadal - 2000s/2010s (16 grand slams over 13 years)
Tennis - Serena Williams - 2000s/2010s (23 grand slams over 16 years)
What is the definition of a dynasty? Merriam-Webster describes a dynasty as a "sports franchise which has a prolonged run of successful seasons". I have been following sports for over 20 years now and dynasties become ingrained into your mind as time passes. It might be different if you are a sports fanatic and you can remember every season since you started watching, but for the majority of sports fan, you will remember championships and especially those teams that win multiple championships within an era. Usually these means that apart of each dynasty, there is one or a few players that will be consistent across the multiple championships.
My earliest memory of a dynasty would have been Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls of the 90s. Michael Jordan was the biggest superstar of any sport in the 90s as he was dominating the competition; winning 6 championships over a span of 8 years, but out of those 2 years where he didn't win the championship, he only played 1/2 a season as he initially retired to go and play baseball. This level of dominance was unheard at this time as most major sports leagues had grown to 30 teams and it was difficult to compete at such as high level year over year.
I don't specifically remember this dynasty in the 90s, but I did catch the tale end of it in the 2000s and this dynasty was Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. In this case, the polarizing figure of the dynasty was a coach and not a player. He coached Manchester United for over 25 years; winning 13 championships over a span of 20 years. This level of success across multiple decades may never be replicated; as players came and gone, Sir Alex Ferguson was still able to lead Manchester United to several championships even winning a few Champions League trophies as well.
In the 2000s, we an explosion of dynasties across all sports including individual sports such as tennis and golf. You had Tiger Woods dominating golf and Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena William dominating tennis. This dominance was also seen in the gaming world, where Justin Wong was making a name for himself in the Fighting Gaming Community (FGC) as he was a consistent champion every year at EVO. Team sports was no exception and it felt like every sport had at least one dynasty to speak of. You have the New York Yankees in the MLB, the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL, and SK Telecom T1 in League of Legends. Other teams spread out their success across 2 decades and were the model of success in their leagues, the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA and the New England Patriots in the NFL are synonymous with success and consistency. Both teams have won 5 championships in the modern era over a span of over 15 years.
Along with these dynasties, each of these teams became the Goliath and elevated their star players into super stardom. They become etched into history and their name will always trigger championships: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane. You also get player coach combos like Tim Duncan and Greg Popovic, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, and Faker and kkOma. And with Goliath, comes Davids who line up every year to try and take them down. The story lines year after year are always created by favorites and the contenders that chase them. We are currently in the era of Golden State dominance with them winning 3 championships out of 4 consecutive finals appearances. And even when they lost, they lost in dominating fashion as they blew a 3-1 lead and it took a godly game winner by Kyrie Irving to stop them, but that lost gave them Kevin Durant who has propelled them to back-to-back championships. Kevin Durant plans to re-sign with the Golden State Warriors to reunite the Hampton 5 and with a total of 10 returning players, they looked poised to go for the 3-peat.
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