Best of the 2000’s: The Top 10 Sports Teams

This week we brought you the Top 100 Sports Moments and Top 10 Hottest Female Athletes of the decade. But we all know there ain’t no “I” in team, and it takes a whole squad to get to the glory—word to the cast of Bukkake for Kitty—so we’re back to finish off the week with our Top 10 Teams of the Aughts.

Now we’re not looking for those who won championships but were boring as hell (we see you San Antonio Spurs, we just wish we didn’t have to watch). Instead, we listed the teams that mixed a little excitement with their excellence. We’re sure you have your own list, but you’re reading ours, so without further Freddy Adu…

10. 2004 USC Trojan Football Team
KEY PLAYERS: Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White
WHY THEY MADE IT: For much of the decade the Trojans just took away the manhood of other so-called Division I football teams. But in 2004, the dominance got ugly. While defending their split ‘03 national title, the Trojans went on to have an undefeated season, including a 55-19 win over the undefeated Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS Championship game. Then Leinart, Bush and co. took pay cuts to go play in the NFL.

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9. 2008 Tampa Bay Rays
KEY PLAYERS: B.J. Upton, Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria, David Price
WHY THEY MADE IT: The Rays’ ‘08 payroll of $43 million ranked 29th out of 30 teams, but that didn’t stop them from showing the Yankees ($209 million) and Red Sox ($138 million) that buckets of money and ‘roids can’t buy division titles or league championships every year. Of course the Yanks and Sox got back in the playoffs this year, so buckets of money and ‘roids do work more often than not.

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8. 2006 Phoenix Suns
KEY PLAYERS: Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Shawn Marion
WHY THEY MADE IT: Two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash came over from Dallas to lead the best run-and-gun offense in the league to nearly 109 points per game that season. Adding a goon like Raja Bell who was willing to take out the league’s golden child while up by 14 in the last quarter of a playoff game didn’t hurt either. They got bounced from the postseason themselves, but simply put, the ‘06 Suns = entertainment.

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7. 2008 Detroit Lions
KEY PLAYERS: Everyone, especially GM Matt Millen
WHY THEY MADE IT: Losing every game in the season isn’t really something to be looked down upon—somebody wins the Super Bowl every year, but winless teams are rarer than…well almost as rare as Lions wins in ‘08. If you ever felt bad about your team getting killed all you had to do was watch the Lions to get a bit of solace—unless you were a Lions fan, in which case: WHY?!?

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6. 2001 Miami Hurricanes Football Team
KEY PLAYERS: Clinton Portis, Ed Reed, Andre Johnson, Ken Dorsey, Jeremy Shockey
WHY THEY MADE IT: Doubt the ‘01 ‘Canes were the greatest college football team of all time? Check the stats: They featured three different players who would go on to make NFL Pro Bowl teams—at one position (running backs Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore). Their average score at home was 51-3. And if not for BCS BS and a historically awful pass interference call, they would’ve won three chips. The Lions prolly could’ve won a game in ‘08 with this squad’s second string.

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5. 2008 FC Barcelona
KEY PLAYERS: Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry
WHY THEY MADE IT: Barça completed the first Treble in Spanish league football history by winning the La Liga Cup, Spanish Cup, and UEFA Champions League Cup. You can call it the Treble or “making-every-other-football-club-your-personal-whipping-boys.”

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4. 2007 New England Patriots
KEY PLAYERS: Tom Brady, Randy Moss
WHY THEY MADE IT: Spying on the other team and running up scores to go 16-0? Yeah, sounds like the 2007 Patriots to us. Too bad a late Super Bowl pass from Eli Manning to an unknown wide receiver had to end it all. Karma is a mother.

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3. 2003-04 Arsenal “The Invincibles”
KEY PLAYERS: Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp
WHY THEY MADE IT: It’s not just that the Gunners became the first top-division English club in 115 years to go unbeaten for an entire league season—it’s the brilliant attacking style in which they accomplished the feat. For those that insist soccer is boring, have a look at that year’s highlights DVD. “The Invincibles” were one of the most entertaining teams to watch in any sport.

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2. 2008 U.S.A Olympic Basketball Team “The Redeem Team”
KEY PLAYERS: Coach K, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul
WHY THEY MADE IT: After settling for bronze at the 2004 Games, Team U.S.A pulled out all the stops to ensure the gold would return to the basketball Mecca, with Coach K getting NBA All-Stars to check their egos for the good of the squad. We still think it’s a damn shame A.I. didn’t make the cut though.

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1. 2004 Boston Red Sox
KEY PLAYERS: Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Jayson Varitek
WHY THEY MADE IT: After 86 years without a title, the Red Sox survived getting hit by a girl to break the Curse of the Bambino. Although they get enshrined in the Lame A-holes Hall of Fame for popularizing the phrase “cowboy up.”

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RELATED: Complex’s Top 100 Sports Moments of the 2000s!