Ninth on the career assists list with 7667

Eventually they lost to Indiana for the second year in a row.Considering the decade as a whole, the Celtics were a force to be reckoned with.MavericksThe Mavs came onto the NBA scene with their innagural season of 1980. After 20 years of being one of the newer teams in the NBA they really made a splash in the 00's. After posting a 40-42 record in 1999-2000, they would go onto 9 straight seasons with 50 wins or more, including an NBA best of 67 in 2007. In the decade they won the second most games of any franchise, with 535, trailing only San Antonio (548). Out of those 9 seasons they made it to the second round of the playoffs six times and the Finals once, which they lost to the Heat, 4-2.

In terms of the players who played for the orginization during the decade, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki were the two best. Jason Kidd was traded to them later in the decade in a desperate move by Mark Cuban to win a Championship instantly. During the decade they were a prolific force in the NBA and that is why they land at Number 5.Other Teams ConsideredNetsIn a decade where seven of the 10 championships were won by two teams, it was hard for any other teams to have a good shot. The Heat did it with Shaq, the Celtics did it with the "Big Three," and the Pistons did it with defense. The Nets made it to the Finals twice, winning neither of them.The first two years of the decade they had records of 31-51 and 26-56, consecutively. They won the Atlantic, but were swept by the Lakers in the Finals. The season after, the Nets compiled a record of 49-33, winning the Atlantic Division for the second season in a row. They beat Milwaukee, Boston, and Detroit en route to the Finals, where they fell 4-2 to the Spurs.Over the next four years they won the Atlantic twice, made it to the playoffs all four years, and made it to the conference semifinals three times.Regardless of the fact that the past two seasons have produced identical 34-48 records, the Nets were a powerful team for most of the decade.All these teams would not have been the teams they were if it weren't for the players who carried them We have come to the best players of the past 10 years.

Ninth on the career assists list with 7,667.He was the motor that made the Phoenix machine run. He helped them to the Western Conference Finals but never to a Finals. Though he never won a championship, it's hard to ignore his two MVP seasons and dominating presence at the point guard position.Kobe BryantThis choice was easy. He made it to the Finals six timesand was named the Finals MVP in 2009.He took home the regular season MVP in 2008.

But it doesn't end there: two scoring titles; 10 All-Star appearances; and named to the NBA First Team seven times He is the youngest player to reach 24,000 career points. He owns the record for most points at Madison Square Garden with 61. His 81 points against Toronto are the second most in a game behind Wilt's 100. Kobe is also 16th in scoring on the all-time list.LeBron JamesThis was also pretty easy, considering there is no one of his caliber at his position. Since coming into the league, he has been an international icon.His other qualifications Rookie of the Year in '04 Five-time All-Star, including winning All-Star MVP twice. Led the Cavaliers to the Finals in 2007, but lost to the Spurs Regular season MVP in 2009 Made the All-NBA First Team three times. Fastest to 10,000 points, and has 13,405 career points already in his young career.He turned around a dying franchise and has made them into a perennial power in the Eastern Conference and NBA.Tim DuncanLet's start with saying that he is considered by most to be one of the most dominant power forwards of all-time He has three rings since 2000 and one prior. Of those three championships, he won the Finals MVP twice.In '02 and '03, he won the regular season MVP In his career, he has made 12 All-NBA defensive teams.