Rasheed Wallace, member of the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons championship squad, is here to add fuel to the burning question -- are the Golden State Warriors the best team in NBA history?
Speaking on the podcast Timeout with Taylor Rocks, the now-retired 16-year NBA veteran was asked whether or not he saw any comparisons between the 2003-04 Pistons and today's NBA.
He had a bold response.
"Oh, we'd run through them. Not even close," Wallace said. "We play defense."
Wallace also elaborated on the comparison between Golden State's defense and the 2003-04 Pistons's defense, which Warriors interim head coach Mike Brown noted last month.
"I think the Warriors' defensive strategy is, I'ma put up more shots than you," Wallace said. "So that's their whole defensive thing. I don't call it good defense if the man came down and he shot a jump shot or shot a three and missed it, and the Warriors went back down to the other end and scored it."
Would the Pistons' defense been able to slow down Kevin Durant and the Warriors' historically great offense?
For reference, the 2003-04 Pistons -- which were led by Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace -- allowed just 84.3 points per game that year. The 2016-17 Warriors allowed 104.3 points per game during the regular season.
They say a great defense always stops a great offense, but the Warriors own the highest offensive efficiency rating (113.5) in a season since the current NBA playoff format began in 1984.
It's the hypothetical question that keeps on giving: Will the Warriors go down as the greatest team of all time?
--Isaac Chipps
