The debate over the greatest Illinois basketball team of all time never really dies, and there are plenty of worthy candidates to keep it alive. The Illini have rolled out some loaded rosters over the years, which is exactly what makes the argument so messy.
So in 2026, the answer apparently is to let artificial intelligence sort it out.
The eight best Illinois teams since 1970 were tossed into ChatGPT for a bracket built around “the strength of each team on its actual season, roster talent, postseason performance, efficiency, and how the styles would translate.” The only team from before 1970 that would have clearly run away with this exercise, according to the setup, was the 1914-15 squad that went 16-0 - and that was off the table.
The bracket looked like this:
#1 2004-05 vs. #8 2005-06
#4 2020-21 vs. #5 2003-04
#2 1988-89 vs. #7 2002-03
#3 2025-26 vs. #6 1983-84
The first round played out exactly the way the seeding suggested. ChatGPT had the 2004-05 team top the 2005-06 group, 78-68.
The 2020-21 squad edged 2003-04, 84-78. The 1988-89 team handled 2002-03, 91-82.
And the 2025-26 team got by 1983-84, 88-79.
Even with all four higher seeds moving on, there were still a couple results that didn’t quite sit right. The 2004-05 title team, in this view, should have separated from 2005-06 by more than 10 points because of the depth on that national championship roster. The 2003-04 team also felt a little shortchanged in the loss to 2020-21, with depth again being the reason it was thought to have the edge.
The Final Four brought the one real upset. The No. 3 2025-26 team knocked off the No.
2 1988-89 Flyin’ Illini, 87-84. ChatGPT’s explanation was simple: “The 1988-89 team is athletic enough to survive the first wave, but eventually the modern spacing creates just enough openings.”
That matchup is easy to picture. The Flyin’ Illini had the burst and athleticism, but the 2025-26 team brought size and rim protection. It would have been a fascinating clash of styles.
On the other side of the bracket, the 2004-05 team beat 2020-21, 81-76. That scoreline felt too close to the author, who believed the national title team would have handled that matchup more comfortably.
That set up a championship game between the 2004-05 and 2025-26 teams, and ChatGPT went with the older squad, 79-75.
It would have been a strange, compelling game. In the lane, James Augustine and Jack Ingram would be dealing with Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic. The 2004-05 bigs work near the rim, while the Ivisic brothers can stretch things out and open the floor.
The matchup at the four would have brought Roger Power against David Mirkovic, a different kind of battle entirely. On the wing, Luther Head was projected to give Andrej Stojakovic trouble, though Stojakovic’s size could still matter on the glass and around the basket.
At guard, the thought was to put Keaton Wagler on Deron Williams and Kylan Boswell on Dee Brown. Even then, Brown would be tough for either 2025-26 guard to contain, while Wagler’s length against Williams would be a major subplot.
ChatGPT also handed out an MVP for the tournament, and it went to Deron Williams. Across the three games, he averaged 18.4 points, 8.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. He also shot 48% from the field and 43% from three-point range.
The numbers were eye-catching, though the idea was raised that Williams probably wouldn’t be that efficient against the 2025-26 team, especially with Wagler’s length bothering him and possibly nudging his scoring down while pushing his assist numbers up.
In the end, the experiment landed where a lot of Illinois fans might have expected: the 2004-05 team came out on top.
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