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A superteam in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a franchise which has three or more Hall of Fame-caliber players who decided to join together in pursuit of a league championship.[discuss][1] They may alternatively be All-Star or All-NBA players, recently or currently.[2] While the term was originally used to describe teams with many talented players or sustained success, it currently serves a more derogatory role, criticizing teams that disrupt the competitive balance of the league and/or benefit from the movement of star players.[3]
Because of its close relationship with player empowerment, the definition of what constitutes a superteam is heavily contested.
The first "Superteam" that was created was when superstar Wilt Chamberlain joined fellow superstar players Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, on the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1968 offseason.[4][5][6][7]
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh were named the "Big Three" and would establish their dominance by making the NBA Finals in all of their four years together, winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. James had joined the Heat as a reigning back-to-back MVP and equal six-time All-Star with Dwyane Wade, whilst Chris Bosh had five All-Star selections.[8][9][10]
Due to this, many other superteams have been formed/drafted since in order to secure a championship.[11] The second superteam since the Heat's formation was the Golden State Warriors from 2016–2019. This team included four perennial All-Stars: Stephen Curry (also reigning back-to-back MVP, and first unanimous MVP winner), Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant,[5] winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, the Warriors also signed All-Star DeMarcus Cousins from the New Orleans Pelicans in free agency and was the first NBA franchise in 42 years (since the 1976 Boston Celtics) to start five players that had been All-Stars the previous season.[12][13]
Although superteams are mostly thought of as a new concept, some have retroactively applied the term to 20th century teams that featured multiple star players. However, some refute this by claiming that those players were past their prime and teamed up as a last ditched effort to win a championship, such as the 2007–2012 Celtics.
Superteams of the NBA
1956–1969: Bill Russell's Celtics
After winning 11 championships in 13 years, the Boston Celtics of the 1950s and '60s were regarded as an NBA superteam, serving as a guidepost for future dynasties.[14][15][16][17][18] Led by 5-time MVP Bill Russell, they won an NBA record 8 consecutive championships.
Prior to the 1976 settlement of
1982–1986 76ers
On September 15, 1982, NBA superstar Moses Malone was traded by the Houston Rockets to the defending Eastern Conference champions Philadelphia 76ers for Caldwell Jones and a 1983 1st round draft pick (Rodney McCray was later selected). The 76ers achieved a 65–17 record, made it to the NBA Finals and swept the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers. The following season, the 76ers had a 52–30 record and were upset in the First Round by the New Jersey Nets. In the 1984 NBA draft, the 76ers drafted Charles Barkley with the 5th overall pick. With the inclusion of Barkley, the 76ers improved to a 58–24 record compared to the previous season. They made it to the Conference Finals where they were eliminated by the defending champions Boston Celtics in 5 games. The Celtics went on to get eliminated in the NBA Finals in 6 games against the Los Angeles Lakers. The following season, the 76ers had a 54–28 record and were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by the Milwaukee Bucks in 7 games. In the offseason, the 76ers traded Moses Malone along with Terry Catledge, a 1986 1st round draft pick (Anthony Jones was later selected), and a 1988 1st round draft pick (Harvey Grant was later selected) to the Washington Bullets for Cliff Robinson and Jeff Ruland, ending the superteam era of the Philadelphia 76ers.
2004: Karl Malone and Gary Payton join Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant on the Lakers
The earliest 21st century version of the superteam formed with the confluence of four future
2008: Boston Celtics assemble Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce
Following a lackluster 2006-2007 season, finishing 24-58, the Celtics sought a new move to propel them to the top of the league.[22] Following the end of the season, during the summer of 2007, Danny Ainge made a blockbuster move. "On draft night, he traded No. 5 pick Jeff Green, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to Seattle for perennial all-star Ray Allen and Seattle's second-round pick (which the team used to select LSU's Glen "Big Baby" Davis). The Celtics then traded Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and a first-round draft pick to the Timberwolves in exchange for superstar power forward Kevin Garnett. These moves created a new "Big Three" of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett."[23] This new "Big Three" created the most drastic record changes in NBA history seeing them finish 66-16 for the season en route to the 2008 NBA Championship.[24][25]
2010: LeBron James and Chris Bosh join Miami Heat to create the modern superteam
In the 2010 offseason, LeBron James entered free agency with free choice of his next team. He had just come off one of the best statistical seasons of his career, been voted All-Star six times, and won back-to-back MVP awards with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[26][27] Although there was much speculation and hype surrounding James and his choice, it was kept hidden for many weeks until he announced his plans on a live ESPN broadcast, The Decision.[28] He chose to join the Miami Heat and fellow draft class member and good friend, Dwyane Wade.
Wade had already had proven himself a superstar with the Miami Heat where he won the
Following the loss, LeBron James reentered free agency, left the
Many other players and franchises would follow in the footsteps of the Big Three by joining other superstar players to form their own superteam in a quest to win an
2012–2013: Los Angeles Lakers
On July 11, 2012, Steve Nash was traded by the Phoenix Suns to the Los Angeles Lakers. On August 10, 2012, NBA superstar Dwight Howard was traded by the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a 4-team trade. This trade formed a superteam of superstars Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and All-Star Pau Gasol. The Lakers dealt with injuries with Pau Gasol only playing 49 games due to a foot injury and Steve Nash only played 50 games due to a leg injury. On April 12, 2013, Kobe Bryant tore his achilles in a game against the Golden State Warriors. Due to the injuries, the Lakers finished with a 45–37 record and were swept in the First Round by the San Antonio Spurs.
2014–2018: Cavaliers vs. Warriors
After the 2014 Finals loss, LeBron James went back into free agency, deciding to end his
Also during the 2015 season, the Golden State Warriors had their own emerging team, becoming a dynasty that would dominate the league and establish them as another superteam with the 2016 addition of Kevin Durant.[40] Although James' team was built through trades and free agency, the Warriors would build their team through the draft and development to obtain the core that would come to challenge the Cavaliers for championships. The Warriors had drafted Stephen Curry as the No. 7 pick in 2009, Klay Thompson at No. 11 in 2011, and Draymond Green at No. 35 in 2012, to form the nucleus of this team, while adding Andrew Bogut (another team's No. 1 draft pick in 2005) and Andre Iguodala (2-time Defensive Player of the Year) as core players to run for the title in the 2015.[41] The Warriors completed the 2015 regular season with the No. 1 Western seed with a 67-15 record, won a Western Conference championship, and faced the Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
The young Warriors team won the Finals over the Cavaliers in six games, following the injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, their first championship in 40 years.[42] This firmly established the Warriors as a great team after their core players won a multitude of awards in their breakthrough season/competed for others: Stephen Curry (MVP, All-Star selection, All-NBA First team), Klay Thompson (All-Star Selection, All-NBA team, tenth in MVP voting), Draymond Green (All-Defensive team selection, the runner up for the Defensive Player of the Year award), and Andre Iguodala (2015 Finals MVP).[43] Cleveland's Big Three had won accolades as well to further bolster their superteam status despite the Finals loss: Kyrie Irving (All-Star Selection, All-NBA Third team) and LeBron James (All-Star Selection, All-NBA First team).[44] Following the 2015 Finals, these two teams would dominate their respective conferences the next year and rematch the Finals.
The Warriors had started the
The following off-season, the Warriors made a move to re-assert their spot as the most dominant
Before the
In the postseason, the Warriors broke the records for best start (15–0), longest win streak (15), and best overall record (16–1), whilst the Cavaliers made a strong run of their own. Cleveland entered the
(pictured) won Finals MVPAlthough both the Warriors and Cavaliers remained favorites in their respective conferences, there was another shift in the when the Cavaliers traded point guard Irving to the Boston Celtics in August for their own starting point guard, Isaiah Thomas, who was injured at the time.[61] Although Thomas had won an All-NBA selection the previous season, he was not seen as the same caliber of player as Irving. Thomas would struggle to come back from his injury in Cleveland, subsequently getting traded. The Cavaliers nonetheless made the Finals, with a more troubled path featuring near loses in series to the Indiana Pacers (a 4–3 win) in the First Round, and the Boston Celtics (also 4–3) in the Eastern Conference Finals, as only the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. The Warriors also did not finish atop of the Western Conference (2nd seed) as well as slimly won the Western Conference Finals over the Houston Rockets in seven games.[62] They swept the 2018 Finals over Cleveland to win a second straight title, and three out of four Finals.[40][63]
Kevin Durant won another Finals MVP and made the All-NBA team, alongside LeBron James and Stephen Curry. After the two teams had battled in four straight Finals (an NBA first), their rivalry ended as James joined the LA Lakers on a four-year deal in free agency, ending Cleveland's title hopes as well.[64][48]
2018–19 season: Warriors form an All-Star team
As in 2016 when the Warriors signed Kevin Durant, they reaffirmed their place as a superteam cast when they signed Demarcus Cousins as a free agent from the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2018 off-season. Although he was injured then, he was still considered a dominant "big man" with great skill and defensive tenacity, which had won him two All-NBA selections and four All-Star games before the signing. The Golden State Warriors became the first franchise in 42 years to be able to start five All-Stars (as they had all been the previous year), one in each floor position.[65] It was almost a year after his injury occurred when Cousins took the floor as the Warriors faced the Los Angeles Clippers on January 19, 2019, that the team finally started the five perennial All-Stars in a game.[66]
2021–2022: Brooklyn Nets
Near the start of the 2020–21 season, on January 13, 2021, the Brooklyn Nets traded for James Harden in a blockbuster four-team trade, which reunited Harden with his Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant, and also gave him All-Star Kyrie Irving to form a new superteam in the East.[67]
2021–present: Los Angeles Lakers
During the 2021 offseason on July 29, the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook in a trade that also sent two future 2nd round draft picks (2024 and 2028) to the Lakers and Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the 22nd pick of the 2021 NBA draft to the Washington Wizards.[68] This trade formed a new superteam of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Westbrook in the West.[69][70]
Pre-modern NBA: Great teams
1960s–1970s
During the Celtics' dynastic run in the 1960s, their most formidable foe included Wilt Chamberlain, who was individually the most dominant offensive force of his era. Despite his individual talents, an NBA championship eluded Chamberlain through the first seven seasons of his career. In 1965, Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, joining perennial all-star Hal Greer. Future Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham joined the team the next season, and in 1967, the trio led the Sixers to the NBA championship.[71]
After the 1968 season, Chamberlain was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he also joined a star-studded team featuring Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The trio failed to win a championship together, however, losing to the Celtics in the 1969 Finals, and to the New York Knicks in the 1970 Finals. Baylor would retire early in the 1971–72 season, but that coincided with the beginning of the Lakers' 33-game winning streak, culminating in a championship for the franchise.[72]
The Knicks also boasted its own superteam, with Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere as its stars. That group captured the 1970 championship. Later on, the Knicks added Earl Monroe and Jerry Lucas who helped them win the 1973 championship. Also during the 1970s, the Milwaukee Bucks traded for perennial all-star Oscar Robertson before the 1971 season, joining rising superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That team went on to win its first championship in franchise history.[73]
1980s–1990s
In the 1980s, the Los Angeles Lakers had a formidable team in the
They also had a dynasty rivalry with the
Another notable team in that era were the Philadelphia 76ers of Julius Erving and Moses Malone. In the summer of 1982, the Sixers acquired Malone from the Houston Rockets, adding a formidable interior presence the team lacked after losing the 1980 and '82 Finals against the Showtime Lakers. Alongside fellow All-Stars Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones, the '83 Sixers won 67 games, and only lost one playoff game en route to a championship. The Sixers later drafted Charles Barkley in the famous 1984 draft, but Barkley only emerged as a superstar after both Malone and Erving left the club.[72]
The Chicago Bulls of the 1990s won six NBA championships, but they boasted a "Big Three" for only 3 years. After Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen helped the Bulls win championships from 1991–93, the addition of former All-Star and perennial rebounding champion Dennis Rodman in the 1995 off-season made the Bulls even more dominant. The trio helped the Bulls win another championship three-peat from 1996–98, off of regular season win totals of 72 (a then-record), 69, and 62.[82]
Notes:
- All All-NBA and All-Star stats were at the time of the team being formed. Does not show total appearances in their career.
- Included the teams that have won an NBA championship
Failed superteams
The Houston Rockets won the 1994 and 1995 championships, but in an attempt to capture a third ring added Charles Barkley in the 1996 off-season. Barkley, then 33, joined a talented yet aging squad with Hakeem Olajuwon (also aged 33) and Clyde Drexler (aged 34). The group won 57 games in 1997, but came within two games of reaching the NBA Finals, losing to the Utah Jazz with All-Stars John Stockton and Karl Malone. The Rockets won only 41 games the next season and lost the first round to the Jazz. After Drexler retired, the Rockets acquired Scottie Pippen from the Bulls. The trio of Olajuwon, Barkley, and Pippen went 31-19 in a lockout-shortened 1999 season, but it ended in a first-round exit to the Lakers.[82] Pippen was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers amid a long-standing feud with Barkley.[83]
The Los Angeles Lakers of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant won three consecutive NBA championships from 2000–02, but after losing the second round in 2003, acquired Karl Malone and Gary Payton in hopes of a fourth championship. Despite winning 56 games in the 2003–04 season, the Lakers could not avoid controversy, such as the sexual assault case with Bryant, and the simmering feud between him and O'Neal. Malone, then aged 40, also suffered major injuries for the first time in his career. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals, but lost to the Detroit Pistons. In the off-season, both Malone and Payton left the team, and O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat.[84] O'Neal and Payton, along with Dwyane Wade, went on to win the 2006 championship with the Heat.
The Lakers also formed another superteam in the 2012 off-season, acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to join Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Bryant and Gasol had led the Lakers to the 2009 and 2010 championships, but with both stars in their 30s, their window of contention was slowly closing. This Lakers team suffered through a coaching change (they replaced Mike Brown with Mike D'Antoni), injuries to Nash and Howard, and Howard's conflicts with teammates. The Lakers made the playoffs off a 45-win campaign, but an Achilles injury to Bryant at the end of the regular season doomed the team, getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Howard then joined James Harden in Houston as a free agent, while Nash retired after the 2014 season.[85] In 2019, Howard rejoined the Lakers, now featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and won a championship as a role player off the bench.[86]
In 2021, the Lakers added Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony to join holdovers LeBron James and Anthony Davis. However, this Lakers team featured a quartet of all-stars aged 30 or older; James and Anthony were both 37, Howard was 36, and Westbrook was 33.
Controversies
There have been some controversies about the new superteam era in the NBA. Claims persist that superstar players are no longer looking to make the game competitive, but rather finding an easier way to attain an NBA championship ring and nullifying smaller contenders by joining other elites.[89] From James' decision for the Miami Heat and Durant joining the all-time winningest team in the Golden State Warriors, there has been derision from the media and fans in their efforts to unbalance the NBA.[90] However, there have been cases for both sides as others argue that the NBA has achieved its highest grossing TV revenue, that it was all done under the rules of the salary cap, and that it is enjoyable sports entertainment.[91]
See also
References
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