The NBA’s Top 20 Duos Ever
The first ranking of duo week is one of the most important. There are countless stars that have been paired together that could be considered elite duos. Let’s dive into the best.
I used three things when considering the list: Talent, Winning, and Sustainability. Come at me on Twitter if you disagree or think I left someone off.
20. Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire
Steve Nash was one of the best passers we’ve ever seen in basketball, and Amar’e was as good a finisher as you could find in the mid 2000’s. The Suns’ upbeat style of play made it even more fun to watch these two go to work.
19. Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp
A SuperSonics team that challenged Jordan and the Bulls in the late 90’s featured two superstars. Gary Payton, The Glove, was one of the five best perimeter defenders the league has ever had, as well as an apt point guard and good creator. Meanwhile, Shawn Kemp was an absolute force down low and still has some of the best dunks ever.
18. Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki
Another appearance from Nash already, don’t worry, that’s it. This combo played together for longer than most people realize, and despite not having won anything major, you have to show respect to two future MVP’s playing together. Oh, and the best duo ever when it comes to hair.
17. Dr. J and Moses Malone
Dr. J was one of the first fun players in a long time when he played professional basketball, he made highlight plays, and made dunking cooler than ever before. He won a championship with a guy named Moses Malone, who was less exciting, but he was damn good in the low post.
16. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett
This is the first of a couple duos that were technically a big three, but let’s be honest, now that we know Ray Allen was kind of an outsider the whole time, this is an easy pick. When these two came together, they brought life back to the Celtics, who had been drowning in mediocrity pretty much since Larry Bird retired. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
15. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook
Although this duo ended on a sour note, we can’t forget how good they really were. They were two of the top ten players in the NBA for most of their time together, and if not for a certain superteam from Miami (we’ll get to them later), they probably would have won a championship together.
14. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving
I had to put them on here, okay. I know what has happened lately made them less impressive, but they still brought a long-awaited title to Cleveland, and without either one of them it wouldn’t have happened. At least I used the GIF of LeBron yelling at Kyrie.
13. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol
Back to back championships for the Lakers. It wasn’t the first, and it was probably the least impressive, since there are three other Laker duos ahead of these two on the list.
12. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson
This wasn’t the longest standing relationship, but they did win a championship in their short time together. Oscar also averaged a triple double, and Kareem went on to be the all-time leading scorer, with some help from his Bucks point guard.
11. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars
The Bad Boys Pistons were some of the only competition that could stand up to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the late 80’s and early 90’s. These two were the hard-nosed guards that made that possible. Playing tough defense to complement their scoring ability led them to back-to-back titles in ’89 and ’90.
10. Jerry West and Elgin Baylor
Wilt Chamberlain was left out of this duo, and this list for that matter, mostly because a lot of people consider him one of the worst teammates ever. Elgin and Jerry played together for over a decade, and after losing to Boston a ridiculous amount of times, finally brought Los Angeles a championship.
9. John Stockton and Karl Malone
Maybe the most iconic point guard and post player duo of all time, Stockton and Malone are both considered one of the best of all time at their positions. Stockton is the leader in both assists and steals by A LOT, and Malone is second in all-time scoring, yes more than Jordan. Oh, and the jerseys with the mountains on them are timeless.
8. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson
The Splash Brothers were there before Draymond and Durant, so that’s why they get the nod here (and the fact that they have a nickname and the others don’t). With two championships, and the fact that they are two of the top five shooters ever, they deserve this spot in the top ten.
7. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant
Shaq and Kobe may not have been the best teammates off the court, but all you have to do is look at those trophies. A three-peat is nothing to overlook. The only thing holding these two back on the list is that they don’t like each other, and they showed they could have just as much success without each other.
6. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade
I know you might hate that these two are above Shaq and Kobe because they didn’t win as many championships, but they also weren’t together as long, and they remain best friends. The best part about watching these two together was seeing that they loved every moment of it.
5. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale
Bird and McHale were the leaders of one of the most successful runs in NBA history. Bird was the savior of the Celtics, and when he couldn’t do it all himself McHale was there to pick up the slack. The only reason these two aren’t higher is because Bird was much more important than McHale.
4. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker
With the leadership of Gregg Popovich, these two superstars wreaked havoc in the West from the turn of the century until just a season ago. Winning four championships from 2003–2014, you could never count out this duo.
3. Bill Russell and Bob Cousy
This one is boring, I know. If you ever need a way to fall asleep, watch the highlights from when these two played. But despite that, they were two of the very first superstars in the NBA, and six of Russell’s championships came with Cousy by his side.
2. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
Surprised? No, I don’t have Jordan and Pippen as the best duo ever. They were incredible, and won every Finals they went to together. However, Jordan had his best statistical season before Pippen joined the Bulls, and when Jordan went to play baseball, Pippen thrived and the team was still elite.
1. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
This combo made for some of the most exciting basketball ever. Magic Johnson’s debut in the NBA brought excitement to the sport that had never happened before. The Showtime Lakers won five titles in the 1980’s, fully backed by these two guys.
There have never been two better all time players on the same team at the same time. It’s hard not to put these two at the top spot when one scored more points than any player ever, and the other is widely recognized as the best point guard of all time.
And a bonus, Kareem and Magic were such a good fit that Kareem even taught Magic his patented skyhook:
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