Super Teams or Super Bust Teams
Super Teams did not start with LeBron. He made it popular, and made it work.
Like it or not, super teams have always existed in the NBA. The harsh reality is the current superstar players are being negatively criticized for it. The number one public enemy for this is Lebron James. Making the decision on national television to join the Miami Heat in 2010, to form a super team with Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh changed the dynamic of the league. It doesn’t just end there, four years later James was back to his old tricks again by rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers but with one catch; he wanted management to trade for Kevin Love.
Time and time again the best player in the league keeps picking and choosing who he wants to play with as long as he brings a ring to the organization. What people fail to realize is that he didn’t start this trend but he learned quickly from it.
Boston Celtics Big Three
In the 2007–08 season, the big three was form with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Three superstars in their early 30s who were disgruntled with their organizations because of early exits out of the playoffs or not even making it in at all. Over the years these three men showed loyalty to their teams time and time again but enough was enough. Everything came together so easy for this team that year. Good role players who instantly knew their roles, a great coaching staff, and to top it all off a ring to finish the season by beating the Los Angeles Lakers.
They took the league by storm by finishing the regular season with a 66–16 record. In the 2008–09 season, they ended up losing in the rematch Finals to the Lakers in the decisive Game Seven. The loss of Kendrick Perkins in that game may have been the reason why they loss. After that they couldn’t go back to the Finals after the Big Three in Miami was formed and they kept suffering major injuries during those times. Age eventually caught up with these superstars, so they split after the 2012 season to try and win another championship elsewhere.
Super Bust Teams
The three teams that failed to get the glory after the Celtics big three era was the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets had close to an All-Star team with Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. This was the team that was geared to take out the Miami Heat, but championships are not won on paper.
At one point, it looked like the Knicks had finally figured it out with the roster they assembled with Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, JR. Smith, Jason Kidd, and Amare Stoudemire. They finished the regular season with a 54–28 record but lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The organization never lived up to expectations since.
In the same 2012–13 season, the Lakers acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. This team was already considered contenders because they had Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Things didn’t plan well for them early by firing Mike Brown and then hiring Mike D’Antoni. Bryant and Howard didn’t get along with each other. Seemed like every other night Steve Nash was always injured. This team was only good enough to get a seven seed and swept out the playoffs by the Spurs.
New Era Trend
Lastly, Kevin Durant went to the Golden State Warriors this past offseason. He received negative comments throughout the summer from the media because he went to a team that was already great without him. Some viewed this move as a panic move by the Warriors because they let a lot of role players go for one player.
This is a team on paper that should win more than just one ring because they have four superstar players that are under 30 years old. They also have a head coach that is proven to get it done. This is the halfway point of the season and they are already making Lebron James sweat a little and even questioning his team’s talent.
Multiple superstars on one team joining together is a trend that will not go away anytime soon with teams getting a bigger cap space under new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) deal. Perhaps there is a way to solve Super Teams. Until then, fans of a franchise who are lucky enough to have the best players in the world should be happy for a long time.
