Winning is everything in the NBA, and some teams managed to make it a habit. They’ve been called Super Teams and in this day and age of player movement and active sports agents, they’re becoming much more common.
The idea of “Super Teams” did not exist before 2010 but has been retroactively applied to teams in the past. The criteria involve at least three Hall-of-Fame players or other significant stars, joined on a single team that dominates the league and culminates in an NBA Championship.
The “Big Three” was first applied to the 2010-11 Miami Heat when LeBron James decided to “take his talents” to Florida. James joined Dwyane Wade on a Heat team that would soon add Chris Bosh, culminating in 4-straight NBA Finals appearances. Miami would become the first Eastern Conference team in the NBA to win back-to-back titles since Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls of the ’90s.
Since then, Super Teams have dominated and determined the course of the modern NBA, with players and teams trying to duplicate what seems to be the magical formula for success. These teams do not always guarantee championships, sometimes imploding under the weight of its’ superstars, but it’s commonly accepted that it’s the quickest and easiest way to get over the hump.
Golden State Warriors 2014-2019
The Golden State Warriors had been a dwindling team in the NBA for a long time. Gone were the glory days at the Cow Palace with Rick Barry and coach Al Attles in the ’70s and the early ’90s of “Run TMC” with Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin. Replaced with almost two decades of futility that saw only two winning seasons and one playoff appearance over 19 years.
The change began with the team drafting Stephen Curry out of Davidson with the 7th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Curry, the son of a former NBA player Dell Curry and the older brother of current NBA player Seth, had set all-time scoring records for both Davidson and the Southern Conference but wasn’t as highly touted as Blake Griffin or James Harden, but has clearly been the best player drafted that year.
Two years later with the 11th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Golden State added Klay Thompson, the versatile two-way small forward out of Washington State. Draymond Green followed in 2012, a second-round pick that fell through the cracks. Green helped elevate the team immediately in his rookie season as the Warriors reached the playoffs for the first time in 5 seasons, eventually falling to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semi-finals.
The following season the Warriors added Andre Iguodala via free agency and went on to win 51 games, finishing second in the Pacific Division. Hopes were high, but they were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Clippers. The loss led to the firing of coach Mark Jackson and set in motion what many believe to have been the catalyst to greatness.
On May 14, 2014, shortly after they were eliminated from the playoffs, Steve Kerr reached an agreement to become the next head coach replacing Jackson. The Warriors would go on to win a franchise-record 67 games with Kerr at the helm the following season, and behind the play of Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, and Green they would claim their first NBA championship since the 1974-75 season.
They would win an NBA record 73-games the following year, returning to the finals only to lose to the Cleveland Cavalier in a 7-game series capping a season where Curry was named league MVP and where Kerr took Coach of the Year honors.
Kevin Durant signed in 2016 and the team had their legitimate “Big Three” in Durant, Curry, and Thompson. They’d win 67-games and cruise to their second title over three years losing only a single game during their playoff run. It was more of the same the following year, sweeping the Cavaliers in a final series 4-0 that saw Durant claim his second straight finals MVP trophy.
The team would fall the next year in the finals to the Toronto Raptors, as injuries to Durant and Thompson derailed their playoff run. A year later, with Thompson expected to miss most of the season, the dynasty saw its end with the trades of Durant and Iguodala for younger pieces, and COVID ending the season before it got really ugly.
