The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors met for the third straight time in the NBA Finals this past June, and created NBA history in doing so by becoming the first teams to meet three consecutive times on the NBA’s biggest stage.
It was also the first time in NBA history that five separate players averaged over 20 points per game in a Finals series. Due to all of this, the topic of NBA “super teams” has become a hot discussion as of late as to when they started and what they are doing for the association. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has recently stated he believes it’s good for the league, as it has created a benchmark and given other franchises the ability to see what it takes to make it to the very top.
Of course it helps when you have supreme talent, and the universally known best player in the world LeBron James has recently spoke out on it, controversially claiming he doesn’t think he’s ever been a part of a super team. This of course continued to stir the pot and the NBA community had yet another talking point to debate in regards to super teams. Whether they are good or bad for the league has many variables and factors to consider, but often it will come down to personal opinion.
The Cavs ended up falling to the Warriors in five games as they fought long and hard but didn’t have enough to get the job done in the end. As the Cavs licked their wounds, the Warriors held their championship parade and emotional leader Draymond Green made an outrageous statement claiming James had started the super team nature of the league.
James understandably took offense to this, as snapped back at Green with some NBA knowledge via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“No. I mean in 2003, the Lakers combined Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Shaq and Kobe. In ’96 … the Rockets joined Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler all on the same team.
But I don’t look at it as…I definitely didn’t start the super team, if that’s what he’s trying to say. But I just feel like that it’s great that on the day you’re celebrating your championship, my likeness and my name is in your head. I love that.”
Green’s ludicrous statement is of course completely false, and NBA legend Clyde Drexler went one step further, firmly outlining that super teams have in fact been in existence since the early 60s via ESPN.
“You know, I love LeBron and anything he says is gold. But I’d really like to give you a different opinion,” Drexler told ESPN on Sunday. “The Big Three was Kareem, Worthy and Magic, way before Bird, Parish, Maxwell and McHale and D.J. Those great teams always had four, five great players. Not only three, they had four to five great players.
“The early Celtics from the ’60s with Bill Russell, Havlicek, Cousy and Sam Jones, that was the first Big Three. So it goes further back from that.
“To LeBron, I appreciate the comment, but it went further back than Phi Slama Jama or the Houston Rockets.”
Drexler would know better than most, as he was in fact a part of super team himself when he teamed up with Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston trying to capture an illusive NBA title.
Super teams and great collections of talent will likely continue within the NBA, as players now have all the power and the increased money has only empowered them more. It’s now up to every franchise in the league to catch up with the superiority of the Warriors roster, which might be the most talented team we’ve ever witnessed in league history.