Ahead of his first NBA Finals appearance, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner says the blueprint has changed for building a championship team. According to Turner, the era of stacking superstars is over and a new age has begun that is defined by teamwork and friendship.
“I think it’s a new blueprint for the league,” said Turner, via The New York Times. “I think the years of the super teams and stacking, it’s just not as effective as it once was, you know what I mean? Since I’ve been in the league, the NBA has been very trendy; it just shifts. But the new trend now is just kind of what we’re doing. OKC does the same thing — young guys get out and run, defend, and use the power of friendship.”
The NBA frequently cycles through various trends that dictate the current play style of the game. Recently, the league has experienced the age of “superteams,” where stacking talent was the meta to pursue championships.
Over the years, teams like the Heat, Celtics, Warriors, and Cavaliers ruled the NBA due to their star power, which inspired an arms race across the league to see which teams could accumulate the most stars. Of course, recently, we’ve also seen the other side of the superteam strategy.
Teams like the Nets and Suns gave up everything to bring together NBA All-Stars, but it was ultimately in vain as they failed to gain any playoff traction. To this day, both franchises are still recovering after their “superteams” ended in disaster.
The modern NBA has shown us that this approach just doesn’t have the same effectiveness that it used to. Since the NBA is so deep and rich with talent, it has created an unprecedented level of parity in the league, and now, instead of having three stars, teams will have one or two while loading up on the supporting cast.
In 2023, the Denver Nuggets won the title thanks to Nikola Jokic and a cast of players who each played their role to perfection. It was a well-balanced team, and they used an offense that got everyone involved. The same could be said for the 2024 Boston Celtics, who did not rely solely on the play of their two stars (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown). Like Denver, Boston was able to rely on the play of key role-players (like Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White) to make a difference and lead them to victory.
This year, the two teams that are left can hardly be considered “superteams.” The Pacers and Thunder have no more than two All-Stars, and it’s going to be the role players who determine the outcome of the series.
Now, more than ever, teamwork, chemistry, and roster balance are the qualities of a good team, and those who don’t get with the program are going to be left behind. In the 2025 NBA Finals, we’ll get to find out which team will lead us into this next era of the game, but Turner says his Pacers have already taken on the job.
As the biggest surprise of the season so far, winning this series would be a historic feat for the Pacers, and it would mark a major shift in NBA team-building style. Adding stars just isn’t enough anymore, not when the league has gotten so good and deep with talent.
