After the mid-2000s, most contending NBA teams started to look for three star players to build their team around, after the success of the 2008 Boston Celtics. LeBron James took that to the next level with the Heat, teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Carmelo Anthony believes that, contrary to popular opinion, LeBron’s Heat weren’t superteams but teams like the ’08 Celtics and the ’04 Lakers were superteams due to having four big stars.
(Starts at 17:11)
“Like USA was a superteam. Those were superteams. The ’04 Lakers were a superteam, even though it didn’t pan out but they were a superteam, on paper – Shaq, Kob, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, like that’s a superteam. Boston was a superteam. It wasn’t any Big 3, like, they were a superteam – Paul Pierce, KG, Ray Allen, Rondo. Anything more than three is a superteam. Miami didn’t have a superteam. They had a Big 3 and a great team.”
Melo may have a valid point about his definition of a superteam. A superteam should be an outlier group picked with star talent, you can’t have a superteam every season in the NBA just because they have three high-profile stars. The Suns from this year have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, but they’re not a superteam.
In contrast, the Warriors from 2017 to 2019 were a superteam because they had KD along with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
LeBron’s Heat had superteam aura because LeBron in his prime was an absolute monster, but it’s important to remember that Bosh and Wade in particular started declining soon after forming the Big Three in Miami, falling out of being title favorites in 2014 and James leaving them immediately after.
Carmelo Anthony Thinks The Clippers Are The Only Superteam In The NBA Right Now
Melo’s definition of a superteam lines up with the characteristics of the one team he thinks can call themselves a superteam this season, the LA Clippers. He discussed them on his podcast as well, focusing on how former teammate Russell Westbrook fits into the picture.
“It’s hard enough for a duo to make it work, now you talking about a big 3 and then you talking about bringing a 4th, now it’s god damn. That’s why great teams always beat superteams. You have to really want to do it. They forced Russ into that role but Russ also learned though because I was in that situation with him in OKC. You gotta really f**k with each other for that shit to work”.
‘Great teams always beat superteams’ is a crucial line, as we’ve seen many such collections of star talent fail because they couldn’t function as well as a team. That’s an issue the Clippers faced initially after the James Harden trade, losing their first five games with Harden in the lineup.
In the 14 games since their 0-5 start with Harden, the Clippers are 11-3, among the best records in the NBA over that stretch. They’re currently on a six-game win streak after building chemistry through the initial rough patch.
If they continue playing at this level, it’ll be hard to say that this version of the Clippers isn’t among the best in the West. They’re now the 7th seed in the West with a 14-10 season record, projecting to be one of the biggest threats in the NBA.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
