The debates in basketball are endless. Whether it is to discuss the greatest player of all time or the greatest team of all time, people can always find endless reasons to justify what they believe in. Basketball has been a mainstay of barbershop talk for generations and it hasn’t stopped in the social media age.
With the ability to interact with millions at the click of a button, those barbershop debates have migrated over to platforms like Twitter where fans of every fanbase can make their arguments. As a result, people always keep stoking the flames and there is always a new debate to join in.
The latest one started by Overtime discusses the greatest duo in NBA history. The options are pretty obvious, as it pits Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, and LeBron James and Dwyane Wade against each other. But what did the fans say?
Greatest duo in NBA history? pic.twitter.com/0jCze1LJGs
— Overtime (@overtime) May 19, 2022
Maybe two top 5 players ever who played together and won 5 rings in the hardest decade pic.twitter.com/IJnAjgFIks
— Eduardo H (@Eduardo79330545) May 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/violet3000/status/1527423031609540608https://twitter.com/bigkev1265/status/1527333828145995781
Bron and d wade are very out of place in this photo, they do not belong.
— NBA King (@nbaking44) May 19, 2022
MJ and PIP got 6 rings together. Not even a comparison
— Sinai (@SinaiNot) May 19, 2022
Mj Pippen
Shaq Kobe
Bron Wade
Kd Curry
— Bones🦴 (@Boness305) May 19, 2022
UNSTOPPABLE pic.twitter.com/v42aA3YaPX
— Luis Garcia (@soy_el_tapatio) May 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/landonfan122/status/1527422714406793217
not putting magic and kareem in the tweet diminishes it…🤷🏽♂️
— The other Derrick from Simeon 💙💛 (@ChiLottery) May 19, 2022
Nobody touching Shaq and Kobe
— LakersForDays (@LakersForDays) May 20, 2022
Where is Duncan and Parker they won like 5 championships together?? Anyway it’s Jordan and Pippen are the OGs! No one can argue with that🔥
— soslamy23 (@susan1234456789) May 19, 2022
This duo needs more respect 💯💯 pic.twitter.com/4AWDN7uw58
— Giovanni Canas (@GiovanniCanas29) May 19, 2022
It’s Kobe and Shaq. No question. Everyone else on the list played on great teams. Shaq and Kobe were the team. They also played and beat some badass teams to win their rings
— Tyson Hinshaw (@Hinshawteam) May 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/iamTCW/status/1527429849215909891
All these duos have great fit with each other in terms of skills & playstyles…but it pains me to say that D-Wade & LeBron have the least fit. One of them being a good spot-up shooter / off ball run-around screens guy would've helped. Not that the fit was bad.
— Sean Sachs (@StarkDim) May 19, 2022
It’s hilarious they got Steph and KD up there before these two 😅 pic.twitter.com/4eF44eJuce
— Chayed (@Moe384k) May 20, 2022
https://twitter.com/SweetCinnaBron/status/1527417699785134113
How bout the guys with the most playoff wins and second most all time wins as a duo? pic.twitter.com/jaMdSkkDqC
— Jacob Williams (@jcubwill) May 20, 2022
What this reinforces is that there can never be a truly unanimous answer to a question like this. But it is safe to say people would prefer MJ and Pippen or Shaq and Kobe over the other duos presented. After all, MJ and Pip completed two three-peats, while Shaq and Kobe completed one three-peat.
The Miami Heat, with LeBron and Dwyane Wade, failed to win three in a row, and by the end of their four-year stint, it was LeBron’s team and less of a dynamic duo. Same with KD and Curry, as injuries ruined their three-peat and Durant would leave Curry after just three seasons together.
There are more iconic duos that the original post didn’t even mention, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, or Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. People that believe those are the best duos will always believe the same and these discussions are usually just talking points for people who love basketball and want to discuss it with each other.
