GREATEST NBA THREESOMES

Submitted by lee0052 on January 10th, 2010

As every warm blooded man’s fantasy is the ultimate threesome, I ask you to take the next thirty seconds to get your head out of the gutter (or two minutes if you need to google something)…………………………ok, now lets get back on track to discuss and break down the greatest of NBA threesomes (AKA: The big three, AKA the triple threat etc). Now to be fair, I can only go as far back as to when I started watching the game in the early 80′s, so apologizes go out to the great teams in the 60′s and 70′s.

Do you need to have a three headed monster to be successful in the NBA? No necessarily as Shaq and Kobe proved during their three-peat (credit to Mister Riley), or to the 06 Heat who still had a productive MDE, the 04 Pistons or 94 Rockets who built their success off of blue collar team play. However, on the flip side, the success rate of teams that have a superstar trio is far greater than those who have not.

SHOWTIME 1980-1991 (Magic, Cap, Big Game James)
- One of the greatest trifecta’s in all off hoops history, covering the guard, wing and post position and with each able to take over the game in a variety of different ways, the Lakers threesome captured five rings while providing the world with “SHOWTIME”.

ORIGINAL BIG THREE 1980-1991 (Bird, McHale, Chief)
- On par with “SHOWTIME”, the original BIG THREE gave opposing front courts fits throughout the 80′s and early 90′s with Bird piloting the white and green clad Celtics. With McHale’s postup footwork on par with Hakeem’s, and Parish proving to be a impact player on both ends of the court, the Big Three gave the Eastern Conference fits and provided a formidable counter to the Lakers “Showtime”.

DA BULLS 1996-1998 (MJ, PIP, DENNIS)
- The Bulls trio led Chicago to what many consider to be the greatest team ever in 95-96 with a 72 win season. With Dennis relatively contained by Phil, MJ and Pip, the Bulls added not only a physical presence on the defensive end of the court, but also and what might be a more important factor, a mental edge (flashbacks of Dennis and Sonics big man Frank Brickowski). This would be the first of the Bulls second championship trifecta (can’t use a Pat Riley coined phrase here)

RUN TMC 1989-1991 (Hardaway, Richmond, Mullin)
- The “Utep Two-Step”, the “ROCK” and a long range crew cut bomber provided countless highlights for the Bay Area during the early 90′s with a run and gun offense. As part of the mad scientist’s (Don Nelson) offense, the Warriors trio did not find much playoff success, but as from a fans standpoint, these three made uptempo basketball enjoyable during the “New Jack Swing” era.

BAD BOYS 1986-1991 (Zeke, Dumars, Rodman….before he was Dennis)
- The team that everyone despised for their “my shit stinks and I know it”, physical in your face, smash mouth basketball was a squad that knocked off everyone’s favorites during that period (Bulls and Celtics in the East and Lakers and Blazers in the West). While Isiah attempted to play the hero in an amazing fourth quarter against the Lakers in 88, the team from the Motor City did not claim their rings until a 89 rematch with LA and a 90′s defeat of the Blazers.

CELTICS 2007- Present (KG, RAY, PP)
- These three do not deserve to be called the BIG THREE as many currently do. They just haven’t had the longevity to stake that claim. I also hate KG on the Celtics, as he has become a “mean muggin, point guard bullying thug”. I also hate the fact that Jesus Shuttlesworth is on the Celts roster, making two of my favorite all time players playing for the sworn enemy. And the fact that P squared claimed to be the best player on the planet after capturing his only title makes one laugh…good, yes, bestest, not quite.

SPURS 2002 – Present (TD, PARKER, GINOBLI)
Probably the most under appreciated of the NBA trios, these three have carried the Spurs to three titles and numerous deep trips through the Western Conference playoff bracket. While others during this period have had some sort of “street cred”, gimmick name, or some sort of other mass promotion to help boost their favoritism amongst fans, the most limelight these three have consists of Eva (only slightly less annoying than JKidd’s ex-wife) and TD’s Adidas spots.