Notable superteams
1968–1973: Los Angeles Lakers
The earliest example of a superteam not being developed through the draft was superstar Wilt Chamberlain joining Jerry West and Elgin Baylor on the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1968 offseason. This trio reached the NBA Finals on two separate occasions, both times losing in a game seven, first to the Boston Celtics in 1969 and then to the New York Knicks in 1970. The team then reacquired Gail Goodrich from the Phoenix Suns after previously losing him in the 1968 NBA expansion draft. The Lakers eventually won the NBA championship in 1972 while recording what was at the time the best regular season record ever at 69–13 (including the longest winning streak in NBA history at 33 straight victories), but Baylor had retired early in the season due to injuries. Nevertheless, Baylor still earned a championship ring for his services to the team. [4] [5] [6] Chamberlain retired in 1973, ending what can be considered the first superteam in NBA history; West later retired as a player in 1974, while Goodrich left in free agency in 1976.
1979–1989: Los Angeles Lakers
On June 16, 1975, the Los Angeles Lakers made a blockbuster trade to acquire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from the Milwaukee Bucks. [7] In 1977, the Lakers signed Jamaal Wilkes in free agency after the Golden State Warriors declined to match the Lakers' offer. In the 1979 NBA draft, new owner Jerry Buss drafted Earvin "Magic" Johnson with the #1 pick acquired via trade with the New Orleans Jazz. The Lakers saw immediate success, forming the foundation of the team that would be dubbed Showtime, and winning the 1980 NBA Finals over the Philadelphia 76ers, with rookie Johnson winning Finals MVP. The 1979–80 Lakers season is the inspiration for the first season of HBO's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty".
The team reached the playoffs a year later but were suffered a stunning upset in the first round at the hands of the eventual Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. [8] The Lakers responded by not only firing coach Paul Westhead and replacing him with former Lakers player Pat Riley, [9] but also by acquiring former MVP Bob McAdoo from the New Jersey Nets on a Christmas Eve trade in 1981. [10] These moves helped lift the Lakers to their second NBA championship of the Showtime era in 1982. In the offseason, the team selected forward James Worthy as the #1 pick in the 1982 NBA draft due to a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers then reached the NBA Finals in both 1983 and 1984, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.
The 1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers accumulated a 62-20 record in the regular season and reached the 1985 NBA Finals to face the Boston Celtics again, this time taking their revenge in a 4-2 series win. Despite the departures Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo, the team posted an identical regular season record in the following year, but were upset in a shocking loss in the Western Conference Finals to the Rockets, this time led by Hakeem Olajuwon. After this defeat, the 1986–87 Los Angeles Lakers embarked on one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, winning 65 games in the regular season and posting a 15-3 record in the playoffs that culminated in a win over the Celtics in the 1987 NBA Finals. The Lakers achieved their first repeat championship of the era with a 4-3 win over the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals. After losing a rematch with the Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals, Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement from the NBA. [11] The Showtime era continued through early 1990's, including an NBA Finals appearance in 1991 under new head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., but they were unable to recapture the success of the 1980's. Johnson announced his retirement from the sport during the 1991 preseason after revealing he had tested positive for HIV, with Worthy retiring 1994.
1980–1992: Boston Celtics
With the sixth pick of the 1978 NBA draft, the Celtics selected Larry Bird, who returned to school at Indiana State University for another season rather than playing professionally. A trade for former All-Star Nate "Tiny" Archibald did little to improve the team, and they finished with a 29-53 record. Bird joined the Celtics for the 1979–80 NBA season and guided the team to a 32 win improvement, achieving a 61-21 record and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. [12] The team further bolstered their roster the in the following offseason, trading the #1 and #13 picks in the NBA draft to the Golden State Warriors to acquire center Robert Parish and the #3 pick of the draft, used to select power forward Kevin McHale. [13] These players combined with Bird for what pundits and analysts consider to be one of the best frontcourts in NBA history. The Celtics further improved upon their previous season, winning 62 games in the regular season and the 1981 NBA Finals over the Houston Rockets led by Moses Malone.
After failing to reach the NBA Finals in the next two seasons, the Celtics made a trade with the Phoenix Suns by to acquire All-Star guard and former NBA Finals MVP winner Dennis Johnson, [14] which also let them waive Archibald afterward. The Celtics made an immediate return to their postseason success, winning the 1984 NBA Finals 4–3 over the longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers. On September 6, 1985, the team traded for former MVP and NBA champion Bill Walton. [15] The Celtics completed one of the most impressive seasons in NBA history, winning 67 games in the regular season and a 15-3 run in the playoffs that culminated with a win in the 1986 NBA Finals against a newly formed Houston Rockets led by the "Twin Towers" center duo of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. As a result of their historic dominance and overwhelming star power, the 1985–86 Boston Celtics are widely considered one of the greatest teams in NBA history. [16] [17] [18]
Despite the emotional weight of losing #2 pick Len Bias to a drug overdose days after the 1986 NBA draft and a drug scandal involving Dennis Johnson, [19] the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals once again in 1987, this time falling to the Lakers 4-2. The Celtics were unable to recreate their championship success in the following seasons, losing in the Eastern Conference playoffs to "Bad Boys" era Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. Afterwards, the team slowly came apart, with Dennis Johnson retiring first after failing to acquire a new contract with Boston in 1990, followed by Larry Bird retiring in 1992 after years of battling injuries, McHale retiring in 1993, and Robert Parish signing with the Charlotte Hornets in 1994.
1982–1986: Philadelphia 76ers
After the NBA-ABA merger, the Philadelphia 76ers obtained the player rights for Julius Erving from the New York Nets, reaching the 1977 NBA Finals in his first year with the team. In the following seasons, the team traded with the Denver Nuggets to acquire Bobby Jones and also drafted guards Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney. As a result, the 76ers made both the 1980 and 1982 NBA Finals, losing in 6 games to the Los Angeles Lakers each time. The 76ers became an undisputed superteam on September 15, 1982, when restricted free agent Moses Malone was acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Houston Rockets. [20] The 1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers achieved a 65–17 record in the regular season, and when asked how they would fare in the playoffs, Malone answered "four, four, four", predicting a sweep in each series. [21] The Sixers nearly achieved Malone's boast, sweeping the New York Knicks, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, and winning the third championship in franchise history with a four-game sweep of the defending champion Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals. [22]
The following season, the 76ers only managed a 52–30 record and were upset in the First Round by the New Jersey Nets. In the 1984 NBA draft, the 76ers drafted Charles Barkley with the 5th overall pick. With the inclusion of Barkley, the 76ers improved to a 58–24 record and reached the Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in 5 games. The following season, the 76ers had a 54–28 record and were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by the Milwaukee Bucks in 7 games. In the offseason, Bobby Jones announced his retirement and the 76ers traded Moses Malone to the Washington Bullets, [23] ending the superteam era of the Philadelphia 76ers with the sole championship. Julius Erving later retired in 1987 and other notable players slowly left over the following years.
1995–1998: Chicago Bulls
At the beginning of the decade, the Chicago Bulls had won three straight championships from 1991 to 1993 with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen leading a team coached by Phil Jackson. Following this three-peat, Jordan shockingly retired from the NBA after the 1993 championship, choosing to pursue professional baseball in honor of his recently deceased father's memory. [24] Before the end of the 1994-95 season, Jordan announced his return to the team and the league with a famous fax carrying the statement "I'm back", [25] but the Bulls were unable to repeat their former championship success and fell to the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. During the following offseason, the Bulls traded for the eccentric former two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner Dennis Rodman. The Bulls finished their first season together with a 72–10 regular season record, setting NBA records for the most wins, highest winning percentage, and highest net rating in a single season, the latter of which still stands. [26] [27] Their dominance continued in the playoffs, posting a 15–3 playoff record and winning their fourth championship in six years. The 1995–96 Chicago Bulls have since been widely regarded as the greatest team in NBA history. [28] [16] [29] [30]
Following this triumphant season, the Bulls repeated their success in the following year with a 69–13 regular season record and a 15–4 playoff record for the team's fifth championship win in franchise history. The series win in the 1997 NBA Finals in six games over the Utah Jazz was highlighted by Jordan's "Flu Game", during which Jordan was purportedly ill from food poisoning. [31] The 1997–98 NBA season proved more challenging for the Bulls, as tensions in the front office, an aging roster, and injuries to key players threatened to derail the team. [32] [33] Despite these struggles, detailed in the 2020 documentary series The Last Dance, Jordan still managed to lead the team to a 62-20 regular season record. [34] Pushed to seven games by Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls emerged victorious and reached their third NBA Finals in a row, and their sixth in eight years. The team completed their second three-peat by beating the Jazz 4–2 in a rematch of the previous season, with Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals famously ending with Jordan's last shot in a Bulls uniform, a play now considered one of the greatest moments in NBA history. [35] The Bulls' dynasty disbanded the following offseason during which Phil Jackson was relieved as head coach, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA for the second time, and many of the team's key players were traded or signed to new teams in free agency. [36]
2007–2012: Boston Celtics
Following a lackluster 2006–2007 season, finishing 24–58, the Celtics sought a new move to propel them to the top of the league. [37] During the summer of 2007, Danny Ainge made two different blockbuster moves. First, on the night of the 2007 NBA draft, he traded No. 5 pick Jeff Green, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to Seattle for perennial all-star Ray Allen and Seattle's second-round pick (which the team used to select LSU's Glen "Big Baby" Davis). The Celtics then traded Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and a first-round draft pick to the Timberwolves in exchange for superstar power forward Kevin Garnett on July 31, 2007. These moves created a new "Big Three" of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett." [38] This new "Big Three" created the most drastic record changes in NBA history seeing them finish 66-16 for the season en route to the 2008 NBA Finals Championship. [39] [40] The Celtics later returned to the NBA Finals in 2010 under a new "Big Four" with Rajon Rondo starting to become established as a star player for the Celtics himself, but they ultimately fell in 7 games to their longtime rival Lakers, once Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were traded to the newly established Brooklyn Nets and Ray Allen left to join the Miami Heat.
2010–2014: Miami Heat
On July 8, 2010, two-time NBA MVP LeBron James announced his free agency decision on a live ESPN broadcast titled The Decision, [41] joining the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade. Shortly afterward, All-Star Chris Bosh signed with Heat, uniting three of the first five picks of the lauded 2003 NBA draft on one team. [42] The Heat superteam were expected to immediately compete for the championship, with James himself proclaiming the team would win eight titles. [43] [44] The 2010–11 Miami Heat finished the regular season with a record of 58-24, claiming the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. After breezing through the Eastern Conference playoffs, they stunningly lost a 4-2 series in the 2011 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, one of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals history. [45] [46] [47]
Following this setback, the 2011-12 Miami Heat finished 46-20 in a lockout-shortened season. The team overcame a 3-2 deficit to win in 7 games in a tight series against the Boston Celtics before taking down a young Oklahoma City Thunder team 4-1 to obtain their first championship together. [48] On July 11, 2012, the Heat signed Ray Allen, adding one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history while simultaneously weakening their primary rival, the Boston Celtics. [49] Allen proved to be instrumental in the team's second consecutive championship in the 2013 NBA Finals, hitting a key shot that ultimately helped overcome the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6, with the team eventually winning the series 4–3. [50] During this same season, the Heat also achieved 27 straight regular season victories from February 3 to March 25, 2013, the second-longest win streak in NBA history. [51] In the 2014 Finals, the Heat lost to the Spurs in 5 games in a rematch of the previous Finals. Following the loss, LeBron James reentered free agency and returned to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, ending the Miami "Big Three".
Multiple NBA players and analysts have pointed to James's free agency and the Miami Heat superteam as being the catalyst for the leaguewide explosion in superteams over the following years. [52] [53] [54] [55] [56]
2014–2017: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers were awarded the #1 pick of the 2011 NBA draft when a draft pick acquired from a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers won the draft lottery. The team selected Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, who soon became an NBA All-Star. [57] LeBron James signed as a free agent on July 12, 2014, reuniting with his former team. [58] A month later, on August 23, Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love was acquired in a three-team trade for Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, who had been selected first overall by the Cavaliers in the 2013 and 2014 NBA Drafts, respectively. [59] During their first season together, the team saw immediate success with a 53–29 record to finish second in Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals for the second time franchise history, but untimely injuries to Love and Irving played a part in a 4–2 series loss to the Golden State Warriors. [60]
Despite starting the following season with a 30–11 record, the Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt and replaced him with assistant coach Tyronn Lue for the remainder of the season, [61] obtaining the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The team cruised through the Eastern Conference playoffs to set up a rematch with Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers initially struggled in the series, going down 3–1 against a Warriors team that set the mark for the best regular season record in NBA history at 73–9. However, after winning Games 5 & 6, the Cavaliers triumphed in a low-scoring Game 7 that featured a timely block by LeBron James and a celebrated three-point shot by Kyrie Irving to bring the Cavaliers their first ever NBA Finals championship, completing the first 3-1 comeback in NBA Finals history. [62] This championship is considered the end of the 52-year citywide Cleveland sports curse.
After their title success, the Cavaliers completed their first full season under Lue with a 51–31 record. Despite a less successful regular season campaign, the Cavaliers still achieved a 12-1 record in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and third straight NBA Finals appearance. However, the Warriors new superteam with Kevin Durant completed a commanding 4–1 series victory. During the following offseason, Irving demanded a trade out of Cleveland and was later sent to the rival Boston Celtics. [63] In the face of Irving's absence, the Cavaliers still managed their fourth straight NBA Finals appearance. Facing the Golden State Warriors in the Finals for the fourth year in row, the Cavaliers suffered their third defeat in four seasons, this time being swept 4–0. LeBron James subsequently left the Cavaliers to join the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, [64] ending his second stint with Cleveland.
2016–2019: Golden State Warriors
In the 2016 offseason, after blowing a 3–1 lead to the Cavaliers in the 2016 Finals, the Warriors made a move to re-assert their spot as the most dominant franchise in the league by acquiring former MVP Kevin Durant in free agency, [65] who had himself been a part of the Thunder team that lost a 3–1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals against the same Warriors. [66] Before the playoffs, the Warriors matched or broke several NBA records. They reclaimed the top seed with 67 wins, won the most ever games by a 40-point-plus margin, and extended their run of most games without back-to-back losses in the regular season to 146 (spanning from April 9, 2015, to March 2, 2017). [67] [68] They tied the record for most players in the All-Star game with 4 (Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green). In the postseason, the Warriors broke the records for best start (15–0), longest win streak (15), and best overall record (16–1). They swept the Western Conference Playoffs 12–0 before eliminating the Cavaliers in the Finals in 5 games. [69] [70]
In 2018, the Warriors were unable to reclaim the league's best record after 3 straight years of doing so. They eliminated the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans each in 5 games before narrowly beating the 1st-seeded Houston Rockets in 7 games in the Western Conference Finals. [71] They swept the 2018 Finals over Cleveland to win a second straight title, and 3 titles in 4 years. [72] [73] In the 2018 offseason, the Warriors signed DeMarcus Cousins as a free agent. The Warriors became the first franchise in 42 years to be able to start five All-Stars from the previous season at each floor position. [74] [75] [76] The Warriors reclaimed the 1st seed in the Western Conference with a 57–25 record and made it to their 5th straight NBA Finals. However, they lost the 2019 Finals in 6 games to the Toronto Raptors led by Kawhi Leonard. [77] The Warriors were plagued by injuries, with Kevin Durant missing playoff games with a calf injury and an Achilles tear, and Klay Thompson suffering hamstring and ACL injuries in the Finals. In the 2019 offseason, Durant joined the Brooklyn Nets in a sign-and-trade deal. However, the Warriors without Durant and Cousins did win another NBA Finals championship in 2022 with their originally drafted Big Three of Curry, Thompson, and Green before the Warriors eventually announced the breakup of the Splash Brothers and their original Big Three on July 1, 2024 by saying Klay Thompson would not return to the team. [78]
