1) Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving (Nets, 2020-2022)
2) LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook (Lakers, 2021-2022)

Is this the end of the super team? Compiling superstar (at least on paper) talent via free agency and trades with little-to-no regards to style of play, chemistry, and the supporting cast has a relatively short history in the NBA. Almost as quickly as it became en vogue, it has since become a series of cautionary tales, most recently in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Entering the ’21-’22 season, the Nets and Lakers were the top two odds-on favorites to win the NBA title according to Vegas bookmakers. Thanks to injuries (Davis), aging (James), chemistry issues (Westbrook), and medical science denial (Irving) the Lakers missed the postseason altogether, the Nets were eliminated in a first round sweep, and both teams were left facing an uncertain and financially difficult future. Brooklyn’s big three was actually broken up during the season, with the team trading away Harden just 13 months after acquiring him, while the Lakers turned things around in ’22-’23 after dealing away Westbrook. Meanwhile, Durant is giving it a go again in ’23-’24 in Phoenix, teaming up with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

3) Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone (Lakers, 2003-2004)

Past-their-prime veterans joining a title contender to chase an elusive championship ring has a long tradition in NBA history, dating all the way back to Andy Phillip in the early years of the Bill Russell Celtics dynasty. In fact, this version of the Lakers led by O’Neal and Bryant had already provided career capping first titles for Mitch Richmond and Glen Rice, not to mention a final trophy case addition for Horace Grant, John Salley, and A.C. Green. Following a disappointing Conference Semifinals exit in ’02-’03, the Lakers really swung for the fences, signing a 40-year-old Karl Malone and a 35-year-old Gary Payton. In retrospect, it was obviously extremely risky to add these two stubborn and injury prone players to an already volatile mix due to Bryant (who was additionally dealing with his sexual assault trial) and O’Neals deteriorating relationship. The Lakers did win 56 games and advanced past solid Spurs and Timberwolves teams in the playoffs to reach the NBA Finals as heavy favorites. But the chemistry at that point was completely tainted, especially by Malone, who dealt with a knee injury all season and reportedly made inappropriate comments towards Bryant and his wife. Detroit stunned the Lakers in arguably the biggest NBA Finals upset of all time and the roster was disassembled. O’Neal was traded to the Heat, Malone retired, and Payton was traded to the Celtics.

4) Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, and Steve Nash (Lakers, 2012-2013)

Did the Lakers franchise and general manager Mitch Kupchak learn any lessons from their ’03-’04 debacle? If the ’12-’13 season is any indication, the answer is no. Once again looking to revive a mini-dynasty that was beginning to falter and show cracks, Los Angeles followed up back-to-back second round exits in 2011 and 2012 by trading for Howard and Nash. With four future Hall of Famers now in the lineup, as well as former All-Stars in Metta World Peace and Antawn Jamison, the Lakers entered the season as the second biggest title favorites, behind only LeBron James’ Heat. “This is going to be fun” read the Sports Illustrated cover featuring Howard and Nash in their new Lakers jerseys, as the magazine predicted they would face off against Miami in the NBA Finals. But the season turned out to be anything but jovial, marked by major injuries, defensive dysfunction, offensive confusion (as coach Mike Brown attempted to implement the Princeton offense), multiple coaching changes, the death of longtime owner Jerry Buss, and a late rally just to reach the playoffs only to be swept in the first round as Bryant was sidelined with the Achilles’ tear that hampered him for the rest of his career. Though still only 27 years old at the time, Howard seemed permanently scarred and/or cursed by his one year Lakers tenure, and would make just one more All-Star appearance for the rest of his career (he notably did return to the Lakers in ’19-’20 and earn his first championship ring). Nash hung around for one more season in Los Angeles before retiring, while Gasol soon after departed to Chicago to revive his career.

5) Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Clyde Drexler (Rockets, 1996-1998)
6) Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Scottie Pippen (Rockets, 1998-1999)

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em? Barkley gave that a try in 1996, getting traded to the Rockets team that had eliminated his Suns in the 1994 and 1995 playoffs. He teamed up with Olajuwon and Drexler, giving Houston a super team trio with a combined 31 All-Star appearances and three MVPs. It’s notable, though, that all three players entered ’96-’97 at the age of 33 or higher, which meant a lot more back then in terms of wear-and-tear. They were all named to the 1997 All-Star team (though Drexler and Barkley withdrew due to injury), finished with the #3 seed in the West and reached the Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Jazz in six games, ending with a heart wrenching John Stockton buzzer beater. Expectations were more tempered for the aging stars in ’97-’98 and this time around they barely made the postseason as the #8 seed, getting eliminated again by Utah, this time in the first round. Drexler retired in that offseason and the Rockets replaced him with another one of Barkley’s Dream Team compatriots, Pippen. But in an increasingly difficult Western Conference, the Rockets drew a tough first round draw in 1999, getting eliminated by Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers. Pippen was traded to the Trail Blazers after just one season in Houston and the ’99-’00 campaign was a disaster, with both Barkley and Olajuwon suffering major injuries as the Rockets missed the postseason entirely. Barkley thus retired in 2000 as one of the greatest players to never win an NBA title, a honorific that stings him to this day.

7) Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Jimmy Butler (76ers, 2018-2019)

When Butler dominated the 76ers in the 2022 Conference Semifinals, averaging 27.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game to lead the Heat to a six game series victory, there was an extra boost of a revenge factor. Three years prior on the exact same day (May 12), Butler was a member of the 76ers as they were eliminated by the Raptors on Kawhi Leonard’s miraculous game seven buzzer beater. Though he led the team in scoring and assists in that series, Butler was shouldered with much of the blame for the loss by fans, the media, his coaching staff, and even some of his teammates. Just a couple months later he was gone, getting traded to the Heat, who became his fourth NBA franchise in just a two year stretch. It was an ignominious end to a promising roster, with Butler getting added as a play maker and defensive specialist who could unlock the potential of young, home grown stars Embiid and Simmons. Instead, in a lot of ways Butler’s presence exposed the shortcomings of Simmons as a player and Brett Brown as a coach. But the franchise stuck with them, trading away Butler and instead focusing on building around Simmons, Embiid, and Tobias Harris with Brown at the helm. When this proved completely disastrous in ’19-’20 (ending with a first round sweep at the hands of the Celtics, while Butler led Miami to a surprise NBA Finals appearance), they reconfigured again, swapping Simmons for James Harden and Brown for Doc Rivers. It’s only fitting that Butler, the player whom Sixers management laments letting go, ended their most recent experiment in the 2022 playoffs.

8) Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony (Thunder, 2017-2018)
9) James Harden, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony (Rockets, 2018-2019)

From 2012 to 2020, every NBA champion featured either LeBron James, Stephen Curry, or Kawhi Leonard on the roster. This dominance by a select few has left an entire generation of great players lacking an NBA title on their resume. In fact, if we were to create a list today of greatest NBA players all-time without a championship, Paul would place at #4, Harden at #5, and Westbrook at #6, while Anthony and George would both be in the top 20. All of them have attempted various gambits to play themselves off that list, including the highly hyped but ultimately disappointing super teams above. The Thunder were desperate to remain relevant in 2017, following Kevin Durant’s departure for the Warriors. They leveraged their future, trading promising youngsters Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Pacers for Paul George, while sending some lesser pieces and draft picks to the Knicks for Anthony. The end result was Westbrook having one of the greatest seasons in league history, becoming just the second player to ever average a triple-double, but the Thunder were easily eliminated in a Conference Quarterfinals series against the Jazz. Anthony was traded that summer to the Hawks, who subsequently waived him, allowing the veteran forward to sign with the Rockets, who were coming off just missing out on the NBA Finals in 2018 due to a Paul injury during the Conference Finals. With Anthony joining the roster alongside Paul, Harden, Eric Gordon, and Clint Capela, they seemed like the only team with a chance at upending the Warriors in the 2019 playoffs. But even with Kevin Durant struggling through injuries, the Rockets couldn’t close the deal, losing in the Conference Semifinals to Golden State in six games. Anthony wasn’t even there for that series, getting traded during the regular season to the Bulls after falling out of the starting lineup.

10) Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway, and Mitch Richmond (Warriors, 1989-1991)

Before unrestricted free agency changed the landscape and power dynamics of the NBA in the ’90s, super teams had to be built via shrewd drafting and deft trading. Early examples all ended with titles, like when Wilt Chamberlain joined Jerry West in Los Angeles, Oscar Robertson joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Milwaukee, Earl Monroe joined Walt Frazier and Willis Reed in New York, Moses Malone joined Julius Erving in Philadelphia, and, of course, the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the ’80s. The first real example of a heavily hyped super team falling well short of expectations was the Run-TMC Warriors. The team’s trio of superstars were all drafted by the franchise, starting with Mullin in 1985, followed by Richmond in 1988 and Hardaway in 1989. With an exciting, up-tempo style deployed by coach Don Nelson and their indelible nickname, they were instantly a national fan favorite. But the results on the court were mixed, at best. In their first season together, ’89-’90, the Warriors missed the playoffs altogether, with the young triumvirate slowly learning to co-exist on offense. There were major improvements in ’89-’90, thanks in large part to the arrival of Sarunas Marciulionis, and Golden State managed a first round upset of the Spurs before falling to the Lakers in the Conference Semifinals. Management was quickly disillusioned by the results and made a rash decision in 1991, trading Richmond to the Kings for rookie holdout Billy Owens. The thought process made sense, as Owens theoretically could provide the post offense and rebounding presence the Warriors lacked, but in practice he failed to fully develop and Golden State slipped into mediocrity by the mid ’90s.