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Are Super Teams Bad for the NBA?

From • August 23, 2010


It all started in the summer of 2007, when Commissioner David Stern announced during the NBA Draft that Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were traded to the Boston Celtics for a bunch of players, the NBA World turned upside down.

This was the first of the super teams. (Although, in the summer of 2003, the Los Angeles Lakers had 4 future hall-of-famers at once, but that didn't work)

The ripple started with the Boston Celtics and a few months later the Los Angeles Lakers followed suit. During the midst of the 2007-2008 season, Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury and left the Lakers for dead. Finally, after the All-Star Break, the Lakers received a gift in the form of Pau Gasol.

The revamped Celtics and Lakers would meet in that years' NBA Finals. Ultimately the Celtics would come out on top. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Ray Allen, Andrew Bynum, and a little known point guard at the time Rajon Rondo would make up the beginning of the super teams.

There would also be other super teams popping up throughout the league.

The Dallas Mavericks would field a team consisting of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry. Good, but not good enough to repeat what they did in 2006.

The Atlanta Hawks would field a team consisting of Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Mike Bibby. Great seasons, but when the playoffs started they soon faded out.

The Orlando Magic would field a team consisting of Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson. They would reach the NBA Finals in 2009 (minus Vince Carter), but lose to the LA Lakers in 5 games.

The Cleveland Cavaliers would field a team consisting of LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Mo Williams, and Antawn Jamison. In 2009 and 2010 they would win 66 and 61 games respectively, but their luck would run out early in the playoffs.

For the 2009-2010 season, the Lakers would sign Ron Artest thus giving them a lineup with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, and Derek Fisher. They would win that years' championship.

Also, the emergence of Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics would give them an extra boost in firepower making the Big 3 in the Big 4. They reached the NBA Finals in 2010, only to lose to the LA Lakers in 7 games. In the off season, they added Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O'Neal to try another shot at an NBA title.

A few weeks ago the Chicago Bulls also became a super team with the addition of Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, and Kyle Korver. This would add to a team that already has Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng.

This brings us to the super team that was formed a few weeks ago, the Miami Heat.

With the addition of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Mike Miller to a team with Dwyane Wade the Heat are an upgrade to the Big 4 of the Boston Celtics. Just like the Celtics, the Heat are expected to win the East and maybe win an NBA title their first year. Expect them to win 60-70 games.

The era of super teams doesn't end there. Talks around the league have suggested that Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets want out of their respective teams so they can join Amar'e Stoudemire with the New York Knicks.

Is this good for the NBA, having only a handful of teams competing for a title every year? Yes!

Fans love to see big market teams like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Miami win. This would make basketball the most popular sport in the world. The NBA is a star-studded league where David Stern needs stars to shine so profits can be coming in. Parity is a thing of the past so look for familiar faces to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy at seasons' end.

**You can reach the author of this post at kc@gacksports.com

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