Best NBA duo of all time
The greatest duo in NBA history is made up of two players who can play together and are a good fit. Putting two great players on the same team isn’t always a winning idea.
-
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade team up after the 2010 NBA Finals. The duo created the Big Three era in Miami with Chris Bosh.
The pair enjoyed success during their tenures with the Miami Heat. While James was looking for his first ring, Wade had already won an NBA championship and Finals MVP award.
In four years in Miami, the duo helped the team reach four straight NBA Finals. They lost six games to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 but went on to win back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
Wade is often credited with showing James what it takes to lead a team to an NBA championship. James, on the other hand, was the driving force of the team and won the Finals MVP award in two title races.
-
Larry Bird and Kevin McHale
In their first year together, both were considered power forwards, with McHale coming off the bench. The Celtics won the NBA championship in McHale’s rookie season.
The pair won two more NBA championships in 1984 and 1986. Bird won three consecutive MVP awards between 1984 and 1986, while McHale won two Sixth Man of the Year awards during that period.
-
Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant came to Los Angeles together in 1996. Shaq was from Orlando, and Kobe was still a rookie.
Kobe came to the NBA from high school, so he needed some time to get used to it. Once Kobe developed into a force in the NBA, the duo was unstoppable.
In eight years, Shaq and Kobe won three championships and reached the NBA Finals four times. O’Neal was named Finals MVP three times and won the MVP in 2000.
-
Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
When Magic Johnson was drafted in 1979, his new teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar already had five MVPs.
The Los Angeles Lakers built a duo that would change history in the 1980s. In their first year, Abdul-Jabbar won his sixth NBA MVP and the team reached the NBA Finals.
The two continued to dominate the Western Conference in the 1980s. They went to eight NBA Finals and won five championships. They won back-to-back titles in 1987 and 1988, becoming the first team (Boston Celtics) to repeat the title since 1969.
Johnson won three Finals MVPs together, while Abdul-Jabbar won one.
-
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 and quickly became one of the best players in the NBA. However, he couldn’t make it on the team until he had another All-Star on his team.
The Bulls won three straight championships from 1991 to 1993, and Jordan was the Finals MVP each time. They became the first team to win three straight titles since the Boston Celtics won eight straight between 1959 and 1966.
Jordan retired more than a year and a half after 1993. He returned to the NBA in 1995. Although they lost to the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Bulls dominated the team again from 1996 to 1998. In their bottom three-peat, Jordan has won Finals MVP every year.
They won a total of six NBA championships over nine full seasons.
NBA column by mark
- Michael Jordan success story January 31, 2024
- Magic Johnson Success story January 31, 2024
- Top 5 NBA Draft Classes in History March 13, 2023
- LeBron James Is Not Comparable to Michael Jordan March 10, 2023
- Michael Jordan King of Nike than James even has a $1 billion contract March 6, 2023
- Did Michael Jordan play against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? March 6, 2023
- Michael Jordan on why regrets coming back to play for the Wizards March 6, 2023
- Ranking of NBA’s players deadliest midrange assassins March 3, 2023
- 10 Most unforgettble NBA All-Star games of the Basketball History March 3, 2023
- Best 3-Point Shooters in the NBA of all time March 2, 2023