THE INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE LEAGUE OF SUPER AQUAINTANCES (OF THE NBA)

Hi there ladies and germs it’s your friendly neighborhood guest writer Cowboy. I’ve been asked to babysit while the lovely AZ is on vacation (lucky!).
[Well, I'm back.]

          In the world of sports there has been a cornucopia of fads both on and off the field. Being a child of the 90’s who can forget those gosh awful starter jackets, or more recently in the NFL with the popularity of the two tight-end system made popular by the New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernández.

          The newest edition to this growing list is the idea of “The Big 3” or “The Big 4” in the NBA. With the Celtics, Knicks, Clippers, and the most familiar the Mia (sorry) the World Champion Miami Heat this concept has taken over the NBA, making teams look like a collection of superheroes more suited for a summer blockbuster. For the interest of clarity I don’t include the Spurs on the list of “Big 3’s” because all three members (Duncan, Parker, Ginoboli) have been together throughout their entire careers. 

          As of the writing of this article there have been two moves (one rumored) that will alter the “Big 3” landscape. First with the signing of Ray Allen to the Miami Heat, ending the reign of the very first “Big 3” in Boston. And with the newest installment of “Where in the world is Dwight Howard going to play next season,” it seems that his next landing place will be with Jay-z and the New Jer (my apologizes) the Brooklyn Nets. 

AZ's Note: What an unoriginal design. My old advertising professor would have keeled over and died seeing this.

          But I believe the saying “too much of a good thing,” does come to mind here, and if this whole concept is actually hurting the NBA as a whole. Well there are a few ways both good and bad one can look at this concept. But the main ones are in my opinion first if it is done in the correct way with the right players it can rejuvenate a franchise. When the original “Big 3” (Allen, Garnett, and Pierce) was formed in Boston the franchise hadn’t won an NBA title since 1986, and put a breath of fresh air back into a historic team winning a title in 2008. Also before Lebron famously “took his talents to South Beach,” the Miami Heat hadn’t won a championship in six years. Long and the short is this methodology does work (when used well).  

         

In this new world of basketball commentary where stars are being called “Batman” and “Robin,” the thing that is quickly becoming a memory is the idea of a singular superstar leading his team to the title. Looking back at the last 12 years of NBA titles here is how it all stacks up.

Los Angeles Lakers: 4

San Antonio Spurs: 3

Miami Heat: 2

Boston Celtics: 1

Dallas Mavericks: 1

Detroit Pistons: 1

          Minus the Pistons, Spurs, and Mavericks; all the other teams had some sort of a “Big Three” behind them. While there were varying degrees of the “Big 3” (.i.e. Kobe and the other two guys or Pierce, Allen, and Garnett) there was still the concept at the center of their championship run.

          So while this concept has positives like bringing new life into the franchise whether historic or a newer franchise. And without giving the whole NBA a psychological evaluation onto why some players feel like they can’t win alone. So to those teams lucky enough to have a “Big 3” consider you lucky.

CT