Super teams have officially become the foundation of the modern NBA.
We’ve seen it in 2007 with the Boston Celtics trio Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, in 2010 with the Heat’s Big Three LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and even attempted super teams by the New York Knicks and OKC Thunder.
Even teams like the Golden State Warriors, who’ve started as traditional programs, are taking on this new foundation because of LeBron’s emergence into the West Conference.
With James’ switch over to the Lakers, other star players following him and even DeMarcus Cousins’ deal with the Warriors, there’s been a greater conversation around the concept of super teams and if this is doing more damage to the league than good.
Charles Barkley on 2018 NBA Free Agency, NBA’s Competitive Balance and Super Team Culture
Uploaded by Fleezy TV on 2018-07-02.
During his guest appearance on the Unnecessary Roughness Podcast, Barkley voiced his concern, saying that he would rather lose than hop on this trend. “Id Rather Have No Rings Than Join a super team,” he said.
He continued the conversation by expressing his admiration for players who didn’t seek this route while in the league and pushed for greatness on their own accord. “It doesnt matter what option you are, sports are about competition,” he said. “Like, I admire Patrick Ewing for trying to bring a championship to New York. I admire Reggie Miller for trying to bring a championship to Indiana. I admire Michael Jordan for not leaving when they were getting beat by the Pistons every year. He didnt pack up and say, ‘Let me go play with Magic or Bird,’ theres something to be said about that. When Dirk Nowitzki finally won the championship he could be like, Yes, I did this.'”
Take a listen and let us know if you agree with him:
