The NBA experienced two major shake-ups during the last decade. The first came in 2010 when LeBron James teamed up with Dwyane Wade at the Miami Heat to form a successful super team. Six years later, Kevin Durant followed a similar route by joining Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors. The lasting impact of these moves prompted Nick Young to draw parallels between them.
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Young’s remarks stemmed from his latest appearance on the Club 520 Podcast. The show’s co-host, Bishop B Henn, urged him to share his thoughts on James’ sign-and-trade to Miami to join forces with Wade and Chris Bosh.
In response, Swaggy P discussed that the Heat’s ‘Big Three’ made them the clear favorites to win the championship. He soon extended his stance by comparing it to Durant’s free agency move to the Bay Area. Young believed that both these decisions had a similarly adverse impact on the NBA’s competitive level.
Despite this, the 39-year-old admitted he enjoyed playing against these super teams. He said,
“I felt like, ‘Yeah, they’re gonna win’. It’s like, ‘It’s over’. Same way when KD went to the Warriors. They’re gonna make it, we know that… It’s fun to play against them but you like, know that outcome of what’s gonna happen.”
These outcomes substantiate Young’s viewpoint. Both super teams undoubtedly made the league’s competition one-sided during these seven years.
However, a counterargument can also be made. The NBA has seen many other super teams over the years, but none have matched the dominance of these two.
For instance, the Brooklyn Nets paired Deron Williams and Joe Johnson with veterans Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce during the 2013/14 season. Despite high hopes in New York, the reality fell short. The team won only 44 games and was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
The Heat and the Warriors had key elements that set them apart from other super teams. Their superstars understood their roles, their role players knew their limitations, and more importantly, they had distinctive playing styles. These factors made their success so hard to replicate and all the more memorable.
