How Did the NBA Get ’Superteams’ and Is There Anything Bad in That?
How Did the NBA Get ’Superteams’ and Is There Anything Bad in That?
January 4, 2021
The NBA can be compared to a fairytale world. Guys
do what they love, they are paid fabulous sums to do it, and they enjoy
the reputation of people who had to do much more to gain such a
reputation. While monopolies are an old thing in the real world, in the
NBA they are a relatively new phenomenon. They are even a level above
’superteams’. We will explain...
The monopolization of the players’ power began with LeBron James, who,
having established what ’gravitational force’ he represents in terms of
the desire of other players to play with him and the teams to bring
him, decided to form the first so-called ’superteam’. He did it in the
Miami Heat, inviting Chris Bosh to join him. There, they were already
awaited by the ’native’ Dwayne Wade.
LeBron’s team at the time, Cleveland, remained
powerless in the fight to keep him (although he returned after three
years and created a new ’superteam’ in the Cavaliers). With this move,
LeBron threw the NBA order into a whirlpool that had not been seen
before. There was no precedent for his move. NBA players, and
especially mega-stars, have usually remained in the teams in which they
started their careers throughout most of the league’s history.
Dynasties were built by long-term and painstaking development of the
roster with a minimal amount of transfers. Generational talents like
Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan were appalled by LeBron’s decision,
believing that he had chosen an easier path to titles than winning
trophies as the ’main man’.
Upon LeBron’s arrival in Miami, the rest of the league felt the impact
of that decision. The imbalance that arose in the NBA was almost
comical, and Miami won two titles in two years. Gregg Popovich and the
San Antonio Spurs finally got in their way, but it was too late for the
league then. Other stars noticed that LeBron’s decision had no
consequences for himself, while on the other hand, it resulted in two
championship trophies where he played.
With this move, the teams lost much of the power they held over the
players. Seeing that unrealistic money has been earned in the NBA for
decades, most players no longer put the priority on finances but turned
to figure out ways to win titles. The example that ’King James’ showed
them was a good place to start.
Demands for trades have since become almost commonplace, with
basketball audiences attending ugly ’breakups’ like those between Kevin
Love and Minnesota or Paul George and Indiana, while last summer we
experienced the epilogue of a two-year drama about Anthony Davis, who
became part of another in a series of LeBron’s ’superteams’.
This condition has led to ’illness’ in the once healthiest league in
the world. The arrogance, rudeness, and self-sufficiency of NBA players
surpass even the behavior of members of European royal dynasties, while
the atmosphere of mistrust that rules the league is the worst possible
environment in which future generations of basketball players should
mature.
The Heat was the second ’superteam’ in the modern
era. The first one was the Boston Celtics (2007 to 2012), who with
Pierce, Garnett, and Allen, won the championship ring in 2008. The
forming of the Heat’s ’superteam’ was followed by the forming of the
Cleveland Cavaliers (2014 – 2017; the title won in 2016), and of the
Golden State Warriors (2016 – 2019). The latter had the most successes,
winning two titles (2017 and 2018). But, we will talk more about them
in the continuation of the article.
As for the older ’superteams’, the Los Angeles Lakers (Abdul-Jabbar,
Johnson, and Worthy) stood out with four titles (1982, 1985, 1987, and
1988). Let’s not forget the Chicago Bulls with Jordan, Pippen, and
Rodman, who claimed one title less than the Lakers (1996, 1997, and
1998).
The last (for now) act of an NBA star confirms this argument. Namely,
perhaps the best basketball player on the planet, Kevin Durant, last
summer rejected the option to extend his contract with Golden State and
changed the environment. In order for his previous NBA environment not
to be left without players of that caliber ’for nothing’, the Warriors
decided to negotiate a trade with his future team, in which they would
get D’Angelo Russell from the Brooklyn Nets. That is where things got
interesting.
While it would be logical for most players to try to make things easier
for their former employer, Durant decided to show his uglier side.
Namely, he was “shocked and offended“ that Golden State planned to
trade him ’only’ for Russell, believing that he was worth incomparably
more. He conditioned his acceptance of the trade by the Warriors adding
the first-round pick to the offer, thus making the already complicated
situation difficult for the team from California. In the end, the
Warriors agreed to that blackmail.
The NBA is not what it used to be when generational talents like Larry
Bird and Jerry West were true examples of respect, but, like everything
else we are used to respecting in this world, it has been replaced by a
sort of a ’circus’. After all, as is the ’king’ so are the subjects,
right?
