You may recall over the summer I wrote a post about the best NBA duos to ever play together in the league. While there were some great duos, there also happened to be some great trios to play as well. Here were some of the best trios to ever play the game.
1. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson- Golden State Warriors
This may be a controversial take to some, but it’s one that is undoubtedly true in my mind. Before Durant got to Oakland, the Warriors were already one of the best teams of all-time. His addition just made it more hopeless for other teams trying to beat them. The trio is made up of arguably the best shooter of all-time, arguably the second-best shooter of all-time, and one of the best offensive players to ever play. Their all all-stars at transformative players which making them the definite most talented group on this list. Adding all of their games together basically makes the team unstoppable, as each of their styles of play work together perfectly.
2. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy- Los Angeles Lakers
There really wasn’t a trio of players that defined the 80s more so than these guys. All these guys had their own piece of the game in which they just straight up dominated. These guys played seven years together, and went to the Finals a whopping six times. In those six appearances, they were able to bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy three times. And it wasn’t the easiest time winning those three championships, as they had to go up against another trio that is on this list.
3. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman- Chicago Bulls
I’ve already talked about how fantastic the duo of Jordan and Pippen was, but I think that people really underrate the importance of Dennis Rodman to these Bulls teams. Rodman joined the party later than the other two, but what he brought to Jordan’s Bulls truly did make the team special. Rodman had the championship experience playing on the Detroit Pistons, aka the Bad Boys, which proved to be invaluable. Not only that, but he also brought a stable presence in the frontcourt, snatching up rebounds and playing defense in an era dominated by transcendently talented big men at the time. The championships these guys one speaks for itself.
4. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish- Boston Celtics
This trio is probably one of the most underrated big threes to ever play in the history of this league. It didn’t happen by accident, as a little luck and shrewd moves by then GM Red Auerbach brought together one of the first big three’s ever. Larry Bird became one of the best scorers to grace the hardwood, McHale feasted with a wide range of low post moves, and Robert Parrish slowly became the prototype of the modern big man, with the ability to be strong in the paint and have the ability to hit jump shots. They also were able to win three championships seven years, which is quite impressive.
5. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh- Miami Heat
When the Miami Heat brought these three otherworldly talented in the 2010 offseason, the NBA changed for good. On the Heat we really got to see how great of a player LeBron James is. While in Miami, we got some all-time great MVP seasons out of him from both a statistical and efficiency standpoint. While LeBron was churning out these great seasons, Dwayne Wade was able to take full advantage of playing with other stars and Chris Bosh basically did everything that the Heat out of him. These Heat were known for their high-flying dunks and their 27-game winning streak in 2012-2013 which was dubbed as the HeatStreak.
Honorable Mentions
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili- San Antonio Spurs
Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer- Detroit Pistons