What is a Super Team?
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What is a Super Team?
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What is a Super Team?
Now that everyone is throwing out the term I decided to ask myself and others what really is a consistent and logical definition of Super Team? There are many questions that come up but I think I have a fair definition that can withstand them (or perhaps evolve to get a better definition).
If the team can challenge without [Insert lead or co-lead All-Time Great], they are a Super Team.
By this definition which teams would you consider a Super Team? Going over my watching time or around about where I can remember players:
76ers:
This was a team that was challenging even before the addition of three-time MVP, Moses Malone. This is a team that went to the conference finals or semi finals from 78-80, then lost in the finals itself in 82 before adding Moses and winning it infamously in 83 with only a single loss in the playoffs, sweeping the Lakers. This was a team with Dr J, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks, Daryl Dawkins and defensive beast Bobby Jones. You add Moses and it's not hard to see why there are comparisons with the Warriors.
Lakers 80s:
Even before Magic joined they were a 47 win team and lost to eventual winners Supersonics in the conference semi-finals. They had a formidable cast in Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Norm Nixon, Michael Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes and not too long after Magic joined they had these guys called Bob McAdoo, James Worthy and Byron Scott to sprinkle on top. But after Magic, the rest was history and they have a case for being the best Super Team particularly when you look at multiple years and the era they were in.
Lakers 00s:
I would also consider the Shaq/Kobe Lakers as a Super Team, since if either left, they could have still challenged (and did). It is a bit more complicated because Shaq left for another franchise whereas Kobe got some great help that wouldn't have been there if Shaq had stayed. When they were together there is no question, that in comparison to the league in particular, this was a Super Team that was only stopped from winning more rings by their star players' egos and the Spurs. Those Lakers also tended to have a really good cast to support their 2 MVP candidate starters: Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Metta World Peace, Malone, Payton and Nash to mention names.
Bulls:
I think 2nd 3-peat Bulls are unquestionably a Super Team if we go by this definition, as a worse version did in fact win only 2 games less and were a poor call away from another potential finals. That team that lost to the Knicks then added Jordan back and Rodman in particularly who is the GOAT rebounder and top 5 defensive player of all time. I think the 1st 3-peat Bulls has more scope for question: Jordan was a much better player - younger of course - and his absence would have made more of an impact particularly offensively. I think in a normal era it may not have been a Super Team but the rare situation at the time, with so many expansion teams, made them in high likelihood a Super Team. Other stars didn't have a #2 as good as Pippen, and the rest of the team lead by Grant was more than the opposition had as well, which is why they won 55 games even without Jordan.
GSW
I think in all likelihood, this is the Daddy of the Super Stacked teams. The amount of talent and the fact that they are in their primes/peaks coincidentally makes them the GOAT team IMO. They have 2 legitimate MVP players, a DPOY and top 10 impact player, an all-star and best two-way SG in the league who is also one of the GOAT 3-point shooters, a bench consisting with arguably the GOAT 6th man who won a Finals MVP the year prior. They were a 73-win team and added a legitimate top 3 player and recent MVP. Without the Cavs winning 1, they would have swept the entire playoffs. They have won 2/3 of the last finals and are bound to get more.
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This was just a bit of a casual look and overview of the teams. Please discuss the teams not mentioned or who you think warrant consideration with regard to the definition. If you don't agree with the definition, make a better one that applies more accurately and fairly to everyone in the game.
Notes:
[*]While I consider the Celtics an incredibly talented team in the 80s, I am not sure I'd call them a Super Team considering their vastly different fortunes with and without Bird such was his team effect. They were another elite scorer away from being able to handle Bird's loss, which would have made them a Super Team. The 80s were also a far tougher era of competition, particularly in the East, so that's what hurts them in this comparison - if they had their core 80s team, even without Bird, in the 90s, they may have proved to be a Super Team.
[*]The same in the above goes for LeBron. They had high top end talent but not enough if LeBron wasn't present. In Miami they had a really shallow bench and in Cavs neither Kyrie nor Love lead the team even decently well without LeBron. The bench is similarly not strong.
If the team can challenge without [Insert lead or co-lead All-Time Great], they are a Super Team.
By this definition which teams would you consider a Super Team? Going over my watching time or around about where I can remember players:
76ers:
This was a team that was challenging even before the addition of three-time MVP, Moses Malone. This is a team that went to the conference finals or semi finals from 78-80, then lost in the finals itself in 82 before adding Moses and winning it infamously in 83 with only a single loss in the playoffs, sweeping the Lakers. This was a team with Dr J, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks, Daryl Dawkins and defensive beast Bobby Jones. You add Moses and it's not hard to see why there are comparisons with the Warriors.
Lakers 80s:
Even before Magic joined they were a 47 win team and lost to eventual winners Supersonics in the conference semi-finals. They had a formidable cast in Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Norm Nixon, Michael Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes and not too long after Magic joined they had these guys called Bob McAdoo, James Worthy and Byron Scott to sprinkle on top. But after Magic, the rest was history and they have a case for being the best Super Team particularly when you look at multiple years and the era they were in.
Lakers 00s:
I would also consider the Shaq/Kobe Lakers as a Super Team, since if either left, they could have still challenged (and did). It is a bit more complicated because Shaq left for another franchise whereas Kobe got some great help that wouldn't have been there if Shaq had stayed. When they were together there is no question, that in comparison to the league in particular, this was a Super Team that was only stopped from winning more rings by their star players' egos and the Spurs. Those Lakers also tended to have a really good cast to support their 2 MVP candidate starters: Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Metta World Peace, Malone, Payton and Nash to mention names.
Bulls:
I think 2nd 3-peat Bulls are unquestionably a Super Team if we go by this definition, as a worse version did in fact win only 2 games less and were a poor call away from another potential finals. That team that lost to the Knicks then added Jordan back and Rodman in particularly who is the GOAT rebounder and top 5 defensive player of all time. I think the 1st 3-peat Bulls has more scope for question: Jordan was a much better player - younger of course - and his absence would have made more of an impact particularly offensively. I think in a normal era it may not have been a Super Team but the rare situation at the time, with so many expansion teams, made them in high likelihood a Super Team. Other stars didn't have a #2 as good as Pippen, and the rest of the team lead by Grant was more than the opposition had as well, which is why they won 55 games even without Jordan.
GSW
I think in all likelihood, this is the Daddy of the Super Stacked teams. The amount of talent and the fact that they are in their primes/peaks coincidentally makes them the GOAT team IMO. They have 2 legitimate MVP players, a DPOY and top 10 impact player, an all-star and best two-way SG in the league who is also one of the GOAT 3-point shooters, a bench consisting with arguably the GOAT 6th man who won a Finals MVP the year prior. They were a 73-win team and added a legitimate top 3 player and recent MVP. Without the Cavs winning 1, they would have swept the entire playoffs. They have won 2/3 of the last finals and are bound to get more.
------
This was just a bit of a casual look and overview of the teams. Please discuss the teams not mentioned or who you think warrant consideration with regard to the definition. If you don't agree with the definition, make a better one that applies more accurately and fairly to everyone in the game.
Notes:
[*]While I consider the Celtics an incredibly talented team in the 80s, I am not sure I'd call them a Super Team considering their vastly different fortunes with and without Bird such was his team effect. They were another elite scorer away from being able to handle Bird's loss, which would have made them a Super Team. The 80s were also a far tougher era of competition, particularly in the East, so that's what hurts them in this comparison - if they had their core 80s team, even without Bird, in the 90s, they may have proved to be a Super Team.
[*]The same in the above goes for LeBron. They had high top end talent but not enough if LeBron wasn't present. In Miami they had a really shallow bench and in Cavs neither Kyrie nor Love lead the team even decently well without LeBron. The bench is similarly not strong.
Re: What is a Super Team?
- RCM88x
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Re: What is a Super Team?
In most people's mind its only a team that is built through FA, usually it means acquiring 2-3 top 20 players before the age of 30.
Most people do not consider 2008 Boston a super team, because they were all past their prime/over 30. Most people consider Cleveland a super team because Lebron was acquire in FA and Kyrie/Love/Lebron were all under 30 in 2014.
Supertem doesn't have anything to do with the quality of team or results, simply the act of building a roster in FA with top level talent.
Most people do not consider 2008 Boston a super team, because they were all past their prime/over 30. Most people consider Cleveland a super team because Lebron was acquire in FA and Kyrie/Love/Lebron were all under 30 in 2014.
Supertem doesn't have anything to do with the quality of team or results, simply the act of building a roster in FA with top level talent.
LookToShoot wrote:Melo is the only player that makes the Rockets watchable for the basketball purists. Otherwise it would just be three point shots and pick n roll.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
08 Celtics were a superteam because guys were getting to the point past their prime but not there yet, so all were still at peak or only slightly worse than peak performance.
I hesitate to call the Lakers 00 squad a superteam. Being an all time great team does not mean you have to be a superteam. The Lakers were just good roleplayers next to two studs. I wouldn't call that a superteam. Great great team, not a superteam.
Miami was a superteam. GS is obviously a superteam.
I hesitate to call the Lakers 00 squad a superteam. Being an all time great team does not mean you have to be a superteam. The Lakers were just good roleplayers next to two studs. I wouldn't call that a superteam. Great great team, not a superteam.
Miami was a superteam. GS is obviously a superteam.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
I was just going to say it's an excuse to comfort fans as to why a lesser performing team was defeated by a superior one.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
16-17 Knicks
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
A team built by stars joining each other via free agency rather than the organization drafting them. It's a useless term. Do we need a derogatory term for players who were lucky enough to have their organization adds stars to their team via the draft?
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
RCM88x wrote:In most people's mind its only a team that is built through FA, usually it means acquiring 2-3 top 20 players before the age of 30.
Most people do not consider 2008 Boston a super team, because they were all past their prime/over 30. Most people consider Cleveland a super team because Lebron was acquire in FA and Kyrie/Love/Lebron were all under 30 in 2014.
Supertem doesn't have anything to do with the quality of team or results, simply the act of building a roster in FA with top level talent.
I disagree, it is entirely to do with the quality of the talent. How the talent came together is irrelevant. IMO GSW were already a super team before KD joined them.
OKC would have been a super team had they kept all their guys.
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Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
Heat3 wrote:RCM88x wrote:In most people's mind its only a team that is built through FA, usually it means acquiring 2-3 top 20 players before the age of 30.
Most people do not consider 2008 Boston a super team, because they were all past their prime/over 30. Most people consider Cleveland a super team because Lebron was acquire in FA and Kyrie/Love/Lebron were all under 30 in 2014.
Supertem doesn't have anything to do with the quality of team or results, simply the act of building a roster in FA with top level talent.
I disagree, it is entirely to do with the quality of the talent. How the talent came together is irrelevant. IMO GSW were already a super team before KD joined them.
OKC would have been a super team had they kept all their guys.
In your and my opinion yes GS was before Durant. But in the media and average fan's mind that is not the case, which is really what matters here.
LookToShoot wrote:Melo is the only player that makes the Rockets watchable for the basketball purists. Otherwise it would just be three point shots and pick n roll.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
There’s never been a time in history when we look back and say that the people who were censoring free speech were the good guys.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
A team with at least 3 all stars that is at least .500 in finals appearances.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
Someone said it in another thread, and it made great sense...
Super Teams have a relation to music Super Groups. As in, you had a strong name and reputation before you came together and created a Super Group.
Think of the R&B group LSG in the late 90s/early 2000s. Levert, Sweat, & Gill. All of these guys had successful singing careers in the 80s and 90s, some even come from other groups. It wasn't until they came together that they were referred to as a Super Group.
Super Teams are usually viewed like that. Remember when The Heatles came together and those NWO memes started popping up? See? It's about forming a union of power.
Super Teams have a relation to music Super Groups. As in, you had a strong name and reputation before you came together and created a Super Group.
Think of the R&B group LSG in the late 90s/early 2000s. Levert, Sweat, & Gill. All of these guys had successful singing careers in the 80s and 90s, some even come from other groups. It wasn't until they came together that they were referred to as a Super Group.
Super Teams are usually viewed like that. Remember when The Heatles came together and those NWO memes started popping up? See? It's about forming a union of power.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
There’s never been a time in history when we look back and say that the people who were censoring free speech were the good guys.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
I hesitate to call any team with washed up Mike Bibby as your starting PG and Udonis Haslem as your starting Center a "super team."
Big 3? Absolutely. Super team? Nope.
Russell's Celts? Super team. Showtime Lakers? Superteam. 72 win Bulls? Superteam (not by # of stars, but by function of the team). 2017 Warriors? Superteam. 08 Celts and Heatles? Big 3's. Shaq/Kobe Lakers? Big 2.
Big 3? Absolutely. Super team? Nope.
Russell's Celts? Super team. Showtime Lakers? Superteam. 72 win Bulls? Superteam (not by # of stars, but by function of the team). 2017 Warriors? Superteam. 08 Celts and Heatles? Big 3's. Shaq/Kobe Lakers? Big 2.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
A supped up version of a Big Three team. 2008 Boston was absolutely a Super Team but people don't want to admit this bc that would mean they couldn't blame LeBron for Super Teams anymore.
Showtime Lakers were also a Super Team...they've been around for awhile.
Showtime Lakers were also a Super Team...they've been around for awhile.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
I dont care what the parameters are, ^^^that's a super team.
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Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
LeBird wrote:While I consider the Celtics an incredibly talented team in the 80s, I am not sure I'd call them a Super Team considering their vastly different fortunes with and without Bird such was his team effect.
seems like you're short changing Dennis Johnson, who dominated the '77-'78 playoffs for the Sonics, before he was integral to the Celts, along with a mention of Bill Walton's Celts appearance, who in '76 may have been the most dominant player in the history of the league, for the Blazers. plus McHale won as many titles as Bird, and was truly a monster.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
rzzzzz wrote:LeBird wrote:While I consider the Celtics an incredibly talented team in the 80s, I am not sure I'd call them a Super Team considering their vastly different fortunes with and without Bird such was his team effect.
seems like you're short changing Dennis Johnson, who dominated the '77-'78 playoffs for the Sonics, before he was integral to the Celts, along with a mention of Bill Walton's Celts appearance, who in '76 may have been the most dominant player in the history of the league, for the Blazers. plus McHale won as many titles as Bird, and was truly a monster.
The Celtic front line with Parrish, Bird, and McHale is one of the biggest and best front line in history. Then you add Walton off the bench. ML Carr, Henderson, DJ, Ainge, all savvy veterans. Amazing team.
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Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
I guess if Lebron had super teams, then that makes Golden State an ULTRA team.
Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
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Re: What is a Super Team?
the real "superteam" excluding piccolo (sorryfam)