The GOAT argument has heated up in recent years, with a growing
contingent claiming LeBron James over the incumbent greatest of
all-time, Michael Jordan. But no matter if it’s Jordan, James, Bill
Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, championships are
a prerequisite.
Of course, team success is predicated on talent, and in
basketball, one player impacts outcomes more so than in football or
baseball. Still, the idea that the best player ever should
inevitably be a decorated champion is oversimplified.
Ultimately, I posit that great players can achieve only so much
on their own. A great supporting cast is also necessary. And if you
examine the GOAT list, it becomes clear that great supporting casts
are also a prerequisite. And with that being said, let’s identify
the best supporting casts of all time.
5. Boston Celtics, 1980-1988
Key role players: Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Cedric
Maxwell, M.L. Carr, Danny Ainge, Nate “Tiny” Archibald, Dennis
Johnson
Championships: 3 (1980-81, 1983-84, 1985-86)
These teams saw some turnover, but the core remained mostly
intact throughout the '80s – Bird, McHale, Parish and Archibald or
Johnson. The 1983-84 and 1985-86 iterations had five players
average 30 or more minutes per game, and all three championship
teams featured five players averaging double figures in points per
game. They were incredibly role-oriented and players were
intimately familiar with those roles. But ultimately, the main case
for the Celtics is that they boasted three of the 50 greatest
players ever for their entire run in the '80s.
Side note: Despite having a reputation for being banged up, Bird
missed very few games in his prime, making it incredibly difficult
to examine how the Celtics fared in his absence. In fact, between
the 1980-81 and 1985-86 seasons, Bird missed only five
regular-season games. While that’s clearly a ridiculously small
sample size, the Celtics were 5-0 in those games without Bird. It’s
not enough to make the case that the Celtics’ supporting cast
achieved anything significant in his absence, but it’s
something.
4. Miami Heat, 2012-2016
Key role players: Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Udonis
Haslem, Mike Miller
Championships: 2 (2011-12, 2012-13)
The Heat were a surprisingly deep team. All we really remember
is the Big Three and Ray Allen’s clutch three-pointer in Game 6 of
the 2013 NBA Finals. But there was far more depth in Miami than we
care to remember. Udonis Haslem, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Mario
Chalmers, Chris Anderson and Norris Cole all played big roles for
the Heat. While there was a high degree of turnover in Miami in the
2010s, the key contributors were mostly the same. And they utilized
lots of players; the 2011-12 team played 12 guys for 13 or more
minutes per game, and the 2012-13 squad did so with 11
players.
But clearly nothing was more important for Miami than the Big
Three. James was obviously the team’s engine, but Wade and Bosh
were crucial to Miami’s success. Wade averaged more than 21 points
per game in both championship seasons, whereas Bosh averaged
slightly less than 20 points per game while taking on significantly
more defensive responsibilities than in Toronto. Wade and Bosh
combined to make the best one-two punch of any of the supporting
casts on this list, making their inclusion here obvious.
3. Golden State Warriors, 2014-2018
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Key-role players: Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond
Green, Ande Iguodala, Shaun Livingston
Championships: 3 (2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18)
This team is the hardest to write about, mainly because calling
Durant a role player feels like it's backwards. Durant has half as
many MVP awards as Curry and more scoring championships. But the
premise of the article is that the great teams have supporting
casts and that great supporting casts support starts – and Curry is
that star. He was in Golden State for their first championship
without Durant, and he remains there following Durant’s departure.
In total, Golden State won three championships in a relatively
short amount of time, and in the one year which they did not win
the championship, they set a new single-season NBA win record
(73).
But however you view this team, it accomplished a great deal –
and it was not predicated on one star. On the contrary, the
Warriors spread the wealth. The 2017-18 Warriors, for example,
averaged 113.5 points per game, 73 of which came from Curry, Durant
and Thompson. And everyone on this team felt like part of the
supporting cast at times. Further, 14 players averaged 13 or more
minutes per game – which is more than any other team on this
list.
2. Chicago Bulls, 1995-1998
Key role players: Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Ron Harper,
Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley
Championships: 3 (1995-1996, 1996-1997, 1997-1998 — six in
total, but the teams and supporting casts are distinctly different,
separated by Jordan’s retirement)
Eras make a difference. And the 1990s Bulls, featuring Scottie
Pippen and Dennis Rodman, were just flat-out better than every
other team in the NBA in the 1990s. Want proof? The Bulls were one
of only five teams with two starters in the All-Star games in 1996,
1997 and 1998. Oh, and their second All-Star, Pippen, was second
runner-up for MVP in 1993-94, leading the Bulls to the third-best
record in the Eastern Conference in 1993-94 without Jordan.
Ironically, Pippen was probably the most equipped to go
head-to-head with Jordan.
Jordan, Pippen and Rodman brought unmatched defensive
versatility, and Jordan and Pippen were unstoppable, thanks to an
unprecedented combination of size and skill. Add in a 6-foot-6
point guard (Harper), a big, ultra-skilled wing (Kukoc) and a
dead-eye shooter (Kerr), and it was just too much for teams in the
90s to handle. Bottom line: Jordan was obviously unstoppable. But
one player can’t do everything on his own, and the fact that this
team is still arguably the best team ever more than 30 years since
they were dismantled speaks to just how great their supporting cast
really was.
1) Los Angeles Lakers 1979-1988
Key role players: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Byron Scott, James
Worthy, Mychal Cooper, A.C. Green and Mychal Thompson.
Championships: 5 (1979-80, 1981-82, 1984-85, 1986-87,
1987-88)
The Showtime Lakers are about as unique a team as you’ll come
across in basketball history. Their most important player was
unquestionably their point guard, Magic Johnson, evidenced by his
leading the Lakers to a championship as a rookie while filling in
as center in a decisive game. Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time
leading scorer and arguably, at his peak, the best player ever.
James Worthy is also an all-time great, having been named a member
of the NBA at 50’s top 50 players of all time.
But nothing speaks to the team’s versatility more than this –
Byron Scott led the Lakers in scoring in 1987-88 (21.7 points per
game) despite the presence and health of Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar and
Worthy.
Great players are clearly the building blocks on which great
teams are built. But great supporting casts are a necessary part of
all dynasties, too. Without them, teams run out of gas and get
out-maneuvered by complicated defensive schemes. At the end of the
day, you need both – and sometimes more – to win championships in
the NBA.