4 NBA Super Teams That Failed Miserably

To say that the NBA is dominated by super teams is about as controversial as saying that the sun is hot. It's well established at this point that in order to even compete for the NBA Championship, you're going to need at least two all-star caliber players on your roster. Sometimes they are created through the draft, such as the 2000's San Antonio Spurs and (up until 2016) the 2010's Golden State Warriors, and sometimes they are built through trades and free agency, like the Miami Heat's Big 3 or the 2008 Champions in the Boston Celtics. However, not every super team works out, and some crash and burn almost as quickly as they were formed. Whether they struggled to mesh together or a superstar or two just couldn't get along, these are four NBA super teams that failed miserably.

2017-18 Oklahoma City Thunder

Starting off we have the most recent example of an NBA superteam that failed hard in the Oklahoma City Thunder from this past season. Two years prior to this in 2016, the Thunder saw the now-infamous departure of one of their star players in Kevin Durant via free agency, leaving Russell Westbrook as the team's sole star player. Despite a fantastic season from Westbrook where he would average a triple-double and win the MVP, the team would go just 47-35 and would suffer the first-round playoff exit. As good as Westbrook was, it was clear the Thunder would need another star if they wanted a shot at the NBA Championship, so they went out and got two. First, they added Paul George, trading away Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Indiana Pacers for the then four-time all-star. Then they added Carmelo Anthony through another trade with the New York Knicks for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a second-round pick. With three all-stars who all averaged over 22 points per game the season prior, things were looking up for the Thunder. However, the upgrade would end up being less than satisfying.

Despite the additions to go along with a supporting cast of Steven Adams and Andre Roberson, the Thunder would win improve only slightly from the previous season, going 48-34 on the year and securing the 4th seed in the Western Conference. Westbrook & George would both have seasons that were fairly true to form, as both would make the all-star game and Westbrook would average a triple-double for the second season in a row. Anthony, on the other hand, would regress, putting up the lowest scoring numbers, assist numbers and shooting percentage of his career, Additionally, Anthony seemed unwilling to take a backseat to his all-star teammates, or any of his teammates as a matter of fact, as he laughed off the idea of coming off the bench when asked by a reporter. Add that to Roberson, arguably their best defender, suffering a season-ending injury and the Thunder would have an underwhelming season for their super team. The Thunder would fall in six games to the Utah Jazz, and the super team would come to an end in the offseason, as Anthony was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade.

2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers

Just two years removed from back-to-back championship seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers were still one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference. Led by one of the all-time greats in Kobe Bryant along with the likes of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Lakers would go 98-50 over those two seasons but would fail to make it past the second round of the playoffs, losing fairly decisively in both of those series. And with the Eastern Conference now dominated by the Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in Miami (a team the Lakers had gone 1-3 against in the last two years), it was clear the Lakers would need to make moves if they wanted to seriously contend for the NBA Championship again. For starters, the Lakers would send four total draft picks (two first round in 2013 and 2018 and two second round in 2013 and 2014) to the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash, a former two-time MVP and eight-time all-star who was still putting up all-star numbers at 37 years-old. However, a bigger move would be the addition of the best center in the league at the time in Dwight Howard, who they acquired in a massive four-team, 12-player, four-pick trade, sending Bynum away in the process. Now equipped with four all-stars and a core of veterans like Antawn Jamison and Metta World Peace, the Lakers looked like a major threat. However, that would not be the case.
The problems for the new Lakers' super team were almost immediate, as Howard would undergo back surgery before the season started. He would suit up at the start of the season and would lead the league in rebounds, but his stats would take a hit, as he would drop off in terms of points and rebounds per game. Injuries would also impact several other members of the roster over the course of the season, including Bryant, Nash, and World Peace, with Bryant having his season ended after an Achilles tear before the playoffs. On top of that, the 2012-13 Lakers would prove to be one of the most dysfunctional teams in the league that year. That season would see coach Mike Brown implement the Princeton offense, something the team struggled with and averaged 12.4 turnovers per game through their first five games, and they went 1-4. Brown was quickly fired and replaced with Mike D'Antoni, who adopted a fast-paced offense for the team, something that also wouldn't fit with the team. And to top it off, there was some good old-fashioned beef between Bryant and Howard. Howard was reportedly upset that he wasn't getting the ball as much and that Bryant would take too many shots, while Bryant would call Howard "soft" and said that Howard wasn't up to the challenge of contending for a title. The clusterf*ck of a season would end with the Lakers going 45-37, a drop from the lock-out shortened previous season. After suffering a first-round sweep at the hands of San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers super team was done. Howard would join the Houston Rockets in free agency during the offseason, and the Lakers haven't made the playoffs since.

1998-99 Houston Rockets

In the year and a half that Michal Jordan spent away from basketball to flounder in Double-A minor league baseball, the team that capitalized the most in his absence was the Houston Rockets. The Rockets would take home two NBA Championships in 1994 & 1995. However, following the return of Jordan, it looked like that run of dominance was over, as the Rockets would fail to make it back to the finals, even after acquiring future Hall of Famer Charles Barkley through a trade in 1996. But things were looking up for the Rockets again, as Jordan's second retirement during the in 1999 lockout. The door was wide open for another team to take the top spot in the NBA, and the Rockets decided they needed another piece following Clyde Drexler's retirement if they wanted to take that spot. That piece would end up being Jordan's right-hand man Scottie Pippen, who would be traded by a self-imploding Chicago Bulls team for just Roy Rogers (who would never play a game for the Bulls) and a second-round pick (who would play just 16 games for the Bulls.) Pippen, a former seven-time all-star and top-notch defender, would join Barkley and franchise centerpiece Hakeem Olajuwon to form a trio with 30 all-star selections between them. They seemed destined for an NBA Championship, but they would underperform.

In the lockout-shortened season, the Rockets would go 31-19 for the year, an improvement over the previous season in terms of winning percentage, but it wasn't pretty. While the three biggest names on their roster were all former all-stars, they were all over the age of 33 and past their prime. None of them had made the all-star game the previous season, and while Olajuwon & Barkley would rebound and have better seasons than the previous, Pippen would regress significantly, averaging some of the lowest stats in points, assists, and steals since his sophomore season and would shot his worst percentage from the field of his career. Additionally, the team would struggle with chemistry issues, specifically between Pippen and Barkley, who's beef would end up dissolving the super team after the Rockets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, losing a four-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers 1-3. Pippen would demand a trade, citing Barkley's selfishness and lack of desire to win, along with wanting to play under former-Bulls coach Phil Jackson (now with the Lakers) again. Barkley would openly criticize Pippen for this move, which Pippen would respond to by saying he wouldn't apologize to him, even at gunpoint. In the end, however, this super team was a bust, plain and simple.

2013-14 Brooklyn Nets

Was a team of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brook Lopez really a "super team." Some might say no, but honestly, it's hard to argue that when the starting line-up of the team boasts 35 total all-star selections. In the years following the departures of the likes of Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson, the Nets had struggled and failed to make the playoffs for five years between 2008 and 2012. While they did have a bright young prospect in their 2008 first-round pick Brook Lopez, the Nets clearly needed more if they wanted to contend for a championship. Midway through the 2010-11 season, the Nets and general manager Billy King made the move to trade for Deron Williams, sending Derrick Favors and former all-star Devin Harris. A year and a half later, the Nets would also trade five players and two picks for Joe Johnson. The moves would work, and Nets made the playoffs in 2013. However, they still needed more if they wanted to win a title, which is why King would make a huge deal. In exchange for five players and a whopping four future first-round picks, the Nets received Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, two of the key pieces from the Celtics championship run in 2008. Five former all-stars. It looked like a perfect situation. However, this team would not have great success. Unlike the others, however, the ramifications of the creation of this super team would greatly affect the outcome of the Nets' future.

The team's season would be very disappointing. The Nets would go 44-38 on the year, a loss of five wins from the previous year. Out of the five former all-stars in their starting line-up, only Johnson would end up making the all-star game, despite a decrease in terms of points and assists from the previous season. Williams would post his worst stat line since his rookie season while Pierce and Garnett, 36 and 37 at the time, respectively, would also show significant regressions during the season, both posting the worst stat lines of their careers and Garnett, in particular, averaging below 10 points per game for the first time in his career. On top of that, Lopez would end up suffering a season-ending right foot fracture just 17 games into the season. Despite the struggles, the Nets would make the playoffs and would best the Toronto Raptors in seven games, but would fall to the defending champion Miami Heat in five games. That moderate success wouldn't last, however, as the team fell apart. 

Pierce would depart in free agency before the season started, heading to the Washington Wizards. Midway through the next season, Garnett would be traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Thaddeus Young. The next season, both Williams and Johnson would leave the team, with Williams leaving for Dallas in free agency and Johnson being waived. Without any of their first round picks, the Nets were never able to properly rebuild and haven't been back to the playoffs since 2015. The 2013-14 Brooklyn Nets might not have been the strongest super team in history, but their failure is greater than any other in history. Not only did they fail to win a championship or even make the Eastern Conference Finals, but the creation of that super team drastically altered the future of the team.

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