The best Big Three
by rick olivares
While writing about the possible reunion of Run-TMC
in the Naismith Hall of Fame, nba.com Philippines editor Dino Maragay posed me
the question of how Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond, and Tim Hardaway would fare
against the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh. I said the
Heat would come away winners.
So that begat a discussion on what team’s Big Three
is the best.
We kept the discussion to the modern era NBA and
eliminated trio’s like Run-TMC or Denver’s trio of Alex English, Kiki
Vandeweghe, and Dan Issel as both teams didn’t win championships. In my book,
to be able to join any “best-of” discussion, you have to have championship
rings adorned around your fingers.
Having said that, we picked out a few:
Larry Bird,
Kevin McHale & Robert Parish (Boston Celtics)
12 years together
3 NBA championships in five Finals appearances
Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson & James Worthy
(Los Angeles Lakers)
Seven years together
3 NBA championships in six Finals appearances
Michael
Jordan, Scottie Pippen & Dennis Rodman (Chicago Bulls)
3 years together
3 championships in three Finals appearances
Tim Duncan,
Tony Parker & Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs)
11 years (now on their 12th year together)
3 championships in four Finals appearances
Dwyane
Wade, LeBron James & Chris Bosh (Miami Heat)
Three years together (now on their fourth year)
2 championships in three Finals appearances
In this list, the Lakers trio only sort of became
their team’s de facto “Big Three during the 1984-85 season when Worthy stepped
up in place of Jamaal Wilkes.
Ditto for the Spurs but Manu Ginobili stepped up in
his sophomore year (they had Stephen Jackson during the Argentinean’s rookie
year).
Let’s break down first their individual and then
collective stats while playing together as a Big Three.
Boston
Celtics
Player
|
Points PG
|
Rebounds
PG
|
Assists
PG
|
Steals PG
|
Blocks PG
|
Bird
|
23.9
|
9.6
|
6.4
|
1.6
|
0.8
|
McHale
|
18.4
|
7.5
|
1.8
|
0.4
|
1.6
|
Parish
|
17.1
|
10.2
|
1.6
|
0.8
|
1.5
|
Totals
|
59.4
|
27.3
|
9.8
|
2.8
|
3.9
|
Los Angeles
Lakers
Player
|
Points PG
|
Rebounds
PG
|
Assists
PG
|
Steals PG
|
Blocks PG
|
Abdul-Jabbar
|
18.7
|
6.5
|
2.4
|
0.8
|
1.6
|
Johnson
|
19.6
|
6.9
|
12.2
|
1.8
|
0.4
|
Worthy
|
17.8
|
5.6
|
2.8
|
1.1
|
0.8
|
Totals
|
56.1
|
19.0
|
17.4
|
3.7
|
2.8
|
Chicago
Bulls
Player
|
Points PG
|
Rebounds
PG
|
Assists
PG
|
Steals PG
|
Blocks PG
|
Jordan
|
29.1
|
6.0
|
3.9
|
1.8
|
0.5
|
Pippen
|
19.2
|
5.9
|
5.7
|
1.7
|
0.7
|
Rodman
|
5.3
|
15.4
|
2.8
|
0.6
|
0.3
|
Totals
|
53.6
|
27.3
|
12.4
|
4.1
|
1.5
|
San Antonio
Spurs
Player
|
Points PG
|
Rebounds
PG
|
Assists
PG
|
Steals PG
|
Blocks PG
|
Duncan
|
18.8
|
10.7
|
3.0
|
0.7
|
2.1
|
Parker
|
16.2
|
3.0
|
6.2
|
0.9
|
0.0
|
Ginobili
|
14.6
|
3.8
|
3.9
|
1.4
|
0.3
|
Totals
|
49.6
|
17.5
|
13.1
|
3.0
|
2.4
|
Miami Heat
Player
|
Points PG
|
Rebounds
PG
|
Assists
PG
|
Steals PG
|
Blocks PG
|
Wade
|
22.9
|
5.4
|
4.7
|
1.7
|
1.0
|
James
|
26.8
|
7.8
|
6.8
|
1.7
|
0.7
|
Bosh
|
17.7
|
7.6
|
1.8
|
0.8
|
0.9
|
Totals
|
67.4
|
20.8
|
13.3
|
4.2
|
2.0
|
In terms of
durability, Boston’s trio is the most productive. The Spurs’ troika have tied the Celtics for that
honor this season. If they go on to play for the 2014-15 season, they’d break
that “record”.
In terms of
scoring, Miami’s triple threat has the highest average with 67.4 points per
game and that is not counting the numbers for this season.
The best
rebounding trio belongs to Boston and Chicago who are both tied with 27.3
boards in all their seasons together. But
looking at that further, that was the entire frontcourt of the Celts whereas
the Bulls had their power forward, small forward and shooting guard. Dennis
Rodman’s huge rebounding numbers certainly make up for the deficit.
The best
passing team are the Lakers with 17.4 assists per outing but that is mainly due
to Magic Johnson’s remarkable assist totals.
Of the five teams, only Boston’s and LA’s went up
against each other and that was during their prime. We know that Lakers were
more successful.
The Heat and the Spurs battled in last season’s NBA
Finals and Miami won by a hair’s breath.
Every Big Three has its own pluses and minuses but
how do we settle which one was the best?
I will not look at the offensive and defensive
ratings of each trio’s teams because we are mainly looking at the Big Three and
not the team per se. So that invalidates those rankings.
However, on an individual basis, we can track that.
At the time
of the Boston-LA battles, Bird and McHale were arguably the best at their
positions while Johnson was the court general non-pareil. Abdul-Jabbar, though still a scoring force, was not
the player he once was.
At the time
of Chicago’s reign, all three players – Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman were
arguably the best at their respective positions. Perhaps save for Rodman’s
scoring (but that was mostly due to a lack of interest in putting points on the
board as he decided to concentrate on defense and rebounding), the Bulls’ Big
Three played both ends of the court. And
very well if I may add. They turned defense into an art form. Unlike the rugged
game of the champion Detroit teams of the late 1980s.
However, they only played three short years together.
They could have played one more year together but the Jerrys of Chicago broke
up their three-peat champions before their time was done.
At the time
when the San Antonio Spurs were winning titles, Tim Duncan was the best at his
position. Tony Parker was an elite point guard but Steve Nash was named
back-to-back league MVP. Manu Ginobili never got the props he deserved in my
opinion. Had he been playing in New
York, Los Angeles or even Chicago, he would have made the All-Star team with
regularity.
Should a “Big Three” be starters or “finishers”?
Because save for Manu Ginobili who has been an on and off starter, everyone
else was a legit starter for their squad. Does that diminish his stature or
even his contributions? Not at all because during crunch time, he was on the
floor.
I conducted an informal poll on my Facebook and the 114
respondents were composed of current PBA & UAAP basketball coaches, players, local media, and of
course, fans.
Here’s how it went:
Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman – 50 votes
Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, and Worthy – 28 votes
Bird, Parish, and McHale – 24 votes
Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili – 3 votes
Wade, James, and Bosh – 1 vote
Others – 8 votes
And so Chicago’s
Big Three of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman get the nod as
the best.