Define "Superteam"

[Capn'O]

It's like the supergroups. You need 3 or more big name players to come together on a team. But when you think about it, was any of the Traveling Wilburys music as good as any of its members solo/band work? And who the hell is Jeff Lynne?

I could take or leave whether you count teams like the Duncan Spurs and pre-Durant Warriors that were built through the draft.

[The Hypnotoad]

I consider Superteam to be at least 4 all star level of still close to prime level vets on a team with at least 2 quality role players.

By this definition these are the latest teams to qualify:
2008 Celtics : kg, pierce, ray allen, rondo with quality role players house, posey, Davis, Perkins, brown (for the time)

2009 lakers : Kobe, pau, Odom, Bynum, artest with role players Derek fisher, Walton

2017 warriors : KD, curry, green, klay, iggy, with role players west, looney, Livingston

2013 heat : lebron, wade, bosh with role players Allen, miller (personally I thought they were always one guy short of super team)

I would even say 2014 spurs with Duncan, tony Parker, manu, kawhi and role players green, diaw but that’s maybe pushing it.

[TheGOATRises007]

2 superstars with 1 or 2 all-star level players. Superstars are top 5-10 players.

The Suns team currently is nowhere near a super team.

The modern NBA super teams were, The Heatles, KD/Steph Warriors, and KD/Harden/Kyrie Nets.

[WarriorGM]

There is a classic definition of superteam that takes after the definition of supergroup in music: 3 established acts coming together. That's why Crosby, Stills, and Nash is a supergroup while the Beatles is not.

[art_tatum]

In music supergroups are individuals from different famous bands that join together to form a super band.
That's what the term superteams in the NBA are based off of.

So a group of guys that are drafted into the same team and all become all stars are not a superteam, even if theyre dominant.

But when top players from different teams join together either via free agency or trade it becomes a superteam.

I.e. heatles, Celtics ray kg pierce, KD warriors.

Though imo the warriors were not a superteam before KD.

[Lunartic]

I notice that fans of obvious superteams are the ones to deride the definition of it and insist everyone is just biased. Or they create some insanely strange standard involving how the players teamed up, who texted who first, what the salaries were etc.

It's literally just 3 star-tier players teaming up via FA or trade.

Everything else is just Lebron/Curry fan cope noise.

[The High Cyde]

You gotta win at least one ring to be considered a super team, else what’s the point?

80s Celtics and Lakers were most definitely super teams. No need to elaborate here.

Jordan was so far ahead of the second or third best players in the 90s that even decently competent role players would make the Bulls a super team. You win 6/6 and yeah that’s a super team lmao don’t pretend otherwise.

The Shaq Kobe Lakers were most definitely a super team, more so than the Duncan led Spurs, they burned brighter and more intense but also burned out faster.

The 2011 Heat were poorly constructed, they were just too top heavy to be considered here, in relation to the above teams. 2012 and 2013 Heat maybe, but even then, barely.

2016, 2017, 2018 Warriors were for sure super teams. Especially those last two years, where we all freaking knew who would be winning the chip. Even 2019, Kawhi was a shell of himself after the Sixers series, he was breaking down already, Warriors could’ve taken that series.

I think a couple more decent role players, one or two more titles, and the Nuggets will be up there. They are constructed so well, top to bottom.

[Iwasawitness]

I consider Superteam to be at least 4 all star level of still close to prime level vets on a team with at least 2 quality role players.

By this definition these are the latest teams to qualify:
2008 Celtics : kg, pierce, ray allen, rondo with quality role players house, posey, Davis, Perkins, brown (for the time)

2009 lakers : Kobe, pau, Odom, Bynum, artest with role players Derek fisher, Walton

2017 warriors : KD, curry, green, klay, iggy, with role players west, looney, Livingston

2013 heat : lebron, wade, bosh with role players Allen, miller (personally I thought they were always one guy short of super team)

I would even say 2014 spurs with Duncan, tony Parker, manu, kawhi and role players green, diaw but that’s maybe pushing it.

Who is the fourth player on the 2013 Heat that fits the description of an all star level player?

[Doctor MJ]

Lots of talk of wht they do and don't win, but what exactly constitutes a "Superteam"?

A sports version of a "supergroup" from music:

Established stars coming together to play on a team.

The clearest situations are ones where multiple established stars join the team at the same time, however this can also be the case when a team already has a star core and adds another star.

So then:

Durant in OKC - not a super team
Durant in GS - super team
Durant in Brooklyn - super team
Durant in Phoenix - super team

Now looking at that one might ask: Does a team become a super team whenever they add a star?

Answer: No, but stars aren't traded to random teams, so in practice, when a star changes teams in the modern NBA, the new team is a super team.

Last thing I'll add just for clarity: Being a "supergroup" was never about being an especially great musical group, and in practice, supergroups are typically worse than at least one of the preceding acts, because those preceding acts are where the lightning struck musically and the supergroup is generally something of a gimmick.

By that same token, "superteam" shouldn't be used as a synonym for "great team". Great teams are teams who play great regardless of whether they were formed. Superteams are about how the team was put together.

[Doctor MJ]

In music supergroups are individuals from different famous bands that join together to form a superteams.
That's what the term superteams in the NBA are based off of.

So a group of guys that are drafted into the same team and all become all stars are not a superteam, even if theyre dominant.

But when top players from different teams join together either via free agency or trade it becomes a superteam.

I.e. heatles, Celtics ray kg pierce, KD warriors.

Though imo of warriors were not a superteam before KD.

I co-sign all of this.

[jkvonny]

I consider Superteam to be at least 4 all star level of still close to prime level vets on a team with at least 2 quality role players.

By this definition these are the latest teams to qualify:
2008 Celtics : kg, pierce, ray allen, rondo with quality role players house, posey, Davis, Perkins, brown (for the time)

2009 lakers : Kobe, pau, Odom, Bynum, artest with role players Derek fisher, Walton

2017 warriors : KD, curry, green, klay, iggy, with role players west, looney, Livingston

2013 heat : lebron, wade, bosh with role players Allen, miller (personally I thought they were always one guy short of super team)

I would even say 2014 spurs with Duncan, tony Parker, manu, kawhi and role players green, diaw but that’s maybe pushing it.

97 Bulls
Pop/Duncan Spurs
Curry/Durant Warriors
KB24/Shaq Lakers

The only Super Teams in the modern era

Super Teams = Super Stars/ Super Bench/Super Coach

Everything else is just a Great Team

Spurs weren't really a superteam.

Organically built.

[Saints14]

A team that was assembled with free agency and is just unfairly good. Probably just the KD warriors what we thought the Heatles would be

[giberish]

A "Superteam" is a description of the roster construction, not of the quality of the team.

A "Superteam" is not necessarily a great team, or even a good team. Many great teams aren't "Superteams".

The key component that makes a "Superteam" is that is has multiple stars that were established stars on different teams before assembling. A classic "Superteam" has stars from at least 3 separate teams merging together. There's a case that contending teams with multiple stars already in place that add an outside MVP tier player (such as the 1983 76ers or 2017 Warriors) should also be considered "Superteams".

[Nuntius]

In music supergroups are individuals from different famous bands that join together to form a superteams.
That's what the term superteams in the NBA are based off of.

So a group of guys that are drafted into the same team and all become all stars are not a superteam, even if theyre dominant.

But when top players from different teams join together either via free agency or trade it becomes a superteam.

I.e. heatles, Celtics ray kg pierce, KD warriors.

Though imo of warriors were not a superteam before KD.

I co-sign all of this.

And I co-sign both art_tatum's and your previous post.

[LaLover11]

I consider Superteam to be at least 4 all star level of still close to prime level vets on a team with at least 2 quality role players.

By this definition these are the latest teams to qualify:
2008 Celtics : kg, pierce, ray allen, rondo with quality role players house, posey, Davis, Perkins, brown (for the time)

2009 lakers : Kobe, pau, Odom, Bynum, artest with role players Derek fisher, Walton

2017 warriors : KD, curry, green, klay, iggy, with role players west, looney, Livingston

2013 heat : lebron, wade, bosh with role players Allen, miller (personally I thought they were always one guy short of super team)

I would even say 2014 spurs with Duncan, tony Parker, manu, kawhi and role players green, diaw but that’s maybe pushing it.

97 Bulls
Pop/Duncan Spurs
Curry/Durant Warriors
KB24/Shaq Lakers

The only Super Teams in the modern era

Super Teams = Super Stars/ Super Bench/Super Coach

Everything else is just a Great Team

Spurs weren't really a superteam.

Organically built.

It doesn't matter if it's Organically or Thru free agency
Spurs we're definitely a Superteam and Dynasty

[Doctor MJ]

It's like the supergroups. You need 3 or more big name players to come together on a team. But when you think about it, was any of the Traveling Wilburys music as good as any of its members solo/band work? And who the hell is Jeff Lynne?

I could take or leave whether you count teams like the Duncan Spurs and pre-Durant Warriors that were built through the draft.

Agree to your point. To your last:

The pre-Durant Warriors were not a superteam, the with-Durant Warriors were a superteam.

The Spurs in general were not superteams...but it gets a bit interesting when Aldridge & DeRozan get involved.

If the definition is simply about adding established all-stars who the team in question believes to be star-level talents, then the Aldridge-DeRozan Spurs would qualify as a "superteam".

Here I'd say that the thing that keeps them from being a superteam is that they weren't big names compared to who came before for the Spurs. Implied in the act of creating a superteam is that you are focused further consolidating talent at the top of your roster, and that's not what the Spurs were doing.

By contrast if we consider the current Bulls - with Lavine, DeRozan & Vucevic - as well as the previous "three alphas" Bulls - Butler, Rondo, old Wade - I'd say they both show clear cut superteam-oriented design, and hence serve as warnings to those who would seek to build teams in the same way.

[Doctor MJ]

KB24/Shaq Lakers

The only Super Teams in the modern era

Super Teams = Super Stars/ Super Bench/Super Coach

Everything else is just a Great Team

Spurs weren't really a superteam.

Organically built.

It doesn't matter if it's Organically or Thru free agency
Spurs we're definitely a Superteam and Dynasty[/quote]

While you are entitled to your opinion, the way you talk to me makes it sound like you never really considered that you might be missing part of the historical context when you first heard the term.

There's a bit of a "snake oil" vs "baby oil" thing going here.

If snake oil is made from snakes, does that mean baby oil is made from babies? Of course not, but there's no way to tell that just from the meaning of the individual words being combined. So confusion is very understandable...but you still want to try to avoid ending up talking as if baby oil is made out of babies.

[bledredwine]

In my life, Lebron teaming up with Wade and Bosh is the first time that I went "holy **** that shouldn't be allowed" and they got much deserved hate for it. That was a superteam. It was such a freak decision at the time to see three MVP candidates teaming up together, including two you could debate as the best in the league.

Since then, this forum expanded on this to the point that teams that are not superteams are considered so.


I'll say a superteam has three players that when individual, could be potential MVP candidates or at the least, are the next tier down.

It's one thing when role players try to find a roster to win a championship, but when one of the league's best players does this, one who can move the needle significantly more? I consider that a sheer lack of competitive drive, glaring weakness and have no respect for it. I like competitive mindsets in sports.

[Hitachi77]

I notice that fans of obvious superteams are the ones to deride the definition of it and insist everyone is just biased. Or they create some insanely strange standard involving how the players teamed up, who texted who first, what the salaries were etc.

It's literally just 3 star-tier players teaming up via FA or trade.

Everything else is just Lebron/Curry fan cope noise.

The Warriors only made one star FA signing - KD. Wouldn’t that make them not a super team by default? People just lump them in because they are the best team of all time, but it still feels very different from how the 2008 Celtics and 2011 Heat were formed, among others.

[Doctor MJ]

In my life, Lebron teaming up with Wade and Bosh is the first time that I thought of superteam. It was such a freak decision at the time to see three MVP candidates teaming up together, including two you could debate as the best in the league.

Then the forums expanded on this to the point that teams that are not superteams are considered so.


I'll say a superteam has three players that when individual, could be potential MVP candidates or the next tier down.

I would definitely say that the LeBron/Wade/Bosh Heat is the thing that kicked "superteams" into overdrive in the vernacular, and it's worth noting their actual choice for their team confused the matter.

They named themselves the Beatles, which while intended to be humorous, was also intended to emphasize the greatness they were hoping to achieve.

Thing is, the Beatles themselves were not a supergroup but rather a bunch of guys who grew up together, brought out the best in each other's talents, and as a result created the highest peak/prime of any pop group in the history of mass media. So, it probably would have been more appropriate for the Heatles to have named themselves after the Traveling Wilburys, or Wings, or Rockestra.