RADIO
When multiple superstars join one team, the expectation is that they will win the championship right away—or, at the very least, make the championship round.
Having multiple superstars in one team can be a blessing. However, it's a problem, and in most cases, it's not a good problem to have, regardless of who your coach is. For one, you have multiple egos to manage. For another, if you fail to meet expectations, people will hate you.
Below are the top five worst NBA super teams we've seen in recent years:
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2023-2024 Phoenix Suns
Let's start with the most recent super team to get swept right in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs: the Phoenix Suns, who had Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal.
In case you don't know, the Suns are paying the trio of Booker, Durant, and Beal 150 million dollars next season. According to ESPN, that amount is more than the total payroll of 14 NBA teams for the 2024-2025 season.
With this talented trio, plus players like Eric Gordon, Jusuf Nurkic, and Grayson Allen, the Suns should have been a top-four team in the ever-stacked Western Conference. Instead, they finished their first regular season together with a 49-33 slate and needed a win from the Los Angeles Lakers to avoid playing in the play-in tournament.
Things just went from bad to worse in the 2024 playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves of Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert. Mind you, the Suns swept the Wolves 3-0 in the regular season by an average winning margin of 15.7 points.
The T-Wolves returned the favor by beating the Suns by an average of 15 points- including a 25-point beatdown to open the series. The Suns couldn't contain Edwards and his 31-point-per-game average in the first round. Even Booker's 49 points in the season-ending loss couldn't save Phoenix from being swept.
Is this what 150 million dollars for three superstars can get you?
Suns are the first healthy superteam in NBA history to be swept. pic.twitter.com/8XhR7UL1JZ
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 29, 2024
2021-2022 Brooklyn Nets
Durant is also a part of another one of the worst super teams in NBA history: the 2021-2022 Brooklyn Nets.
Aside from Durant, the Nets also had Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris, Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, Patty Mills, Paul Millsap, and other notable players back then. And, they were coached by two-time NBA MVP, Steve Nash. On paper, the Nets should have won a championship with this core, right?
James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in February of that year- leaving Durant and Irving alone the rest of the way. That trade started the end for the Nets.
The Nets only finished in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 44-38 record. To make matters worse, the Nets were swept in the first round by the Boston Celtics. Durant averaged 26.3 points, with Irving following suit with 21.3 points in that series, but they weren't enough.
#OTD in 2022, The Boston Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets at the buzzer in game 1 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs #nba #nbaplayoffs pic.twitter.com/00WgWJfYdR
— hoopsjunky (@hoopsjunky54491) April 17, 2024
2013-2014 Brooklyn Nets
Another iteration of the Brooklyn Nets made this list for various reasons. For one, the 2013-2014 Brooklyn Nets' roster included star players in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, seasoned veterans like Brook Lopez, Andray Blatche, and Joe Johnson, and a Hall of Fame coach in Jason Kidd. Heck, they even had Deron Williams and Jason Terry.
For another, the team just disappointed everyone- winning just 44 games. In the 2014 playoffs, the Nets won the first round against the Toronto Raptors in a series that went the distance. That was the lone playoff series this specific Nets team won as they received the boot in the second round from the Miami Heat.
Throughout the season, the Nets only averaged 98.5 points per game and allowed opponents to score 99.5 points per night. Things just didn't work out their way.
2014 Brooklyn Nets 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m0DJ1Iyxkg
— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) December 22, 2019
2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers
In 2012, the Los Angeles Lakers stunned the NBA by acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to join a roster led by Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Metta World Peace (Ron Artest).
The Lakers started with a 1-4 record, which led to the firing of Mike Brown as head coach and Bernie Bickerstaff as interim coach before hiring Nash's former coach in Phoenix, Mike D'Antoni. The team finished with a 45-37 slate and qualified for the 2014 playoffs, where they faced the San Antonio Spurs.
Unfortunately, the Spurs took care of business via a clean sweep.
What went wrong?
There were reports of a rift between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. Injuries hit Nash and Kobe throughout their stint together and forced them to miss the playoffs. Howard didn't show up in the playoffs either- only averaging 17 points and 10.8 rebounds in four games against San Antonio.
This one was bad minus Kobe’s heroic efforts to get them in the playoffs. In truth the Nash/Dwight Lakers and this years team is similar in that both were hit with injuries from the start. These injuries won’t let us see what this team really is. https://t.co/wrz8R9ef0I pic.twitter.com/6MWEyWUX39
— Laker Central (@LakerCentral365) December 22, 2021
2017-2018 Oklahoma City Thunder
Of all the teams mentioned in this list, the 2017-2018 Oklahoma City Thunder were the most successful team just because they won 48 games which sat them in fourth place in the West.
That OKC squad had Russell Westbrook, who just won the MVP award the season prior, and added Paul George and Carmelo Anthony during the 2017 offseason. They also had Raymond Felton, Corey Brewer, and Steven Adams.
The Thunder averaged 107.9 points per game with this team throughout the campaign. The trio of Westbrook, George, and Melo produced great numbers during the regular season. Westbrook put up 25.4 points, 10.3 assists, and 10.1 rebounds. PG13 averaged 21.9 points, with Melo averaging 16.2 points.
Things went south during the 2018 first-round encounter against the Utah Jazz.
The trio's shooting percentage went down with Melo just shooting 37.8% from the field- averaging 11.8 points against the Jazz in six games.
The Thunder would keep the trio together for one more season, only to be eliminated in the first round again.
Do you remember when OKC got eliminated by Rookie Donovan Mitchell in the first round of 2018 playoffs ? 😝
⚠️ Mitchell’s first playoff series vs OKC
28.5 PPG
7.2 RPG
46% FG
36% 3P pic.twitter.com/s3QanV5qKd— 008 (@BALLET008) April 23, 2020
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