With the recent retirement of Tony Parker and the apparent destruction of the Warriors dynasty, I've decided to put together my top 6 trio's of all time. There have been a lot teams over the years that have had a good top 3, but only a few have had an elite trio.
6. Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch
This badass trio dominated the league for 9 years. From 1995 to 2003, these men were a terror for opposing offense. Their reign didn't start until 1997, which is when they started posting top 5 defenses in both points and yards allowed. They also helped propel their team to 5 playoff appearances over that time, including winning the Super Bowl in 2002.
2002 was dominate. They were first in both yards and points allowed. Not impressed? Their offense was ranked 18th in points scored and 24th in total yards. Needless to say they were carried by the defense. Sapp and Brooks have been in the HOF for a few years and Lynch is a nominee. This trio was absolutely dominant.
5. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh
Its hard to keep arguably the Goat so far down the list, but it pays tribute to how dominate some of the other trios were. Lebron and Bosh joined Dwade and the heat in 2010 and just dominated from there. They all played together for four years and made it to the finals each year, winning 2 of the 4 (lost to Mavericks and Spurs). It gave Lebron the first of his 3 championships and the team had a win percentage of 71% over the four years. They were a hell of a team, and took were close to taking four championships over four years.
4. Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith
When they played, they were Americas team. Aikman, Irvin, and Smith were all stars. From 1991 to 1998, they lead the Cowboys in their respected positions. Over that 8 year span, there was only one year that they didn't make the playoffs. Oh yeah, and they won 3 Super Bowls over 4 years. They also came in 2nd for points scored from 1992 to 1994. Aikman and Smith are in the hall of fame, and Irvin should be.
3. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera
Jeter and Rivera had a crazy run before Rodriguez joined, winning 4 world series over 5 years, but there is no doubt that Arod added to that mix. Over 10 years from 2003 to 2012, they made the playoffs nine years, came in first place in their division 7 times, posted 3 100+ win seasons, and won one world series. Rivera was the first ever unanimous first ballot HOF, Jeter is eligible in 2020, and Arod is eligible 2021. The Yankees were a scary team to face over their reign.
2. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman
Honestly I could've done this as a duo, but since Rodman is a big name, figured I'd loop him in and lock this trio into the #2 slot. Jordan is the Goat, showing his sheer dominance over teams from 1991-1993 and 1996-1998. He had his sidekick Scottie Pippen there for all those championships, and had Rodmans help for the final 3. It's hard to believe that if Jordan wouldn't have left for that minor league stint for those two years, they likely would've won 8 straight NBA championships.
They had a .788% win percentage, had the best season record until the Warriors recent 73-9 season, won 388 games, and WON 6 finals. There is no argument that they were a true dynasty and was one of the best teams to play the game all time.
1. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili
Now don't think this is biased because Parker retired and I have him in the #1 trio of all time. This Spurs team was a dynasty. They were Rome in the days of Sparta. They were *insert any term that depicts the best ever*. Tim Duncan is HOF. Manu Ginobili is HOF. Tony Parker is HOF. This team's core will forever reside in Springfield.
Parker was the last to join the team when he was drafted in 2001. In the years they all played together, they NEVER missed the playoffs. Thats 15 straight years of making the playoffs, thats long enough to get their learners permit. In those 15 years, they were first in their division 10 times, and came in second the other 5. They also won 4 NBA championships over that span. It's not as many as Jordan's six, but their dominance reigned far longer, and it's impossible to deny that nobody wanted to face them over that span.
Honorable Mention:
Big Ben, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell
Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne,
Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, Torrey Holt
Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson
Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed
Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski
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