Looking at the 5 major Big 3s in NBA history that could've been great, but didn't play together long enough

The Brooklyn Nets put together one of the best trios ever seen in the NBA last year, especially on the offensive potential of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. However, their first NBA season together was not ideal after an injury-plagued campaign and other circumstances that did not allow the trio lots of playing time.

After a second-round exit last year, the Brooklyn Nets organization definitely did not achieve what it wanted when James Harden was brought in from the Houston Rockets on January 13th, 2021.

In last year's regular season, the Brooklyn Nets' 'Big Three' did not play 15 games together, with injuries and Irving's absence from some games due to personal reasons.

Five 'Big Threes' that could not show their potential and compete for an NBA title

The NBA Playoffs were marred a bit by injuries to Harden, initially, and Irving during the Eastern Semis against the Milwaukee Bucks later.

For the 2021-22 NBA season, Irving's seemingly anti-vax stance might force the seven-time All-Star to miss every home game during the upcoming campaign. It could mean that the Brooklyn Nets' trio might not fully show what they are capable of doing, which would be a shame to some NBA fans as the Nets are at the top among the odds-on favorites to reach the NBA Finals.

In this article, we will look at five trios in NBA history that had similar history. We will give you five Big Threes that did not play long enough to unleash their potential and impose their quality over rivals.

Whether it was due to personal reasons, personal feuds or injuries, these five Big Threes did not show their true potential.

Without further ado, let us take a look.

#5 Allen Iverson, Chris Webber and Andre Iguodala - Philadelphia 76ers

Chris Webber #4 talks with Allen Iverson.

The 2005-06 Philadelphia 76ers had Allen Iverson and Chris Webber, two players who had been multiple All-Stars, had won MVP (in Iverson's case) and had led teams to deep postseason runs.

Iverson was 30 years of age, while Webber was a 32-year-old forward with good offensive production on his hands still. Moreover, sophomore and future All-Star, Finals MVP winner and All-Defensive player, Andre Iguodala, was part of the team and finished the season as the third-best scorer on the squad.

Iverson averaged 33 points and seven assists per game that year, while C-Webb added 20 points and nine rebounds per game. The team did well offensively, finishing in the middle of the pack. However, the defensive end was a clear issue, and they managed just a 38-44 record.

Webber was waived by Philadelphia shortly after the start of the following season, while Iverson had already been traded to the Denver Nuggets on December 2006.

#4 Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Jrue Holiday - New Orleans Pelicans

Anthony Davis was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets with the first pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, but the first team that looked solid around him came in the 2017-18 season.

DeMarcus Cousins arrived via trade from the Sacramento Kings after the 2017 All-Star Game. Jrue Holiday was already part of the team, and Rajon Rondo signed with the squad in Free Agency.

With a Big Three of Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Jrue Holiday (with Rondo leading it from the PG position) the team looked good enough to enter the NBA Playoffs and make some noise.

However, it all started to crumble when Cousins suffered an unfortunate ruptured Achilles tendon just 48 games into the season. High minutes per game were likely the cause behind the injury, but it was definitely unfortunate for the former All-NBA big man.

Cousins would never play for the Pelicans again, but the team did finish the regular season with a 48-34 record and made it to the second round, taking a game off of the 2018 Golden State Warriors.

Today, neither Davis nor Holiday are members of the Pelicans, but both have been among the best players in championship-winning rosters over the last two NBA seasons.

#3 Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony - OKC Thunder

Photo Credit: Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press.

A trio of reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were exciting prospects for OKC Thunder fans when the organization landed George and Anthony from Indiana and New York, respectively, in 2017.

Although Anthony was already entering a different phase of his career, in which he was not the superstar he used to be, he was still coming off an All-Star appearance in 2017.

Westbrook, George and Anthony led the team to a 48-34 record in the regular season and put it in the Top 10 in both Offensive and Defensive Ratings. However, the team's quest for playoff success fell apart in the first round of the postseason, at the hands of the Utah Jazz and a rookie Donovan Mitchell.

Anthony was traded in the 2018 offseason, while Westbrook and George were together for another season, but a similar fate awaited them in the postseason. Both were traded by OKC in the summer of 2019, officially ending an era at OKC.

#2 Chris Mullin, Latrell Sprewell and Chris Webber - Golden State Warriors

Chris Webber was drafted by the Orlango Magic with the first pick of the 1993 NBA Draft and was traded to the Golden State Warriors, mainly for Penny Hardaway. The trade paired Webber with sophomore Latrell Sprewell and veteran Chris Mullin.

Together, coached by Don Nelson, the trio gave the Golden State Warriors 50 wins in the 1993-94 season and a postseason appearance. Webber averaged 17.5 points and nine rebounds per game to win the Rookie of the Year award, while Sprewell was an All-NBA first-teamer with averages of 21 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

Mullin, on his side, appeared on 62 regular-season games and gave Golden State 16.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Their postseason ended quickly, at the hand of Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns, and their stint together also ended quickly, with Webber forcing a trade due to issues with coach Nelson.

A short-lived Big Three with two Hall-of-Famers and a four-time All-Star who was definitely solid throughout his NBA career should've certainly had more action together on the court.

#1 Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons - Philadelphia 76ers

Ben Simmons #25, Joel Embiid #21, and Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019.

The Philadelphia 76ers are immersed in a big situation regarding Ben Simmons' status and his desire of not returning to the team, according to reports. The situation has turned into a big mess, and the 76ers could be looking at the end of the Simmons-Joel Embiid era.

Although the team is coming off a season in which it grabbed the first seed in the Eastern Conference, the best chance it had to really compete for an NBA title came in the 2018-19 NBA season, after acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The move gave the young Embiid-Simmons core an experienced leader in Butler, and the team put up a solid 51-31 record and was the third seed in the East. The team was stacked, with Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick contributing tremendously too.

Embiid and Simmons were All-Stars, and the Cameroonian center also earned All-NBA and All-Defensive recognition. However, the postseason dream ended at the hands of Kawhi Leonard's Toronto Raptors and the famous buzzer-beater in Game 7 of the second round that ended the Big Three's run.

Butler left Philly after a sign-and-trade and went to the Miami Heat in the 2019 NBA Free Agency before leading the team to the 2020 NBA Finals, while the Sixers are yet to reach the Conference Finals with Embiid and Simmons leading it, and aren't likely to keep that core.