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#4 San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker or Kawhi Leonard, 2014
This trio did not need to be manufactured by trade or free agency. It was organically created by a San Antonio Spurs management team long known for its mastery of late first-round and second-round draft pick selections to build a competitive team.
Since 1999, the Spurs have earned five Larry O’Brien Trophies and power forward Tim Duncan, shooting guard Manu Ginobili, and point guard Tony Parker was together for four of those titles.
All three players were drafted by the Spurs with Duncan going first overall in 1997, Ginobili was a second-round pick 57th overall in 1999 and Tony Parker was drafted 28th overall in 2001.
All three are now retired, with Tony Parker hanging up his boots this past June. The legacy this trio has left in the NBA is undeniably great. In addition to them leading the Spurs to four titles since 2003, this trio has also played instrumental roles in the Spurs 2013 Finals appearance in a losing effort to the Miami Heat. In a repeat of the 2013 NBA Finals, the Spurs beat the Heat in 2014
Since 2010 until Duncan’s retirement in 2016, the Spurs were playoff bound every year with three consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance (2012-2014) and two straight NBA Finals (2013 and 2014).
Together, since the start of the 2010-11 season, they also were the core nucleus of a Spurs team that won 50 or more games a season for six straight years with 60 wins or more in three of them (they had 67 in 2015/16).
One note is that Ginobili, Parker, and Duncan have been a trio together since 2002 but their 2014 NBA Title was thanks mainly to the MVP caliber of play both offensively and defensively from Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard joined the Spurs in 2011 as the 15th overall pick in the draft by Indiana who immediately arranged a trade with San Antonio. Leonard has now earned the Finals MVP twice as he helped Toronto Raptors win their first NBA title last season.
#3 Miami Heat: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
The 2010s started in a positive but dramatic way for the Miami Heat. Team management was able to pair two of the top five members of the 2003 draft class with their draftee, Dwyane Wade. Chris Bosh and LeBron James teamed up with Wade, who had already led the Heat to an NBA title in 2006, via free agency leaving Toronto and Cleveland respectively.
The result was that for the next four years any other NBA franchise with title aspirations had to go through Miami. The Heat won back to back titles in 2012 and 2013. To illustrate just how good the team was seen in 2014 when James left via free agency to return to Cleveland. The Heat have made the playoffs just twice since then.
During the 2011-2014 Finals appearances, LeBron James was named the Finals MVP twice. Combined, the three players appeared in the four All-Star Games from 2011-2014 representing the Miami Heat. Chris Bosh’s No.1 jersey has already been retired by the team and Dwyane Wade retired at the end of last season.
