The NBA’s Greatest Duos of All Time

By Steve Tsilimos | Posted 1 year ago
The NBA’s Greatest Duos of All Time

The 2023 NBA trade deadline was a catalyst for some of the biggest names around the league to be sent to new teams. Kyrie Irving’s request to be traded from Brooklyn five days before the deadline put pressure on the Nets' front office and teams that were interested in acquiring the talented point guard. 

 

A few days later, Irving was sent to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round draft pick, and two future second-round picks. The Irving deal was just the beginning for Brooklyn as they quickly sent Kevin Durant to the Suns for three players and six draft picks (four first-rounders).

 

Durant, Irving, and James Harden formed a “Superteam” in Brooklyn that was everything but super. The trio entered the 2021-22 season as the betting favorite to win the championship and was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Celtics that season. Less than a year later, the Nets front office moved on and traded away all three superstars. 

 

The failed experiment in Brooklyn shows that simply putting as many superstars on a team does not guarantee success. Basketball is a complex sport, and team dynamics must be addressed. But as one superteam is dismembered, another is formed, and a new elite duo has emerged in the NBA (although Irving doesn’t want to be called a “duo”).

 

Throughout the history of the NBA, teams have built their roster around at least one superstar and a trusty sidekick. But the best teams in history usually had two superstars that could fit well together. Most of the greatest duos to ever share the court were formed with a guard and a forward/center. 

 

There is only one duo where both players are guards in the top 10. Guards are more dominant than ever because today’s game features more three-point shots and isolation. 20 years ago, the Irving-Dončić pairing would have been a strange combo, but today they are one of the scariest one-two-punches in the league. 

 

Irving and Luka Dončić are now one of the NBA’s most talented duos but have a long way to go before we can consider them among the NBA’s best. The young Dončićhas yet to cement himself among the greats because he has yet to have any playoff success. And Irving has been more of a distraction than a help to his two former teams (Nets and Celtics) since he left the Cavs after winning a title. 

 

But, undoubtedly, if Irving and Dončić figure things out and start to click, the two have the talent to be the best backcourt ever assembled and possibly one of the best duos of all time. So who are the top 10 duos of all time?

 

10. Karl Malone and John Stockton – Utah Jazz

• NBA Championships: 0
• Finals Appearances: 2

 

Two of the greatest NBA players never to win a championship come in at 10, Karl Malone and John Stockton. If you are looking for players whose skill sets were perfect fits for each other, look no further than Utah’s Hall of Famers. 

 

Stockton was a master ball-handler that took the old-school point guard position to new levels. Stockton was always looking to make the right pass and get his teammates the ball in perfect timing. Stockton’s great passing ability mixed with a high basketball IQ and longevity is how Stockton sits with over 15,000 assists, 3,000 more than Jason Kidd, who is second in all-time assists.

 

Karl Malone, aka the Mailman, was one of the most efficient scorers the NBA has seen but needed someone to feed him the ball either in the high post or on the block. Malone retired as the second-leading all-time scorer but now sits at third since LeBron James moved past him. In their 18 seasons together, Malone and Stockton went 900-506 in the regular season and made the playoffs every year, winning another 85 playoff games. The best pick-and-roll duo to ever play would be much higher on this list if it weren’t for the greatest duo of all-time getting in their way.

9. Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West – L.A. Lakers

• NBA Championships: 1
• Finals Appearances: 4

 

Wilt Chamberlain is the most dominant player to appear in the NBA. He holds records that will never be broken, like most points in a game of 100. Jerry West is another all-time great and is the figure in the NBA logo. How are these two at number nine?

 

West led the Lakers to nine Finals appearances but never could get over the hump until the 1971-72 season, the first year Chamberlain played for the Lakers. West, Wilt, and Elgin Baylor were a big-three before that term existed in the NBA. West, a 14x All-Star, was the do-it-all point guard who went from the league's top scorer in 1970 to the top assist man in 1972. 

 

Chamberlain filled up the stat sheet every night with double-doubles that were consistently over 20 points and rebounds. It's surprising the Lakers did not win more championships with this duo, but injuries and West’s age were big factors that held them back. 

 

8. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale – Boston Celtics

• NBA Championships: 3
• Finals Appearances: 5

 

The Causeway Street duo captivated Boston and the NBA world for 12 seasons. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale were the biggest stars on a Boston team that made it to five Finals, winning three during the ‘80s.

 

Bird won the National College Player of the Year award in 1979. He had been drafted sixth overall as a junior eligible by Boston the season before, and was an immediate superstar. At 6-foot-9, Bird was a lights-out shooter who could do it all, averaging 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, and 6.3 assists during his 13-year career. And as you probably know, Bird is now talked about as one of the all-time greats. McHale started his career as a solid bench player but continually improved to become one of the best power forwards ever to play.

 

Bird and McHale are the only duo on the list that both played the forward positions. The third member of the back-court on the loaded Celtics was 9x All-Star Robert Parish. The trio is considered the greatest front-court assembled. 

7. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker – San Antonio Spurs

• NBA Championships: 4
• Finals Appearances: 5

 

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were not flashy but knew how to win basketball games. Duncan, a former No. 1 overall pick, exceeded all expectations, becoming the best power forward. Parker also surprised most people by becoming such a force at the point guard position. With Parker and Duncan, the Spurs won NBA championships in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014.

 

Duncan helped turn the Spurs into a dynasty, winning five championships from 1999-2014. He benefited from having one of the best coaches ever, Greg Popovich running the team and a deep roster around him. Parker was drafted late in teh first round by the Spurs in 2001 and became the perfect facilitator/shooter to pair with Duncan.

 

The Spurs swept the Cavs in the 2007 Finals, and Parker, who averaged 24.5 points during the series, became the first European-born player to win a Finals MVP. In May 2014, Parker, alongside Manu Ginóbili and Duncan, became the trio to win the most playoff games ever. Duncan and Parker have always been slightly undervalued and overlooked but should be remembered as one of the best duos ever.

6. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson – Golden State Warriors

• NBA Championships: 4
• Finals Appearances: 6

 

The only duo on the list that is still playing together is Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. They are also the only pair that are both guards, which until recently, no one would have thought would have worked as well as it has.

 

Steph and Klay, aka The Splash Bros., have changed how the game of basketball is played forever. Curry, the undoubtedly best shooter the NBA has ever seen, has inspired the next generation of ballers to shoot more threes. It hasn't even taken a generation for the rest of the NBA to follow in the footsteps of the Warriors and coach Steve Kerr’s approach, and now teams are chucking up way more threes than before. 

 

The stars are in the midst of their ninth season together and have already made six Finals appearances and won four. The Splash Bros. alongside Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, made up the best team ever. The 2015-16 Warriors' 73-9 record is the best regular season record ever.

5. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat

• NBA Championships: 2
• Finals Appearances: 4

 

One of LeBron James's most memorable and talked about moments was the interview when he told the world, “I’m taking my talents to South Beach.” 

 

It was iconic in the sense that it set the NBA world on fire, but it is now remembered as the catalyst for the player empowerment movement. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Heat would win a championship when James decided to go to Miami and join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. It wasn’t if they would win, but how many.

 

LeBron and D-Wade were impossible to stop when they were both hitting jumpers. Two of the best at getting to the rim and finishing through people were also willing passers if the defense collapsed. The unselfish play usually meant wide-open shots for teammates or alley-oop dunks that were out of this world. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and arguably the NBA’s GOAT, was in his prime years while in Miami. Honestly, prime Bron and any other superstar would make this list.

 

The 2012-13 Heat are the most fun team I have ever watched play basketball. Wade still had enough juice in the tank to make defenders look silly, while LeBron looked like the best athlete in the world. If it wasn’t for Dirk Nowitzki’s improbable run through the playoffs that ended with an upset victory over the Heat in the Finals, then this duo would be in the top three.

 

4. Bill Russell and Bob Cousy – Boston Celtics

• NBA Championships: 4
• Finals Appearances: 6

 

Bill Russell is known as the greatest champion in NBA history, and Bob Cousy was a big part of that. Cousy helped Russell win six of his 11 NBA Championships.

 

From 1957 to 1963, the duo led the Celtics to seven straight Finals, losing one to the St. Louis Hawks. Russell and Cousy were perfect for each other. They both did the little things a basketball team needs to do to win. Russell took care of the rebounding and defending the rim while Cousy locked up opposing backcourts and dished the ball to the open man. Cousy was ahead of his time with his ball handling, speed, and passing ability, which garnered him the name the Houdini of the Hardwood.

 

The late-great Bill Russell passed less than a year ago, but since his passing, Cousy has talked about their special bond on and off the court. Sure, the game has changed, but it’s hard to think of a tandem that I would want leading my team that’s better than Bill Russell and Bob Cousy.

3. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal – L.A. Lakers

• NBA Championships: 3
• Finals Appearances: 4

 

Kobe and Shaq were a thing of beauty. Shaq was possibly the most unstoppable force the NBA has seen, and Kobe, well, I'm sure you’ve seen what kind of superstar he was.

 

Kobe Bryant had the heart of a lion and would never be outworked. He could score at will and had a rare, competitive nature, even at the professional level. Kobe entered the league as an 18-year-old kid and retired as one of the most respected competitors in any sport.

 

Shaquille O’Neal was the most physically imposing player. There have been plenty of seven-footers to enter the NBA, but none were as massive as Shaq, and few could move like him. The only way to stop O’Neal once he had the ball on the block was to foul him and make him awkwardly shoot free throws. 

 

If it wasn’t for the ego of these two, I believe this duo was destined to be the greatest. In their time together, they led the Lakers to a three-peat, destroying all competition from 2000-2003. I almost put this duo higher on the list because I think they would win against the other duos if a tourney was played and all the other players were randomly put on the teams.

2. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – L.A. Lakers

• NBA Championships: 5
• Finals Appearances: 8

 

The Lakers were set up for greatness as soon as they drafted Magic Johnson with the first overall pick in the 1979 draft. It did not take long for Magic to make a huge impact. He led the Lakers to a championship in his rookie season, becoming the only rookie ever to win the Finals MVP award. 

 

Johnson is remembered for his incredible passing, and he still owns the record for most assists per game with 11.2. But he never would have reached that mark if he didn’t walk into the perfect situation in L.A. Johnson’s playmaking was paired perfectly with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s silky-smoothing scoring. Kareem, who would eventually become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader, was deadly with the ball in his hands in the low post.

 

The duo went to eight Finals during the ‘80s winning five. The two seemed to share the load more perfectly than any other duo ever in the NBA. Johnson won three Finals MVPs and a regular season MVP alongside Abdul-Jabbar, and Kareem won both awards once with Magic on his team. 

1. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen – Chicago Bulls
• NBA Championships: 6
• Finals Appearances: 6

 

It should be no surprise that Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan take home the No. 1 spot on this list. Jordan and Pippen were both fierce competitors that were great defenders, willing passers, and could score from anywhere on the court. Jordan handled the bulk of the scoring, while Pippen was the team's main facilitator in most games.

 

The Bulls pulled off two three-peats during the 90s and pretty much had the other teams in the league playing for second place. Overall, Jordan and Pippen went 514-177 in their eight seasons together with the Bulls and 117-51 in the playoffs. The only thing that stopped this team from winning more titles was Jordan walking away from basketball to play baseball.

 

Even though they only played eight seasons together, they are the best duo in NBA history by a long shot. They were both in their prime, and Jordan had his best years with Pippen on his team, winning four of his five regular season MVP awards during that time. Pippen is usually overlooked in the greatest players of all time talk because he was living in Jordan’s shadow, but realistically he is one of the best forwards ever. And we all know Jordan, and his impact on the game is unparalleled. 

 w

 

 

Get updates on the launch of OSDB Plus and sign up for the OSDB Newsletter.