Let's discuss the GOAT Big 3.

[badshar]

EDIT: WE RATING THE TEAMS DURING THEIR BIG 3 ERA, NOT INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS. WE ARE ONLY COMPARING WHEN THE THREE WON A RING TOGETHER ON THE SAME TEAM.
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Your choices:

Celtics
Bill Russell | Bob Cousy | Tom Heinsohn - 6 Titles in 7 years.
Dave Cowns | John Havlicek | Jo Jo White - 2 Titles. 2 for 2 in the Finals.
Larry Bird | Kevin McHale | Robert Parish - Went to 5 Finals. Won 3. Accounted for 50% of Celtics points and rebounds.
Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett | Ray Allen - Went to 2 Finals. Won 1 title. While injured, took Lakers to Game 7 until ref-ball in the 4th quarter.

Lakers
Magic Johnson | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | James Worthy - Went to 4 Finals. Won 3.
Kobe Bryant | Shaquille O'Neal | Derek Fisher - Went to 4 Finals. Won 3.
Kobe Bryant | Pau Gasol | Andrew Bynum/Lamar Odom - Went to 3 Finals. Won 2.
George Mikan | Vern Mikkelson | Jim Pollard - Won 4 Titles in 5 years.

Bulls
Michael Jordan | Scottie Pippen | Horace Grant - Went to 3 Finals. Won 3.
Michael Jordan | Scottie Pippen | Dennis Rodman - Went to 3 Finals. Won 3.

Spurs
Tim Duncan | Manu Ginobili | Tony Parker/David Robinson - Went to 4 Finals. Won 3.

Jazz
Karl Malone | John Stockton | Jeff Hornacek - Went to 2 Finals but lost both. Revolutionized the game.

Trail Blazers
Clyde Drexler | Terry Porter | Jerome Kersey - Went to 2 Finals but lost both. Among the underrated teams.

Magic
Shaquille O'Neal | Penny Hardaway | Nick Anderson - Went to 2 Finals but lost both. Built for long-term dominance.

Heat
LeBron James | Dwyane Wade | Chris Bosh - Went to 3 Finals. Won 2.

Pistons
Isiah Thomas | Joe Dumars | Bill Laimbeer - Went to 3 Finals. Won 2.

If I missed any, then do tell them to me.

I'd go with either Russell, Cousy and Heinsohn, Bird, McHale and Parish or Magic, Kareem and Worthy.
Russell's, Cousy's and Heinsohn's 6 rings in just 7 years is just too amazing. Bird, McHale and Parish are one of the all time epic teams and one of the greatest teams ever. Magic's, Kareem's and Worthy's "showtime" Lakers itself makes them an amazing team.

What do you think?

[Donoghus]

Bird/McHale/Parish


Just a quick quibble but how are you getting to the Finals numbers for Magic/Kareem/Worthy?

Also, from quick glance, Thomas/Laimbeer/Dumars went to 3 Finals and won 2.

[badshar]

Bird/McHale/Parish


Just a quick quibble but how are you getting to the Finals numbers for Magic/Kareem/Worthy?

Also, from quick glance, Thomas/Laimbeer/Dumars went to 3 Finals and won 2.

Corrected the Pistons one. As for the Lakers one, I checked every the seasons they were together as well as other websites for accurate information and unless I made a mistake (or the sources were incorrect), those numbers are correct.

[RyNye]

Correct the Pistons one. As for the Lakers one, I checked every the seasons they were together as well as other websites for accurate information and unless I made a mistake (or the sources were incorrect), those numbers are correct.

Well, James Worthy has 3 championship rings. So ... yeah, somewhere you counted wrong.

[JJones1090]

Lebron, Wade and Bosh.

Can I get an amen?

[badshar]

Correct the Pistons one. As for the Lakers one, I checked every the seasons they were together as well as other websites for accurate information and unless I made a mistake (or the sources were incorrect), those numbers are correct.

Well, James Worthy has 3 championship rings. So ... yeah, somewhere you counted wrong.

We are talking about the Big 3 era, not individual accomplishments. In the time Magic, Kareem and Worthy spent together as the "Big 3," they won 2 rings.

[Donoghus]

Correct the Pistons one. As for the Lakers one, I checked every the seasons they were together as well as other websites for accurate information and unless I made a mistake (or the sources were incorrect), those numbers are correct.

Well, James Worthy has 3 championship rings. So ... yeah, somewhere you counted wrong.

Yeah,  he was hurt for the '83 Finals but played that season.  Not sure how'd you want to count that.

Then you have L in '84, W in '85, W in '87, W in '88, and L in '89.

[manl_lui]

Lebron, Wade and Bosh.

Can I get an amen?

no

by dominance - Bill Russell because his team dominated half if not most of the decade...

Jordan - same thing, he dominated the 90s winning 6. Him and Pippen just dominated...

The Heat just began like 3 years ago...I'd give them until 2020 to determine if they are "the best trio"

also Boston Celtics with Russell 11 in 13 years (dominance?
Chicago 6 champs with a 72-10 season

so no to the Miami cHeat

[PhoSita]

I feel obligated to say Bird / McHale / Parish.

I think Jordan / Pippen + whoever was probably the most dominant combo ever, but as far as one distinct Big 3, it's hard to beat the 80's Celtics.

[Moranis]

Chamberlain/Greer/Cunningham played exactly 2 full seasons, but only 1 post season together and they put together what was perhaps the greatest season in NBA history in 66/67 going 68-13 in the regular season and 11-4 in the post season.  In the playoffs they destroyed the Royals (3-1) led by the trio of Robertson/Lucas/Dierking, then dispatched the Russel/Hondo/Jones Celtics in five games, before dispatching the Thurmond/Barry Warriors in six.  Given the very short time together I can see why they didn't make the list, but in the basically the one full season and one other regular season (62-20) they were together they were unbeatable.

West, Chamberlain, and Goodrich were also quite a magnificent trio for the Lakers, though again they were only together for two seasons (1 win, 1 finals loss).

Reed/Frazier/Debusschere/Bradley won two titles and had another appearance for the Knicks.  Certainly worthy of a mention.

You also have the Sixers from the 80's.  Moses Malone joined them for the 82/83 season and they promptly went 65-17 in the regular season and 12-1 in the post season.  The top 3 were Malone, Dr. J., and Mo Cheeks (they also had Bobby Jones and Andrew Toney).  They never made it back to the finals though even after Barkley joined the team a couple of years later, so I can also see why they weren't on the list, though I did think they were worth mentioning.

Kareem, Oscar, and Dandridge had a nice little run in the early 70's though did only win 1 title. 

[Onslaught]

Larry Bird  Kevin McHale Robert Parish

Why? Because they are the original Big Three. It's what people called them before everyone else stared doing it. And it wasn't because all three are great players. It was because they're you know......... BIG.

KG, Paul and Ray are not a real big three. The only one big out of the three is KG and he's only tall.

[action781]

Some of your "Big 3"s are really just Big 2's with another teammate of theirs thrown in.  I think it diminishes what great Dynamic Duos they were. 

Cousy-Russell
Jordan-Pippen
Stockton-Malone
Magic-Kareem
Kobe-Shaq
Penny-Shaq

Worthy is close, but I think it was more Magic-Kareem, especially since they won 2 titles before Worthy came on board.

[guava_wrench]

Derek Fisher? Why is he on this list?

# of titles is semi-relevant to this. If you won 10 titles in a row, but only had 2 all-star caliber players on your team, you didn't have a big 3, let alone the GOAT.