Many NBA legends and fans have voiced their displeasure at the league's current era of 'super teams' but it's something they simply have to get used to. Since LeBron James took control of his future in 2010 and joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat, this signalled a change in the NBA landscape. The Heat won two championships and reached four consecutive finals as they enjoyed a dominant period.
Paved the way
That move by James opened the door for Kevin Durant to make his move to the Golden State Warriors in 2016 and create a formidable superteam.
KD's arrival has allowed the Dubs to win back-to-back titles and the small forward has secured the Finals MVP award on both occasions, ironically beating LeBron's Cleveland Cavaliers twice.
Several former stars have hit out at the direction the league is going in and nobody has been more vocal than Charles Barkley.
In his most recent statement, he declared that he'd rather not win a ring than team up with fellow All-Stars and form a super team.
"I would rather not win than be on a super team," Barkley told Fred Ennette on the Unnecessary Roughness podcast.
"It doesn't matter what option you are. Sports are about competition. It's about competition. Like, I admire Patrick Ewing for trying to bring a championship to New York.
"I admire Reggie Miller for trying to bring a championship. I admire Michael Jordan for not leaving when they got beat by the Pistons every year.
"He didn't pack up and say, 'Let me play with Magic [Johnson] or [Larry] Bird.'
"It's easy to get a bunch of superstars or really good players together and say, 'Let's build a super team.'"
The feeling is completely different among players in the league today.
Embracing the concept
Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George - who signed a four-year deal with the team this summer to continue playing alongside Russell Westbrook - has hit back at ex-players and said they need to understand that times have changed.
“No team has won [a title] where one single guy was the lone star and it was their team," he said, per Tim Bontemps at the Washington Post.
"It’s not that era. I’m not sure how the veterans, the legends, don’t understand that part. It’s a different game now.
"For those guys to chime in and say we’re not built the same . . . I never understood that, because who would we be fooling if we went out alone and tried to go up against the Warriors?
“The best guy in our league right now couldn’t do it. [James] got swept [in the 2018 Finals]. So that just goes to show you at this point what it takes to win.
"Because you need guys that are alike talent-wise and skill set-wise to win championships.”
The Houston Rockets created their own super team last season when they acquired Chris Paul to partner James Harden.
That acquisition almost saw them overcome the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals but an injury to CP3 ruined their chances.
Rockets guard Eric Gordon echoed George's words by saying that it proves players want to win.
“A lot of people need to understand this: Players want to win,” Gordon said. “They want to go to winning situations.
"When you have a winning culture, things become so much easier. It’s good to see all these super teams, because [it means] guys are willing to win.”
With the way the league is today, it's almost impossible to compete for a championship without at least two All-Stars.
Changing opinions
In an indication of just how the mindset of players is changing, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall took a dig at players for teaming up with a message for his teammate Bradley Beal on Instagram last year.
"Aye @bradbeal3, I wonder who else gonna team up next to try to win a ship this year. but who care cause we all we got bro ..DC or Nothin !! #WizGang," he wrote.
But speaking recently, Wall changed his tune and said that's it difficult to win if you don't have multiple stars.
“If you don’t have a superteam, or three superstars, or three all-stars on your team, it’s very hard to win,” Wall said, according to Bontemps.
It may rile those outside the league but the current crop of players realise its importance.
Super teams are here to say, whether we like or not.
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