Top Ten Duo's in NBA History 

10. Gary Payton & Shawn Kemp 

 09. Isiah Thomas & Joe Dumars 

08. Lebron James & Dwyane Wade 

07. Bob Cousy and Bill Russell 

06. Tim Duncan & David Robinson

05. Larry Bird & Kevin McHale

04. Magic Johnson & Kareem Abdul Jabbar 

03. John Stockton & Karl Malone 

02. Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe Bryant

 01. Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen

10. Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp 

Team

Seattle Supersonics 

Years Together

1990 - 1997 

Games Won

357

Playoff Appearances 

7

Conference Championship Record 

1-1 

NBA Finals Record 

0-1 

 

Combined All Stars 

9 

I took entertainment factor into account with some of my duo's so I had to put Kemp and Payton at the end , they may not have had the same success as other duo's but they were one of the most popular pair of teammates in the time I was really getting into the NBA and were a blast to watch. The pitbull point guard and the monster dunker all day long.

They never missed the playoffs together either , even if they never won the big one that is pretty awesome. I was happy they narrowly edged their way into the ten spot.

This made my rushed list!

Crazy how good this Sonics team was and they couldn’t win the West. That loss to the Nuggets went down in history as the first 8 beating the 1 seed in the NBA Playoffs.

But GP would go on to have a HOF career. Kemp would go on to father 52 kids and be known for being a dunking machine. Great duo though.

I love the NBA Jam.

Is this the first-ever PW Countdown I've abstained from submitting a list for?! I think it is. Blame it on me hating basketball, and more specifically the NBA (although I too loved NBA Jam).

Shawn Kemp was like the Blake Griffin to a degree for that era very athletic and agile dunking people and I thought he have 100 kids.

As for the Glove one of the best defender in the league they don’t call him the glove for nothing…

Charles and Thunder Dan geez, the top 100 list I found didn't even have them on it. They would have been in the top 15 along with Kemp and Payton, so fun to watch. For a time their in the early 90's my best friend was Kemp while I was the Glove in our games of 2 on 2.

Had Kemp & Payton right at #10. Those guys are still legends on the west coast so they had to stay on my list.

Loving the NBA Jam pic.

I just checked my list to see where I had them and I had them at #10 as well.

I also had Payton & Kemp at #10 on my rushed list for the same reasons as the rest of you. Only other thing I have to add is I thought Kemp was the bigger star/better player of the duo when it clearly turned out to be Payton in the end.

Mar 31, 2020 19:37:52 GMT Baker said:

I also had Payton & Kemp at #10 on my rushed list for the same reasons as the rest of you. Only other thing I have to add is I thought Kemp was the bigger star/better player of the duo when it clearly turned out to be Payton in the end.

Kemp has become pretty underrated though , people think of him as a punchline but dude was a monster for a stretch.

You know we should really be allowed to post selfies here because I had to run to Stop & Shop to grab some “essentials” and this thread got me in the mood so I wore my throwback Shawn Kemp Jersey!

Payton and Kemp missed my top 10. I would have put them in my top 15 though.

9. Isiah Thomas & Joe Dumars 

Team

Detroit Pistons 

Years Together 

1985 - 1994 

Playoff Appearances 

7 

Finals Appearances 

5 

NBA Titles 

2 

Combined All Stars 

14 

I didn't vote for Thomas and Dumars , nothing against them and I guess they count but they don't come to mind when I think of duo's simply because I identify them more with the entire team of the Bad Boy Pistons. Like it wasn't "oh shit Thomas and Dumars are coming to town" as much as it was "oh shit here come the Bad Boy Pistons". Most of the duo's I considered and put on my list were the largest part of their teams identity.

Great backcourt though , Dumars is someone I overlook. I don't think he's one of the best players ever but was perfect next to Thomas as one of the peak complimentary guards you could ask for.

I have to disagree. I had Isiah/Dumars ranked #7 even though I absolutely despised Zeke. They were easily the two most important members of that squad.

I thought they would all be NBA Jam pics. 

I had Thomas/Dumars at 8. You can have all the defense you want with Rodman/Lambeer but Isiah and Dumars provided that necessary offensive spark.

Apr 2, 2020 1:09:39 GMT Shootist said:

I thought they would all be NBA Jam pics. 

I had Thomas/Dumars at 8. You can have all the defense you want with Rodman/Lambeer but Isiah and Dumars provided that necessary offensive spark.

I couldn’t find one. It was my original hope.

8. Lebron James & Dwyane Wade 

Teams 

Miami Heat 

Cleveland Cavaliers 

Years Together 

2010 - 2014 

2017 - 2018

Playoff Appearances 

5 

Conference Championship Record 

4-0 

NBA Finals Record 

2-2 

Combined All Stars 
9

Another one I didn't vote for because of semantics really , I mean it was The Big Three , yes Wade and Bron were the superstars of that equation and really the most important part of the team but it just didn't compute with my mind. Plus though incredible talented and successful - they only spent 4 legitimate years together - a great run of dominance in the East for those four years but the longevity was a bit lacking.

If we are talking pure talent and basketball greatness alone , then they would be right up there at the top. Arguably the GOAT in his prime and one of the best guards ever - on the same team. Craziness.

The Sid & Gino of 🏀!!!

I had Lebron/DWade at #5. Sure they only had 4 years together, but those 4 years had 4 conference titles, 4 Finals appearances and 2 championships. That more than most lifetime duos.

I had Lebron/Wade at #4.

They changed the game, for better or for worse. They created 'super-teams' and to be honest bought the NBA to a new level.

I didn't rank LeBron and Wade mostly for the reasons UT mentioned. They were packaged as the big 3 and that is just ingrained in my mind when thinking of those Heat teams.

I did take 2/3 of another big 3 though.

Apr 1, 2020 22:06:39 GMT UT said:

I didn't vote for Thomas and Dumars , nothing against them and I guess they count but they don't come to mind when I think of duo's simply because I identify them more with the entire team of the Bad Boy Pistons. Like it wasn't "oh shit Thomas and Dumars are coming to town" as much as it was "oh shit here come the Bad Boy Pistons". 

I get this. That Bad Boy Pistons dynasty was pretty deep. Sure, Thomas & Dumars were their best players. But you also had to contend with the streaky "Microwave" Vinnie Johnson rounding out their vaunted three guard attack, the ultimate Bad Boys in Laimbeer & Mahorn, a young, only mildly eccentric Dennis Rodman, "Lapsed Scorer" Mark Aguirre, and John Salley, too. That's a hell of a squad.

With that being said, I had Thomas & Dumars at #8 for being the best players and faces of a dynasty which made 3 straight Finals, winning 2 of them.

Was looking up some old Pistons stuff yesterday. Check out this postseason dominance.... The championship winning 1989 Pistons swept 3 out of 4 series en route to a 15-2 postseason record. I'm no expert on NBA lore, but that has to be some kind of record, right?

The other reason Thomas & Dumars made my list is simply because their Pistons were my first NBA love. STORYTIME~!

The NBA was the last of the Big 3 sports I got into. Maybe 2 or 3 years after MLB & NFL. My NBA origin story is a little foggy. Lemme see if I can piece it together....

-The first game I remember watching was the All Star Game in Seattle where then-Sonic Tom Chambers was named MVP. (Turns out it was February 1987)
-Then I got hooked on college basketball when the great Danny Manning carried Kansas to the championship. (turns out this was 1988)
-I remember being dimly aware of the Lakers or Celtics winning the NBA Championship every single year seemingly since the dawn of time.
-So I rooted for the Pistons simply because they were something new....The upstarts finally breaking the Lakers/Celtics stranglehold on the championship. This is when I got into the NBA for real. So I'm guessing 1989. Maybe '88?

And MAYBE some of that Pistons fandom was down to my youthful "root for the heel" contrarianism. BAD BOYS~! BUT.....

For a while there they hilariously tried pushing Isiah Thomas as a babyface!

See, another thing that sold me on the Pistons and Thomas was this cheesy made for tv movie I misremembered as The Isiah Thomas Story. The Pistons/I. Thomas were already my NBA faves. But this inspirational tale of Young Isiah growing up in the projects of Chicago made me love them even more. (Turns out it aired December 3, 1989, appears to have been more about Thomas' mother than Isiah himself, was actually called A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story, and much later I would discover Isiah Thomas was a jerk. But whatever!)

Anyway, the Thomas/Dumars-lead Pistons were my first NBA love with Thomas being my "Jordan." I admit I ditched them pretty quickly. Their dynasty was short-lived. And I guess I was a young bandwagon hopper? Had no idea Thomas & Dumars stuck around together for so long (1994!) after the Pistons collapse. But even my post-Pistons NBA faves were inspired by the Detroit Bad Boys.

I was a huge fan of Charles Barkley (definite Bad Boy!) and the early 90s Phoenix Suns. 
Before finally finding a longterm NBA love in Patrick Ewing's New York Knicks, who were basically just Bad Boys 2.0.

Great read Bake.

I’m pretty sure there is at least one duo that beat that record (16-1?) and they will be showing up later, still a hell of a feat though.

7. Bill Russell and Bob Cousy 

Team 

Boston Celtics 

Years Together 

1956 - 1963 

Playoff Appearances 

7 

Conference Championship Record 

7-0 

NBA Finals Record 

6-1 

Combined All Stars 

13 

A little before my time , and basketball is such a hard sport to compare era's that it's always tough to rank the old timers for me. Still though Cousy and Russell were absolutely dominant together , making the finals every year together and losing only once is pretty crazy. I put them on my list out of respect for the resume.

Hold on people are putting Russell and Cousy then saying Lebron/Wade or Isiah/Dumars dosen't belong? That Boston team was STACKED. They had 7 Hall of Famers come from that squad. I could easily argue Sam Jones and John Havilcek were just as or more important than Cousy was.

I didn't include Russell and Cousy for that reason. There were WAY too many great players on that Boston Squad to narrow it down to a duo.

Apr 3, 2020 15:18:30 GMT thereallt said:

Hold on people are putting Russell and Cousy then saying Lebron/Wade or Isiah/Dumars dosen't belong? That Boston team was STACKED. They had 7 Hall of Famers come from that squad. I could easily argue Sam Jones and John Havilcek were just as or more important than Cousy was.

I didn't include Russell and Cousy for that reason. There were WAY too many great players on that Boston Squad to narrow it down to a duo.

I don’t understand the arguments either. Google any list of NBA duos and those are the names that show up. Because they’re the names that everyone remembers from those teams. They were the stars that fed off each other. Every team that strung together multiple deep playoff runs has insane depth but there’s always two that stand out. The NBA is unique in that regard and I really like this list idea because of that.

I voted for Russell and Cousy because from that Celtics era those are the names everyone remembers. They’re still talked about to this day and that says something about them. They’re one of a couple duos I voted for from before my time because they’re just plain legends.