I like PW going old school with Russell & Cousy. Classic championship winning big man/little man duo from the days of yore.

Cousy and Russell were my number 6. They are the go to names when people think of that 50's/60's Celtics dynasty. Their pure dominance was too much to ignore regardless of era.

6. David Robinson & Tim Duncan 

Team 

San Antonio Spurs 

Years Together 

1997 - 2003

Playoff Appearances 

6 

Conference Finals Record 

2-0 

NBA Finals Record 

2-0 

Combined All Stars 

8

I hate the Spurs and have always hated the Spurs , I remember them getting Duncan as one of my first NBA draft memories and everyone being all up in arms. Such a stroke of amazing luck to get him to pair with Robinson for the twilight of his career. The best twin towers of all time though - and start of an amazing Spurs dynasty. I think Duncan/Popovich would have been an equal choice as well.

I didn't rank Robinson/Duncan because I didn't think they were together for that long (2 or 3 seasons tops.) It seems like forever since David Robinson retired, surprised to see it was 2003 and they played 6 years together. Good addition to the list, the Admiral was always one of my favorites.

I overlooked this duo, mainly because Robinson was in the twilight of his career by then. But 2 rings in 6 years is a pretty solid resume.

I threw them down at #9 because of how crazy dominant they were for those few years, and how they turned the Spurs franchise around. San Antonio was a nothing team for as long as I could remember and then bam. These two guys ruled the world.

Apr 4, 2020 15:39:08 GMT UT said:

The best twin towers of all time

This + the championships is why Duncan & Robinson were #4 on my list.

RT the Spurs were a perennial 50 win team for Robinson's first 7 or 8 years. They could just never get over the hump in the playoffs. Then Robinson got hurt one year. They tanked. Won the draft lottery. Drafted Duncan. The rest is history. The year they tanked is probably their only losing season in the last 30 years. EDIT: Until this year

5. Larry Bird & Kevin McHale 

Team 

Boston Celtics 

Years Together 

1980 - 1992 

Playoff Appearances 

12 

Conference Finals Record 

5 - 2 

Finals Record 

3-2 

Combined All Stars 

18

The longevity and consistency of these two makes them one of the all time great duos. They spent their entire careers together apart from one year on each side and made the playoffs every year together. 7 ECF appearance , 3 titles out of five tries - just awesome stuff. I wasn't aware enough to watch him at the time but looking back and seeing some highlights and numbers - I think McHale is one of the more overlooked players in history.

Really fun to watch clips of this team , and he and Larry. Not as fun as other duo's but fun.

I had Bird/McHale at #4. These two absolutely ruled the Eastern Conference from 81-86, winning 3 rings in the process. Bird's resume goes without saying, but McHale is one of the greatest power forwards of all time and doesn't get nearly enough credit for it. His footwork in the post was perfection, topped only by Hakeem Olajuwon,

I had Bird/McHale at #5. Played together for a long time. Won a bunch of championships. Fwiw Bird/McHale/Parish would be my #1 trio.

Larry Bird's greatness is well known and well deserved. Kevin McHale on the other hand doesn't get enough recognition for either developing or popularizing a lot of the low post moves you've seen since he played. He would basically drop step on you and/or up and under you to death. He was a good shooter from about 10-15 feet, but the game these days has changed so much from when he played. All the big guys are hitting jumpers today. I imagine what Bird would've done in today's game when shooting 10 3's a game was encouraged.

Apr 5, 2020 16:25:09 GMT @ck said:

Larry Bird's greatness is well known and well deserved. Kevin McHale on the other hand doesn't get enough recognition for either developing or popularizing a lot of the low post moves you've seen since he played. He would basically drop step on you and/or up and under you to death. He was a good shooter from about 10-15 feet, but the game these days has changed so much from when he played. All the big guys are hitting jumpers today. I imagine what Bird would've done in today's game when shooting 10 3's a game was encouraged.

He also had a great baby hook and his fadeaway from the left and right block was highly underrated.  McHale was  also great shot-blocker and defender to go with it.  Bird couldn't have asked for a better partner.

I had Bird/McHale at 7, Robert Parish was a big part of the equation as well which made me rank them a little lower. Another part of McHale's career that's underrated was his grit and tenacity, his run in '87 with the broken foot was Herculean.

4. Magic Johnson & Kareem Abdul Jabbar 

Team 

Los Angeles Laker 

Years Together 

1979 - 1989 

Playoff Appearances 

10 

Conference Finals Record 

8-1 

NBA Finals Record 

5-3 

Combined All Stars 

19 

Too god damn low for Magic and Kareem , there is not three better duo's than them in NBA history and IMO they are the one duo that has an argument to be #1 over the obvious choice. They had such a dominant run and with Magics versatility and Kareems offensive dominance it's no wonder they were unstoppable for damn near an entire decade.

I had them at #1. I love watching stuff from this era of the Lakers.

I didn’t vote for them or Bird/McHale because truthfully I didn’t watch them play back in the day. Therefore I don’t know the historic importance of those duos to their teams. I guess I always assumed the whole team was really good so I didn’t add them. I did add Ewing/Starks though which isn’t going to make the list but GO NEW YORK GO NEW YORK GO!

Apr 6, 2020 13:57:22 GMT UT said:

Too god damn low for Magic and Kareem , there is not three better duo's than them in NBA history and IMO they are the one duo that has an argument to be #1 over the obvious choice. They had such a dominant run and with Magics versatility and Kareems offensive dominance it's no wonder they were unstoppable for damn near an entire decade.

I had them at #1. I love watching stuff from this era of the Lakers.

This a 1000x.  Magic and Kareem were my #2 duo.  It absolutely disgusts me how disrespected Kareem is.   He is in the short running in the GOAT conversation, no less than Top 2 in my book.    Throw in the greatest point guard in basketball history and you have a duo for the ages.

My number 2 as well, I nearly put them at number 1 but couldn't pull the trigger. Being with a rookie Magic as well Kareem had a huge influence on shaping the player he would become. When I would watch the NBA in the 80's it was to see Magic and Kareem run other teams out of the gym, great memories.

Apr 6, 2020 13:57:22 GMT UT said:

Too god damn low for Magic and Kareem

Whoops. My bad. I must shoulder some of the blame as I am partially responsible for their relatively low ranking.

Told ya I winged this one by only spending about 5-10 minutes on my list and doing no research. I am also in a similar position to KING KID in that Kareem was more of a respected legend than a gamechanger by the time I started following the NBA. In my (weird?) head I associate Magic more with another Laker....

So I split Magic's votes with that other Laker who was a better player and around longer by the time I got into the NBA. 

I had Magic/Kareem at #7.
And Magic/.....James Worthy at #6.

Finally looking at the stats now, and, yeah, I should have had Magic/Kareem higher than Magic/Big Game James. Still...y'all shouldn't sleep on James Worthy. He was a good player, and a great Magic teammate. 

Kid: Ewing/Starks probably would have been my #1 if this were strictly a favorites list.

Apr 6, 2020 22:21:22 GMT Baker said:

Apr 6, 2020 13:57:22 GMT UT said:

Too god damn low for Magic and Kareem

Whoops. My bad. I must shoulder some of the blame as I am partially responsible for their relatively low ranking.

Told ya I winged this one by only spending about 5-10 minutes on my list and doing no research. I am also in a similar position to KING KID in that Kareem was more of a respected legend than a gamechanger by the time I started following the NBA. In my (weird?) head I associate Magic more with another Laker....

So I split Magic's votes with that other Laker who was a better player and around longer by the time I got into the NBA. 

I had Magic/Kareem at #7.
And Magic/.....James Worthy at #6.

Finally looking at the stats now, and, yeah, I should have had Magic/Kareem higher than Magic/Big Game James. Still...y'all shouldn't sleep on James Worthy. He was a good player, and a great Magic teammate. 

Kid: Ewing/Starks probably would have been my #1 if this were strictly a favorites list.

Hey, I remember that scene from Die Hard when they break into Nakatomi . They were kind of a big three in later years.

My own personal bias sunk Magic & Kareem to 5th on my list. You’ll see what I mean when I post it. I’ll explain (if I remember).

That photo UT posted sums it all up. Even their numbers are together. They fucking ruled and that pairing is my earliest basketball memory. It’s a wonder I didn’t become a Lakers fan.

3. Karl Malone & John Stockton 

Team 

Utah Jazz 

Years Together 

1985 - 2003 

Playoff Appearances 

18 

Conference Finals Record 

2-3 

NBA Finals Record 

0-2 

Combined All Stars 

24 

Stockton and Malone deserve to be on the list obviously , probably even Top 5 because of their unbelievable duration as a duo and the consitency that came with it. 18 straight playoff appearances is awesome.

However they definitely don't deserve to be ahead of Magic and Kareem , Stockton and Malone are remembered just as much for coming up short in the biggest games as they are for anything else. They never won a title together and remarkably only even made the finals twice.

#5 would seem more in line with where they belong , and I could understand them being even a little lower depending on what you value.

I had Stockton & Malone at #2 for making the playoffs 18 straight seasons and holding every meaningful "duos" record other than stuff to do with Championships. That's admittedly a pretty big "but." So UT's argument against them is solid.

Stockton and Malone was my #8 duo, I could not in good conscience rank them ahead of duos that won multiple championships.

I think this is the perfect top 3. I’m just curious which duo grabs the top spot. Should be interesting.

Apr 9, 2020 0:36:48 GMT KING KID said:

I think this is the perfect top 3. I’m just curious which duo grabs the top spot. Should be interesting.

It's gotta be Jordan and Pippen.

No issue with Stockton & Malone in top five but over Bird & McHale and Magic & Kareem that is where I disagree