In a league often dominated by great trios, here are the best “Big 3’s” the Utah Jazz front office has put together in their 41 years as an NBA franchise.
Throughout the 74-year history of the league, there have been several “super teams” where two or more star players team up and become if not the favorites to win their conference, one of the top two or three teams.
We have seen power trios in the league, whether they were all drafted by the same team a la the Oklahoma City Thunder. They drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in back-to-back-to-back drafts.
Three years later they found themselves in the NBA Finals with an MVP caliber player, an All-Star point guard, and the second-youngest player to win the Sixth Man of the Year award. Little did they know that all three would go on to win the MVP award in later years, but on separate teams.
Another way these Big 3’s form is by virtue of trading. Boston Celtics executive Danny Ainge famously acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the same summer, to play with the All-Star they already had in Paul Pierce.
They won 66 games in their first year together and the NBA championship. Pretty impressive considering Allen and Garnett had never before played for Doc Rivers, and that a 21-year-old was their starting point guard.
Finally, teams particularly in big markets can attempt to form Big 3’s by signing max free agents off the market. The Miami Heat did exactly this when they signed Chris Bosh and LeBron James in the summer of 2010, forming a Big 3 with Dwyane Wade.
Unfortunately, the Utah Jaz haven’t had much of a spotlight in the league for star-studded teams or even superstar players in general. Nonetheless, today we will garner in some of the best trios in Utah Jazz history.
Although they weren’t necessarily the most feared Big 3’s in the league (for the most part) or receive the most accolades, the Jazz still put together some balanced trios with a combination of a big man and ball handlers.
But before we get to the top five, here are some trios who still deserve a shout-out but didn’t quite make the cut.