Super teams are one of the few issues the NBA is facing right now. Right now the league is being dominated in every way by two teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors mainly due to the fact that Lebron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant play for these two powerhouses. The three all star players I just mentioned have won a combined four league MVP’s in the recent five years.

The Warriors and Cavs have met up in the NBA Finals three years in a row now and are expected to cross paths again this coming June. Though Wilt Chamberlain didn’t set out to form a super team in the ’60s, one was formed anyways with him alongside three other Hall of Famers. Super teams came back into conversation in the 2010 offseason when Lebron James joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh playing for the Miami Heat. Lebron made his decision to leave his hometown Cavaliers and join Miami for one reason and that was to win his first championship.

Many criticized James for his controversial decision given that he is arguably the best player to ever play, and that he shouldn’t need a team of all stars to have success. The Miami big three that lasted from 2011-2014 won two championships while having an appearance in four consecutive NBA Finals. There hasn’t been a team to represent the eastern conference in an NBA Finals that doesn’t have Lebron since 2010, raising questions about the competition level in that specific side of the league.

While in the Western Conference, the competition has been there in recent years with teams such as the Spurs, Thunder, and Clippers up until the summer of 2016 when 2014 league MVP Kevin Durant decided to take his talents elsewhere for the same reason Lebron did, to win his first championship. Kevin Durant was harshly criticized by fans and former players around the league for joining the Golden State Warriors who just finished the previous year with the all time best regular season with a record of 73-9.

Famous sports casters such as Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless have expressed their disgust towards super teams saying it ruins the excitement and competitive aspect of the regular season. NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said it is a “weak move” when asked for his opinion on Kevin Durant joining Golden State. He expressed these thoughts because he didn’t believe in taking the easiest path to The Finals. I will conclude on this, while it is a joy to watch the top players in the league play with one another, I believe instead of joining the best, these superstar athletes should focus on beating the best and bringing back the level of competition the NBA is well known to have.