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Super Teams

The question that seems to be injected into every single sports debate following the 2017 NBA Finals is whether or not the “super-team” trend is hurting or helping the NBA.  From what used to be a funny trick to play on your friends while playing video games has become a reality in that there are teams who are STACKED with talent. This year, Kevin Durant and Andre Igoudala joined Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymon Greene and the rest of the Golden State Warriors with the result of an NBA Title.  A few years back, Lebron James left Cleveland to join Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen on the Miami Heat.  That team also won a pair of titles. More and more often there are superstars joining superstars, going “title-chasing”, and that is where it hits the fan.  Is this good? Is this bad?  What if a team doesn’t have money to afford to pay these players, should they just pack up and go home?  Is this just a fad? Or is this going to be the new norm?

There are a few things that I would like to consider “laws” in the world of team sports. Team chemistry and team strategy are among the most basic and fundamental of these laws. I believe that we are in the middle of a transition period where everyone is freaking out about this big change in the realms of basketball. We need to be able to see past this flurry of opinions and fear, and understand what laws are governing these decisions for super teams to unite.  A few questions will be asked: Will this player work well with this player?  Does this coach know how to balance the power of the superstars? Etc…  Indeed, these are not new questions or concerns, but they should still be used to deal with these new “problems”.

My answer is NO.  Super teams are just another innovation among the millions that are happening all over the sports world.  Things will balance out, the show will go on.   

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