Top Ten Greatest NBA Duos

The Top Ten Greatest Duos in NBA History
(by EG)

It's one thing to discuss the best individual players in league history, but duos can be a different dynamic. Factors such as chemistry and team success versus individual success matter much more. I think it could make for an interesting topic, so without further, ado, here are my top ten duos in NBA history...

10. Tim Duncan/David Robinson

They only had one season were both were near peak production, but they won the title, and were probably the greatest front court in league history. Other than that, Duncan has generally won each championship with a different second star. (Robinson, then Parker, then Ginobili)


9. Oscar Robertson/Lew Alcindor

Only one championship, but Kareem has said that Oscar was the best basketball player he ever played with. That's a HUGE compliment, of course.


8. Chamberlain/West

No one really complimented Wilt all that well. But the year when he decided to pass and rebound, while leaving West to carry the offense, they dominated the NBA.


7. Reed/Frazier

The Knicks duo won two championships in the seventies. Reed was the jump-shooting, shotblocking center, and Frazier was the ballhawk guard. Unfortunately, their best moments really came seperate from each other, and Earl Monroe and others made it hard to focus on just the two of them.


6. Stockalone (Stockton/Malone)

No championships, but a lot of elbows, and two NBA Finals appearances. They're probably the most linked names in the history of the NBA, and were a near perfect pick-and-roll tandem (if Malone had three-point range, they would've been completely unguardable)

Stockton was unselfish, tough (a little too tough, actually), and ran the point to perfection. Malone had the athleticism and will to keep up on the break, and could bang and rebound when the Jazz needed it.


5. Shakobe (Shaq/Kobe)

These two were a mini-Dynasty, and for a brief period of time were basically the Riggs and Murtaugh of the NBA. One the steady, proven veteran who just wanted to do the job and go home, the other the hot-headed kid who was both a Lethal Weapon and a Loose Cannon.

Love them or hate them, you know that they made the NBA Finals must-watch TV for three straight years. And you never knew when one would go off on the other.


4. Bird/McHale

It it wasn't for that fifth title, the Celtics duo would be #3. Mainly because Bird and McHale had their best years together. Kareem was on the decline when Magic arrived, and Magic even made the Finals once with no Kareem at all.

Bird and McHale also complimented each other perfectly. Bird could set up McHale with his expert passing and ability to draw the double-team, and was one of the best pure shooters ever...so McHale always had him as an option when he was double-teamed in the post.

Robert Parish was also nice, but didn't have the skill-set that McHale did.


3. Magic/Kareem

The real question here is, why are they ahead of the two guys behind them? Simply because they won 5 titles and the other team won 4. They can't be ahead of #2 and #1 because Magic and Kareem frequently got in each other's way on offense. Kareem ended up having to outlet the ball and just watch Magic and co. run the break while he waited on the defensive end. On offense, Magic spent most of his time posting up and passing, and Kareem wasn't much of a spot-up shooter, so he frequently didn't have a role in the halfcourt also. But nonetheless, each one contributed game-winning shots and rebounds, and they found a way to co-exist successfully.


2. Jordan/Pippen

There's no question here. The only Dynasty to ever occur without a dominant big man. Jordan took over on Offense, Pippen took the other team's best scorer and verbally controlled everyone else on defense. A lot of people don't know that he used to tell people when to help out and when to stay home while covering his own man.

They're #2, though...simple because six is less than eleven. And they were good teammates, but didn't seem to get along that well.


1. Russell/Cousy

11 championships in 13 years. You can't argue with that. Russell dominated on defense and Cousy was the trigger man on the fast break. They complemented each other better than any other duo also.


Not on the list: Isiah Thomas, Hakeem Olajuwon and other stars who won their titles generally with an even cast of help. Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter would've been the most athletic and talented scoring duo ever, if they had actually been on the same team when they were at their peak.


Just figured I'd write this off the top of my head, it could make for good discussion.

Last edited by EGarrett on Wed Aug 03, 2005 4:43 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Is this a joke? of course number 2! Jordan and Pippen!!!!
the best duo ever!

You created this or found this off a website ?

Who cares, number 2 is the obvious choice.

You created this or found this off a website ?

Wrote it myself, off the top of my head. I edited this post to improve it and clear this up.

The 11th best duo is:

Rashad McCatns and Kevin Garnett.

Book it.

(Y) Nice list EGarrett!

Good list Personally, I'd like to have seen Stockton and Malone higher, but since they haven't won any championships, I see you're going mostly championships. The top 5 you listed are great choices, but I'm not so sure about #1...

you will see Kwane Brown and Bynum will make it to the top in a couple of years YAYYYYYYYY!!!!

Hey what about Kemp and Payton? They both deserve to be there.

Great list! I have to agree with all of them...

Ming & Mac will be up there soon

Cousy and Russel ahead of Jordan and Pippen strictly becuase of rings? Then why is Stockton/Malone ahead of reed/frazier?

Hakeem and Drexler formed a great duo in 95.

Shaq and Kobe behind Bird and McHale? On what reasoning? You have to remember that Robert Parish (another top 50 player) was on that celtics team, while Kobe/Shaq didnt have anyone close to that (Glen rice was a former all star in 2000).

Nice list EG.

10. Tim Duncan/David Robinson

They only had one season were both were near peak production, but they won the title, and were probably the greatest front court in league history. Other than that, Duncan has generally won each championship with a different second star. (Robinson, then Parker, then Ginobili)

I don't know about being the greatest frontcourt in league history, but they're easily the best Twin Tower duo we've seen so far. Of course, had things worked out differently with Ralph Sampson in Houston that might not be the case.

9. Oscar Robertson/Lew Alcindor

Only one championship, but Kareem has said that Oscar was the best basketball player he ever played with. That's a HUGE compliment, of course.

I'd probably place them at 10 myself. No doubt a great pairing, albeit a short one, that produced a championship.

8. Chamberlain/West

No one really complimented Wilt all that well. But the year when he decided to pass and rebound, while leaving West to carry the offense, they dominated the NBA.

Can't disagree here either. They perhaps should have won more, but they were always there.

7. Reed/Frazier

The Knicks duo won two championships in the seventies. Reed was the jump-shooting, shotblocking center, and Frazier was the ballhawk guard. Unfortunately, their best moments really came seperate from each other, and Earl Monroe and others made it hard to focus on just the two of them.

I'd also add Frazier/Monroe as one of the best duos in Knicks and NBA history. Same era, too.

6. Stockalone (Stockton/Malone)

No championships, but a lot of elbows, and two NBA Finals appearances. They're probably the most linked names in the history of the NBA, and were a near perfect pick-and-roll tandem (if Malone had three-point range, they would've been completely unguardable)

Stockton was unselfish, tough (a little too tough, actually), and ran the point to perfection. Malone had the athleticism and will to keep up on the break, and could bang and rebound when the Jazz needed it.

One of the best one-two punches of all-time, leading the Jazz in some of the best seasons in franchise history, picking-and-rolling opponents to death. But I agree with them being this low because ultimately, they couldn't do what other great duos did; win at least one championship. One could point out they came close and fell to the decade's winningest team, but all champions overcome challenges and hardship.

5. Shakobe (Shaq/Kobe)

These two were a mini-Dynasty, and for a brief period of time were basically the Riggs and Murtaugh of the NBA. One the steady, proven veteran who just wanted to do the job and go home, the other the hot-headed kid who was both a Lethal Weapon and a Loose Cannon.

Love them or hate them, you know that they made the NBA Finals must-watch TV for three straight years. And you never knew when one would go off on the other.

A pairing that probably should still be in the hunt for more titles. Nevertheless, a dominant duo that deserves the fifth place on the list.

4. Bird/McHale

It it wasn't for that fifth title, the Celtics duo would be #3. Mainly because Bird and McHale had their best years together. Kareem was on the decline when Magic arrived, and Magic even made the Finals once with no Kareem at all.

Bird and McHale also complimented each other perfectly. Bird could set up McHale with his expert passing and ability to draw the double-team, and was one of the best pure shooters ever...so McHale always had him as an option when he was double-teamed in the post.

Robert Parish was also nice, but didn't have the skill-set that McHale did.

No question. Even though they finished their careers more than half a decade removed from winning a title, Boston a force in the East for most of the latter part of their careers, never dipping below "respectable".

3. Magic/Kareem

The real question here is, why are they ahead of the two guys behind them? Simply because they won 5 titles and the other team won 4. They can't be ahead of #2 and #1 because Magic and Kareem frequently got in each other's way on offense. Kareem ended up having to outlet the ball and just watch Magic and co. run the break while he waited on the defensive end. On offense, Magic spent most of his time posting up and passing, and Kareem wasn't much of a spot-up shooter, so he frequently didn't have a role in the halfcourt also. But nonetheless, each one contributed game-winning shots and rebounds, and they found a way to co-exist successfully.

Can't disagree there. I'd also rank them third as they didn't achieve a three-peat.

2. Jordan/Pippen

There's no question here. The only Dynasty to ever occur without a dominant big man. Jordan took over on Offense, Pippen took the other team's best scorer and verbally controlled everyone else on defense. A lot of people don't know that he used to tell people when to help out and when to stay home while covering his own man.

They're #2, though...simple because six is less than eleven. And they were good teammates, but didn't seem to get along that well.

Of their relationship, I would say (from what we know) it was much better after Jordan's first comeback; perhaps because both understood each other's position a lot better. Jordan had found out what it was like not to be the best in the game and a role player, while Pippen got a taste of how difficult it was to be "The Man". While they clashed at times, it never reached Shaq/Kobe proportions.

Of their position, I'd have to rank them number one. Partly due to personal bias, but also because of how lethal they were at both ends of the court. Also, the Russell/Cousy tandem produced six championships, not eleven - Cousy retired after title number six, the fifth in a row.

1. Russell/Cousy

11 championships in 13 years. You can't argue with that. Russell dominated on defense and Cousy was the trigger man on the fast break. They complemented each other better than any other duo also.

As I said, they didn't win 11 championships together, they won six which is equal with Jordan and Pippen. I would rank them number two behind MJ and Pip, but not by too much and easily ahead of Kareem/Magic.

As some have already mentioned, I would switch number 1 and 2 around. MJ was the most feared player on the court during his playing days, no team wants the ball in his hands and when you have Pippen, the perfect compliment to MJ with his handling skills and straight up, lock down defence... you have the ebst duo in NBA history. Each guy made sure they covered each other and won 6 rings together... they should be number 1.

Yo MJ and Pippen should be number 1

Another recent duo that was awesome was Steve Nash & Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas. It doesn't belong on this list, because they didn't even make it to the finals, but they were pretty much unguardable with that pick & roll...

6. Stockalone

What the??

LMAO

It's obviously #2 IMO. I like the Duncan/Robinson combo best though.