25 Most Dynamic Duos in NBA History
It is a well-known fact that one player cannot carry a team to a championship (Dirk Nowitzki and Hakeem Olajuwon might say otherwise). Many have tried, almost all have failed and with the new trend of "superteams", it shows even more that superstars need other stars at the very least to take them to a title.
Looking back in history, almost every team had almost their entire roster stepping-up at some point during both the regular season as well as the Playoffs for their team to win a title. Having said that, there are always a few standouts.
Sometimes it's more than just two players. Some teams have more than just two stars on their team en route to a title which has become a bit of a modern trend. Till recently though, it was usually one-two punch combo that was the focal point of a championship winning team.
Here is a look at the twenty-six greatest duos in the history of the NBA.
#25 Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns)
Steve Nash became a free-agent in 2004 and not many people were too keen on spending a lot of money on a player that was around thirty years old and never really earned the reputation of being able to lead a successful team.
The Suns though took a gamble on the Canadian as they thought he would be the perfect partner for their young big-man Amar'e Stoudemire, who they drafted out of high school in 2002.
It was an ingenious move as both Stoudemire and Nash came into their own as players. They played some of the most exciting basketball of the decade and their offensive efficiency was unparallel. Nash and Stoudemire fit perfectly into coach Mike D'Antoni's offensive regime. They introduced the seven seconds or less tactic to the league and their pick-and-roll method was often compared to John Stockton and Karl Malone.
Both the superstars along with the entire team flourished during this period and reached the Western Conference Finals twice, in 2005 and 2006.
Nash reached the illustrious 40-50-90 club four times while at Phoenix and won back-to-back MVP titles in 2005 and 2006 while Stoudamire became a five-time All-Star during his time with Nash and the Suns. In 2007, the duo also became the first teammates since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to be voted to the first-team All-NBA.