Top 5 NBA player duos who refused to play together featuring Michael Jordan-Isiah Thomas, Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal, and more
NBA history is littered with dominating superstar duos. That includes the likes of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
But not every superstar pairing had smooth sailing. While some sorted out their differences, others couldn't them and eventually parted ways.
In this article, we will look at five such superstar duos who refused to play together at a certain point.
#5, Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley
Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley are two of the biggest stars of 1990s basketball. The duo played together on arguably the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Men's Basketball Olympic team, aka 'The Dream Team'.
The duo later teamed up during the 1998-99 season for the Houston Rockets alongside another all-time great, Hakeem Olajuwon.
The duo didn't gel at all during their brief stint together. Pippen called out Barkley for his "lack of desire to win" and "selfishness." Barkley said that he was disappointed to see Pippen leave Houston after a season, especially since he had taken a pay cut to allow Pippen to sign a sizable contract.
Barkley and Pippen's bad blood has spilled over to their post-retirement days as well. Pippen called out his former teammate in his autobiography, and the duo have had multiple tirades about each other in the media over the years.
#4, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard was arguably a top three player in the league when he joined Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers in the summer of 2012. Expectations were sky high for the pairing. It felt like the second coming of Shaq-Kobe, with Bryant being more mature at that point than he was a decade earlier.
However, things went south quickly as Howard realized that the offense wouldn't run through him. Bryant was still the man for the Lakers, and this irked Howard, who was the Orlando Magic's leading man on a team that made the 2009 NBA Finals.
Bryant felt that Howard didn't have the work ethic to succeed at a championship level, and this led to arguments from the get-go. Eventually, Howard left after a bad year, while the Lakers sputtered to the finish line that season.
#3, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving
Former Cleveland Cavaliers duo LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were basketball's best tandem in 2016. The Cavaliers won the championship on the back of some spectacular performances from the two.
Observers thought that the duo would stick together and win more championships. But Kevin Durant ended up joining the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016 and won the 2017 championship.
With the Cavaliers losing in the NBA Finals and Irving wanting to get out of James' shadow, a split felt inevitable. Irving felt like this was his time to lead his own team. James eventually told him about making him the "No. 1 option," but Irving wanted it right away.
Irving was then traded to the Celtics in the summer of 2017, breaking up a duo that felt destined to win multiple championships once upon a time.
#2, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas
The most famous superstar saga in NBA history has resulted in two legends having beef to this day. Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas were the central characters in the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons rivalry that dominated the Eastern Conference championship scene in late 1980s.
The Bad Boys Detroit Pistions were a notoriously physical team who knocked down Jordan during their intense playoff battles. The Pistons were a thorn in the Bulls' path to making the NBA Finals. Jordan and the Bulls felt that Thomas, as the leader of the Pistons, was responsible for their physical style of play.
When Detroit walked off the court against the Bulls after getting swept in the 1991 Eastern Conference finals, this felt like the final straw in their personal rivalry. This spilled over to Team USA selections when Jordan said that he would not play for the team if Thomas was included.
With Jordan being the biggest name in the game, the USA Basketball sided with him.That kept Thomas, the game's best point guard at that time, from being on the Dream Team.
#1, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are arguably the most glamorous and popular duo in NBA history. The duo butted heads and fought multiple times during many seasons but always seemed to be on the same page when it mattered most.
They seemed unstoppable when they were focused together, resulting in a three-peat from 2000-02 for the LA Lakers. Kobe grew in stature during this time, while O'Neal stamped his resume with three straight finals MVPs, a regular season MVP and a scoring title.
After a point, it felt obvious that Kobe Bryant wanted to lead his own team. With O'Neal growing older and Bryant entering his prime, it felt destined that there would be tensions. O'Neal asked for a new deal in the summer of 2004. However, owner Jerry Buss refused to give him that contract.
With Bryant threatening to leave if O'Neal stayed, the Lakers had to select between the two. The saga ended with O'Neal getting traded to the Heat in the summer of 2004.