Top five most disappointing NBA Big 3 since 2010

Credit: Burn City Sports

PHOENIX –As the NBA trade deadline approaches, signs point to the Phoenix Suns trading Bradley Beal and thus ending the failed Big 3 experiment for the franchise. Suns traded for the three-time All-Star last offseason, and the combination of injuries and differentiating playstyles have made the experience a disappointment. Phoenix is 49-37 with Beal in the lineup and has resulted in zero playoff wins.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

And with the current CBA’s looming punishments for being past the second apron thanks to the Suns’ trio massive contracts, the future is a foggy one in the desert. The Big 3 experiment has been a trend in the NBA for the past 15 years, starting with the 2008 Celtics, which led to the 2011 Heat. Those examples lead to championships, but for a lot of other teams, like the 2024 Suns, they did not.

How high does this Suns team rank in the most disappointing Big 3 since 2010?

5. Lob City Los Angeles Clippers (2011-2017)

The Lob City Clippers had great regular season success, which is what makes their playoff shortcomings that much more disappointing. The one-two punch of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin had a record of 232-106 in the regular season, but only a measly 22-27 record in the playoffs and never reaching the Western Conference Finals.

Paul, Griffin, and even All-NBA first-team member DeAndre Jordan were some of the favorites heading into the 2014-2015 season to raise the Larry O’Brien trophy at +900 in the preseason. Instead, the trio blew a 3-1 lead to the Houston Rockets in the 2nd round, ending them ever being perceived as serious contenders again.

4. 2021 Brooklyn Nets

Arguably the most talented Big 3 on this entire list, the grouping of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving was a match made in heaven. When the trio were all on the court together, they had an .813 win percentage, again only a 16-game sample size but still an impressive feat. Injuries derailed this team, with Durant being sidelined for a long portion of the regular season and Irving getting injured in the 2nd round against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Despite all those injuries, the Nets were still a Durant shoe away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Sadly, Harden requested to leave that offseason, and the world never saw a healthy season of this Big 3, but if it was anything like those 16 games, it was magical.

3. 2012 Los Angeles Lakers

Two years after the Los Angeles Lakers went back-to-back, GM Mitch Kupchak made two big splashes in free agency in 3-time defensive player of the year Dwight Howard and 2-time MVP Steve Nash to pair with their superstar Kobe Bryant. All things pointed to the Lakers and Bryant reaching the mountaintop, but that was far from reality. Nash was 38 years old and far past his MVP days, while the notorious beef between Bryant and Howard only amplified as the season progressed.

Los Angeles would go from being projected to win 58 games to only winning 45 and from the second-best odds to win the Finals to being swept in the 1st round by the San Antonito Spurs. Kupchak would trade Howard that next offseason, ending the Big 3 after only one season before the Lakers would go back into rebuild mode.

2. 2024 Phoenix Suns

Zero playoff wins for a combined $150 million is a failure, and it could still end even worse for Phoenix. If the Suns are not able to get off of Beal’s $50 million contract. Beal, Durant, and Devin Booker’s contracts push Phoenix past the second apron, which spells bad news about the franchise’s potential draft capital.

Here is a look at second apron teams heading into the trade deadline.@SportsBizClass pic.twitter.com/RORpfvnQaM

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 27, 2025

That much money invested in an aging star, Durant, and an injury-prone Beal risks having your 2032 first untradeable and moved to the back of the 1st round. That is a hole that could sink a franchise deep into purgatory with no future.

1. 2013 Brooklyn Nets

Speaking of no future, the Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King overhauled their draft capital by trading three unprotected 1st round picks and 1st round pick swap in 2017 for 37-year-old Kevin Garnett and 36-year-old Paul Pierce. The move was to pair the two NBA legends with seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson and make a serious push towards dethroning the Big 3 in Miami.

That was quickly swatted away as the Heat disposed of the Nets in 5 games in the 2nd round of that year’s playoff. King’s vision of Brooklyn running the East was over as Pierce left that offseason, and Garnett would be traded back to Minnesota in the middle of the next year. Those unprotected 1st round picks would turn into All-NBA players Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The duo would lead the Celtics to rule the East, making it to multiple Eastern Conference Finals and an eventual championship in 2024.

The move put the Nets in purgatory for years with no draft picks and no future. Luckily, Brooklyn learned their lesson and didn’t try to start another Big 3 for at least another 8 years.

Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic trade market starting to warm up

*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*

Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports