Three is greater than two: Why the Warriors' big three are not done contending for championships

The NBA is known for many things, one being mobility. This past offseason saw multiple superstars leave their current teams to team up with another superstar. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant left their teams to team up in Brooklyn. Similarly, Kawhi Leonard-- who is coming off of a Finals MVP with the Raptors--and Paul George took their talents to Doc Rivers in Los Angeles. Lebron James and the Lakers were finally able to land the Anthony Davis trade.

This mobility made Jalen Rose, among other analysts, declare that super teams are over and dynamic duos are in. In hindsight he is correct. The idea of recent "Big Threes" has been composed of three superstars, usually in their prime. Big Threes have dominated the NBA since 2008, appearing in 10 of the last 11 NBA Finals.

These trios have been Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen; Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh; Lebron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving; and Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson. With the offseason decision of Kevin Durant, all of the trios above are now history.

While the current generation of the basketball world has gotten accustomed to the superstar Big Three, the older generation remembers the original form of a Big Three. The most beloved dynasties had Big Threes that propelled them over the hump. From Larry Bird's Boston squad to Micheal Jordan's Bulls down to the Showtime Lakers, traditional Big Threes have consisted of one all-time great, one elite role player who possibly can be the primary option on another team, and one grit and grind specialist.

That formula led Jordan to six rings. That formula made a Lakers games more than a game-- it turned their games into a show. That formula continued Boston's reign as the most decorated basketball franchise. And currently, that formula is what the Golden State Warriors are working with. The trio of Curry, Thompson, and Green follow the recipe of traditional Big Threes to a tee.

Obviously, Stephen Curry is an all-time great. From his handle on the ball to his shooting, he has changed the game of basketball-- similar to Jordan making the two guard the hot spot, or Bird creating the point-four concept, or Magic taking the idea of a traditional point guard and turning it into a focal point of an offense.

Klay Thompson, on the other hand, is more complicated. Thompson is a generational talent. It's not every season we see someone break record after record and score absurd numbers in limited minutes. Thompson achieves that feat seemingly every season. Then again, we've had the luxury of seeing his teammate, Curry, do it at higher levels--seemingly every season. So the question of how good is Thompson on his own is always in the back of people's minds. It's evident when choosing All NBA Teams and even the current All-Decade Team. Analyst and fans often discredit Thompson's worth, due to the fact he plays alongside an all-time great.

But, with that said, Thompson still has a Hall of Fame level value. That value may have been different if, say, Curry didn't exist. This is the same feeling that many fans and analyst have about Scottie Pippen and Kevin McHale-- defining them as elite role players. Their careers might have been totally different if they hadn't played beside once in a lifetime players like Jordan and Bird. But, they did. So the what ifs have to go out the door, and we can only judge facts. And the fact is that Thompson, like Pippen and McHale, is a required asset to the Warriors' success. It was evident in this year's past Finals. It's easy to say that if Thompson doesn't get injured, the Warriors would have forced a Game 7. He was on his way to a historical Finals performance, already scoring 30 points in three-quarters of play. Thompson disables teams from being able to help off of him, making it very difficult to trap Curry, similar to how McHale and Pippen created rotation problems for opposing defenses.

The last of the trio is the grit and grind specialist Draymond Green. Green, unlike Curry and Thompson, isn't a statistical stand out in one category-- but the core isn't complete without his play. Like a jack of all trades, Green gets the job done. If you need a stop, he's clapping at the other team's best player before getting the stop. If you need scoring, he can whip out a 17 point outing. When you need leadership, Green is becoming the newest meme while hyping up his teammates during a timeout. That same dirty work, get it done role was the job of Dennis Rodman to the Bulls, Dennis Johnson to the Celtics, James Worthy to the Lakers. Green does the intangibles that are needed to win championships. Even though he doesn't demand a double team, but teams still have to include him in their scouting report.

History says the Warriors' will be dangerous once Thompson returns from his ACL injury, as most trios that lasts more than four years boost their scoring output and defensive win shares. Just looking at the Warriors' Big Three's resume, contending should be expected. If a 73-9 season, five straight Finals, and three championships don't tell you enough about that core's ability together, then their 84% winning percentage should.

To put things into a broader perspective, championship trios that stick together (Johnson, Abdul-Jabar, and Worthy; Bird, McHale, and Johnson) for five years or longer have shot an average of 46% from the field while on the floor together. When you add the Big Three of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman, that number goes up to 50%. These trios also averaged 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals while on the floor together-- playing an average of 69 games together, per Basketball-Reference. These trios have all won three or more championships together.

It's not that each person averaged stellar numbers, it's the chemistry developed and roles each player played.

Jordan was continuously swept in the first round before the Bulls drafted Pippen. The Celtics' defense went from average to championship-caliber after the acquisition of Johnson. The Lakers' aging frontcourt wouldn't have been able to handle the Celtics without the drafting of Worthy. Similarly, the Warriors have lost two finals where Thompson or Green wasn't available for series-deciding games.

If history is right, Curry, Thompson, and Green are not done contending for championships. Despite the influx of superstar duos, the Warriors trio will be a force to be reckoned with as long as the band is on the floor together.