Two Teams Quietly Move To NBA Championship Favorites

There has been a lot of talk as to which NBA teams walked out of free agency in the best of shape. Of course, the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavilers are on top of that list.

The Bulls added Paul Gasol to its lineup and the Cavs managed to secure the return of LeBron James.

After the latter split, many were quick to declare the end of “The Big 3” era. That may have been true in the case of the Miami Heat, but as a model for winning, the Big 3 era could not be going stronger.  Just looking at the after mentioned teams that came out of free agency as top dogs, the Bulls now have a triple threat in Jokim Noah, Derrick Rose and Gasol, While the Cavs have their own Big 3 in James,  Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins (or Kevin Love, depending on how the rest of free agency plays out).

Two big time contenders have quietly flew under the radar during this year’s free agency. These two teams already had a core Big 3 that had proven themselves.

One of those teams is the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs’ Big 3 are the most successful of the Big 3 era when we are talking about postseason performance.

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker surpassed the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers in most postseason wins last season, if that does not define your squad as a dynasty I am not sure what does.

The addition of Kawhi Leonard has filled in the gaps created by the aging Big 3 and led them to an NBA title last season.

This core squad was kept intact during Free Agency, with the Spurs office opting to go with the “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” approach.

Even more over looked that the Spurs, is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who also held on to its core Big 3 in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.

Last season, the Thunder suffered from serious health issues, with Russell Westbrook on the bench seemingly more than he was on the court. But let’s us not forget that Durant had a historic season.

With and ideally healthy team and the breakup of Miami’s Big 3, it seems like no other team is more ready to take over the NBA than the young and energetic Thunder.

Next season, these two teams will either be praised for keeping their teams intact or criticized for not adapting while the NBA landscape changed. However, my money is on the though that the old dogs over in San Antonio have a couple more good runs left in the tank and the Thunder will become one of the most dominant teams in the NBA.