Nearly two years ago at this point, the Brooklyn Nets were just one big toe away from potentially going to the NBA Finals.
Instead, here we are today, and not a single star that played for that team at the time plays for the team now. James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving have all been traded away.
Brooklyn got a decent return on all of their stars, sure. But they’d certainly much rather still have all of them in hand. That time is over, though.
ESPN’s Tim Legler put it perfectly. The time the Nets’ former big 3 spent together isn’t just one of the most spectacular failures in NBA history. It’s one of the biggest failures in the history of professional sports.
Tim Legler agreed, saying Brooklyn's Big 3 is "not just maybe the greatest underachievment in the history of the NBA. This is one of the greatest underachievments in team sports."
Daaammnnn! 😱 pic.twitter.com/ZPxHkvHsYU
— First and Pen (@firstandpen) February 9, 2023
“I think we’re talking about something that’s going to go down, I think, as not just maybe the greatest underachievment in the history of the NBA. This is one of the greatest underachievments in team sports.”
It’s hard to argue with him here. The numbers back it up.
They only won one playoff series together
The Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden Nets only won one total playoff series together.
As baffling as that is, it’s as many as the Nets have won since 2013.
The KD-Kyrie Nets won as many playoff series as the Deron-Brook-KG-Pierce Nets (one playoff series)
— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) February 9, 2023
The Nets looked dominant, too! They beat the Celtics 4-1 with Durant leading the way averaging 32.1 points per game over that five-game span. Harden and Irving pitched in 27.8 points and 24.8 points per game, respectively. Together, they had an offensive rating of 130.1, which was elite.
It just didn’t last.
Harden, Durant and Irving only played 16 games together
As fearsome as this Big 3 was on paper, they almost literally never played together.
James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played in only 16 games together.
The Nets went 13-3 in those games (8-2 in the regular season and 5-1 in the playoffs). pic.twitter.com/DzVP9wX9Sj
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 10, 2022
They were awesome in those 16 games, sure. But, still…It was only 16 games. That’s unfathomable.
They all missed a chunk of games individually, too
As frustrating as it is that these dudes never played together, they didn’t even play that much individually.
The Nets played 280 games while having Durant and Irving on the roster, according to SNY. Durant only played 129 games in 3 seasons, accounting for his torn Achilles. Irving only played in 127.
James Harden was only with the Nets for a 114-game span, but he only played in 80 of those games.
Final game tallies in Brooklyn for the Nets' superstars (280 possible games)
-Kevin Durant – 129 games (3 seasons, 1 season sat out due to injury)
-Kyrie Irving – 127 games (4 seasons)James Harden suited up for 80 of his 114 possible games for Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/jdl7Za1rBS
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) February 9, 2023
It’s just one big mess.
Here's the deal
Durant, Irving and Harden are all insanely talented players. They’re going to go down as some of the best players in NBA history.
But there’s no doubt about it — they bungled this. Massively. They were supposed to shake the NBA up. This was supposed to be the “Scary Hours” bBig 3. Instead, it ended up amounting to exactly nothing.
The fact that it was a failure isn’t just shocking — it’s mostly disappointing. Because every time we think about this team we’ll think about what could’ve been. And that’s sad.
