The once-narrowed gap between the United States and the rest of the world in basketball is widening. A good indication of that unfortunate reality is how shocking it was when the Americans, without LeBron James, Steph Curry, and other superstar luminaries, beat pesky Australia by a mere 10 points in a group matchup during the 2016 Olympic Games. Team USA is supposed to walk over the competition in Rio; the Boomers’ competitiveness was deemed a reflection of their heavily-favored opponent’s subpar play as much as anything else.
Would FIBA’s push to include a 3-on-3 tournament in future Olympics re-level the playing field? Maybe not. An overwhelming majority of the world’s best players were born in the United States, after all. Putting six guys on the floor instead of 10 wouldn’t change that. But there’s a chance that the chemistry and cohesion foreign-born players hone growing up with their national programs would be pushed to their absolute apex in this simplest form of play. Plus, as anyone who’s ever played pickup knows, 3-on-3 is basketball at its purist.
With an eye on FIBA’s intentions and the 2020 Games, DIME scribes were asked to comprise the most unbeatable three-man teams in the world. These are their answers.
Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Karl-Anthony Towns
Three ridiculous athletes, plenty of defense with Leonard and Towns, an elite perimeter shooter and a multi-skilled big man. Plus, only three defenders on the court gives Westbrook plenty of space to attack. There’s nothing this group can’t do and no lineup they wouldn’t flourish against. Plus, they’d be fun as hell to watch.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green
The two scariest weapons and the best, most selfless utility belt. Not the three best players — although we do have two from that category — but the most terrifying trio imaginable. James and Durant freed up by Green’s screens and constant dirty work are not, in any way, stoppable. The physicality, intelligence, and skill of these three would be overwhelming. There’s no one they couldn’t score on, and there’s no one they couldn’t guard. Annoyingly enough for the rest of the league, it’s hard to make a league’s-best threesome without having at least two of your trio from the Golden State Warriors.
Steph Curry, LeBron James, Blake Griffin
Originally I had Russell Westbrook in here, but then I looked at my team and realized my three-point shooting just wasn’t going to cut it, so I swapped Steph in there instead. What we have here is a matchup nightmare for everyone. If LeBron wants to run the show, Steph can just sprint around and get himself open or be a legitimate nightmare as long as this group utilizes screens to its advantage. Bron on his own could be the best 3-on-3 player of all time with his ability to do pretty much everything.
Griffin is my wildcard. I think with the extra space, and the question of who he’d be guarding (and who would be guarding him) from game to game, you need a guy like Blake to freestyle a bit and use his physicality and athleticism to do crazy cool things. Plus the potential for alley-oops from LeBron to Griffin, Griffin to Lebron, and Steph to Griffin and LeBron would probably be one heck of a psychological advantage.
Maybe I should have gotten myself another shooter, but I’m happy with this team. I never like those teams that only shoot threes in 3-on-3 anyway.
Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis
Sure, this lineup might be on the skinny side, but it’ll be the best shooting team in the games (especially if Davis improves his long-range shooting as much as I think he will), and between AD and Durant that’s a good 15 feet of wingspan. Without having to organize four teammates on defense, Davis can let his supernatural gifts as a shot blocker take over and dominate at the rim. Yes, I know LeBron James is around, but I don’t feel like watching him post up — I’d much rather watch KD and Curry screen for each other and terrify every opponent.
Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, LeBron James
There are two factors a team needs more than any other to be most successful in 3-on-3: court sense and positional versatility. This troika, obviously, offers those attributes in spades.
James might be the smartest player in basketball, and remains unrivaled in terms of overall physical prowess entering his 14th season at the age of 31. He’s impossible to keep out of the lane off the bounce on-on-one, makes hay in the post with both power and finesse, and would exploit every inevitable mismatch presented by his like-sized teammates as a playmaker. The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar might still be the game’s foremost defensive chameleon, too.
But he isn’t, of course, because maybe no player in league history is better equipped to guard five positions than Green. The Golden State Warriors do-it-all big man might have been a controversial choice for this exercise before last season, when he shot just under 39 percent from 3-point range and made major strides as an isolation scorer. But Green is here for his defense and passing first and foremost, of course.
It’s not like these guys would struggle to score, either – not with the world’s most unguardable player being fed by James and Green. Durant can blow by slower-footed defenders off the dribble and shoot over the top of smaller ones, and anyone who watched the Western Conference Finals knows how great he can be defensively when locked in on a possession by possession basis. He always strives to make the right basketball play regardless if it ends with him shooting, too, which isn’t just a requirement in 3-on-3 but also indicative of the unselfishness most world-class scorers lack.
What couldn’t James, Green, and Durant do? Good luck scoring on this team, and opponents will need even greater better fortune getting a stop. This like-sized triumvirate has it all.
LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant
This is easy. The three best players in the world, in some order, going against any other trio, and they have to be the favorites. LeBron can bang with just about anyone on the block, and Durant is a sneaky-good rim protector when engaged. Curry might give up a bit defensively against longer and (slightly) quicker guards, but you take that for his shooting and handle. Plus, opponents have to account for two of these three greatest shot-makers of all time, and it’s not like LeBron struggles to find open shooters. James can also double as their low-post threat since he’s become excellent at running an offense on the block. It took me longer to write this section than it would take this triumvirate to dominate in a three-on-three tourney. They’re Cerberus, personified, except without all the ominous snarling.
