FROM Batman and Robin, to the Big Three and to Super Teams, the NBA power dynamic has evolved through the past several seasons.The Batman-and-Robin concept probably began with the old Minneapolis Lakers of George Mikan and Slater Martin in the '50s and Bill Russell and Bob Cousy of their archrival Boston Celtics after that in the '60s. On their way to the franchise's first-ever NBA title, the Milwaukee Bucks relied heavily on the May-September tandem of Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul Jabbar) and Oscar Robertson to deliver them to the Promised Land in 1971.Shaquille O'Neal and the late great Kobe Bryant I suppose formed a pretty potent Mutt-and-Jeff combination in the early 2000s on the way to winning a three-peat in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 2020, LeBron James played Batman to Anthony Davis' Robin when the Purple and Gold tied the Celtics' record with the most championships in NBA history with 17.But the most terrible twosome to have ever wrought havoc on an NBA court would be the GOAT Michael Jordan and his sidekick - hence the term Robin - Scottie Pippen of the three-peating Chicago Bulls of the early and late '90s.As I said in previous columns, the Big Three concept didn't start with Kevin Garnet, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen teaming up in Beantown. It started way before although it wasn't called the Big Three then.There were no sexy nomenclatures. In the '60s, sports scribes simply called them Russell, Cousy and Tom Heinsohn of the Celtics and Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain of the Los Angeles Lakers.In the 1980s, there was the Celtics juggernaut of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish who delivered Boston three Larry O'Brien trophies. And of course, who wouldn't forget Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy of the Showtime Lakers that gave the City of Los Angeles five championships, including a rare back-to-back in 1987 and 1988.You can also say the San Antonio Spurs had its own Big Three when the Tres Amigos of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili ruled the roost in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. However, you can argue coach Greg Popovich's last championship team was more like a Big 4 with future MVP Kawhi Leonard's emergence.The Miami Heat then famously (or infamously) assembled its own Big Three after the 2010 season when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dywane Wade in South Beach and proceeded to advance to four straight NBA Finals and winning half of them.Last season, the Bucks won its first NBA championship in 50 years when the trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday became the darling of all small market teams by successfully climbing the NBA pantheon. It's still up for debate if you can call them a Big Three though, as Holiday can be considered a third wheel at best.Now in the age of the blockbuster movie franchises like the Avengers and the Justice League, the NBA had added Super Teams to its lexicon.I can say there are only four Super Teams currently in the Association - the Los Angeles Lakers, the Brooklyn Nets, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat.A geriatric ward or not, the Lakers is definitely the team to beat out in the West with Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard joining The King and AD for one last championship run.Before injuries to James Harden and Kyrie Irving in last season's playoffs, the Brooklyn Nets, with Tokyo Olympics hero Kevin Durant at the tip of the spear, was the odds on favorite to win the NBA championship. They may have lost Jeff Green to the Denver Nuggets, but they've added Swiss Army knife James Johnson and Spurs sharpshooting legend Patty Mills to the mix.And the Bucks will only continue to get better with The Greek Freak still in his prime and championship toughness in their DNA. They've also added George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Grayson Allen to the fold.With the addition of Kyle Lowry, arguably the best free agent available in the 2021 season, the Heat have brought themselves back to title contention. With the 2019 champion on the roster, Jimmy Butler will no longer be burdened with playmaking duties every time he steps into the court. The re-signing of three-point sniper Duncan Robinson, additions of Markieff Morris and P.J. Tucker and the continued development of center Bam Adebayo also bodes well for Miami's title aspirations. And there's Tyler Herro, who can be the Next Great White Hope or just the second coming of Rex Chapman.
