DrinkCorrect7655 | DET

73 | 3 hours ago

None, it’s almost a rule that you need a top 10 player in the league to win a Chip.

siphillis | SAS

21 | 2 hours ago

Probably closer to Top Five, honestly

GimmeShockTreatment | CHI

9 | an hour ago

Funny that this comment comes from a Pistons fan

n0-ragrets | NYK

1 | 20 minutes ago

As a role player on all levels I’ve played at. I loved that pistons team more than most other teams I’ve ever watched. Everyone was a star in their respective roles.

Did they have a top 10 player? I really don’t think so. They just prioritized defense, and played well enough offense to demoralize every team they played.

If I was a hooper in the nba, that was the team I’d love to play for..

[deleted]

-3 | 3 hours ago

[deleted]

captain_ahabb | LAL

6 | 3 hours ago

In other sports top 10 players get left out of the playoffs all the time.

Just this season in MLB you have Bobby Witt Jr (2) and Otto Lopez (10) both out of the playoffs.

ShayDMoves | MEM

31 | 3 hours ago

Caron Butler on the 2011 Mavs. Closest I got.

jboggin

7 | 3 hours ago

haha…That 2011 Mavs team is my favorite team of all time, and I will always love Butler, but it’s telling that he’s the best example you can think of (I’m in the same boat). Butler averaged 13-4-1 that season.

But yeah, I can’t think of any examples of superstars missing multiple series or even just the Finals and a team winning a chip. I think the closest anyone is going to find will be a superstar missing a game or two in the Finals or a top-end role player like Butler.

ShayDMoves | MEM

1 | 3 hours ago

But they had Brian Cardinal, so of course they were fine!

CognogginGames | LAL

2 | 2 hours ago

Dirk was obviously the star player, but Butler was legitimately their second option (or shared that spot with Terry & Marion) before the injury.

I think part of the reason everyone wrote them off in the playoffs was because of that injury. They started the season 24-7 with Butler in the lineup.

TwoProper4220

1 | an hour ago

it’s just the Lakers were heavily favored in their conference most believed Mavs would made it past first round. but it’s true they struggled it was during mid season and was still able to finish strong 3rd in WC and 5th overall (tied with Lakers and 1 game behind the Heat).

Conscious_Ladder_862

1 | 2 hours ago

He was arguably their 2nd best player

TwoProper4220

1 | 2 hours ago

good thing their border superstar stepped up big time

wormhole222 | MIA

1 | an hour ago

And the closest anyone came to winning without a superstar for extended period is the 2019 Warriors who won games 5 and 6 vs Houston, swept Portland and lost 4-2 to the Raptors. Just shows how BS that team was that they did as well as they did without KD.

BushyBrowz | NYK

0 | 2 hours ago

They’re lucky plucky role player Durk Nowizsky went on such a hot streak

ShayDMoves | MEM

1 | 2 hours ago

I’ll wait on a better answer…

-GrapeGrass- | DAL

26 | 3 hours ago

There’s no real good examples lol. There’s 7 games in a series, you can’t Nick Foles your way to a chip.

nba2k11er | GSW

36 | 3 hours ago

The 1980 Lakers were without Kareem for just game 7 of the Finals.

Steridire | NYK

33 | 3 hours ago

Magic became a superstar in that very game though

Informal_Support1934

14 | 3 hours ago

Game 6, but I dont think it fulfills the question - he played most of the championship round

siphillis | SAS

9 | 3 hours ago

And Magic decided to have his best game ever at the perfect time

DrMisterNobody

4 | 2 hours ago

*Game 6.

jtgill02 | OKC

2 | an hour ago

Kareem was also dominant in the other 5 games even the one where he hurt his ankle

penguin_torpedo | DEN

11 | 3 hours ago

Basketball is completely different, there’s only 5 players on the court, 15 on a roster and ~10 on a rotation. Missing one of your best players is much more impactful that on other sports like baseball and football that have much more players on the field.

SuperMeatStick

12 | 3 hours ago

Kareem missed the final game in 1980. Willis Reed missed a game and played a little while hurt in the final game in 1970. That’s about it.

This is more of an NFL thing I feel.

HokageEzio | NYK

12 | 3 hours ago

The 1969 Oakland Oaks won the ABA Championship without Rick Barry. That’s the closest comp that I know of with an NBA (ABA) team actually pulling it off with their best player missing the whole thing.

I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE | DET

13 | 3 hours ago

Knicks came within three games without Ewing in 99, anyone else come closer than that?

HokageEzio | NYK

11 | 3 hours ago

The Knicks have actually done that twice. Willis Reed missed almost the entire 1972 season and the Knicks made it to the Finals where they lost 4-1 to the Lakers. Then they came back in 73 and beat the Lakers 4-1.

I think it’s debatable that Ewing was still their best player in 99 though.

I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE | DET

2 | 3 hours ago

Huh, didn’t know about the 72 team, that’s pretty cool.

As for Ewing, I think he was still the best player, but that team got hot and rode the high of Houston’s series winning floater into the finals. Ewing was the most talented player on that team, but his absence allowed them to play relatively small and fast, which benefitted the remaining best players(Houston, Spree, and Camby). He was sorely needed in the finals though.

I hate to call it addition by subtraction, because Ewing, even in 99, was still a force.

HokageEzio | NYK

2 | 2 hours ago

It shows you how good that team was that they won 2 and went to 3 despite Willis’ legs giving out on him by the time he was 30. Entirely possible that Lakers team in 72 just refused to be denied one more time (that’s the team that won 33 straight games), but you never know. It’s why people don’t know as much about Willis Reed historically, his prime is just so short despite how much he accomplished.

As far as I’ve heard from older fans, Ewing breaking his wrist in 98 was more or less where his prime ended. That’s when things start tipping in Houston and/or Sprewell’s favor.

Long_Value_9133 | CHI

4 | 3 hours ago

Obviously much harder on basketball since there are 5 active players on the floor for each time.

If we expand to other sports, Big Dick Nick Foles beating Brady in the Super Bowl has to be up there.

Oblivious_Latka

12 | 3 hours ago

Not exactly the same, but in 2004, the Detroit Pistons won despite having no bona fide superstars on their team, beating the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe in their prime.

I loved the 2004 Pistons since they showed what a team should be about.

TwoProper4220

3 | 2 hours ago

look at this post and see the top post there claiming 2011 Heat was the biggest superteam failure

Oblivious_Latka

1 | an hour ago

The 2011 Heat and the 2004 Lakers are a toss-up for the biggest superteam failure in my opinion, but if I had to pick one, the title of failed superteam would go to the 2011 Heat for the fake-coughing mocking. It wasn’t cool when it happened, and in the end they ate humble pie for it. Also, you’d argue that even though they were basketball legends in their own right, Malone and Payton were non-factors for the Lakers.

TwoProper4220

3 | an hour ago

objectively speaking, 04 Lakers were heavily favored and most experts believed they would sweep the Pistons. we can’t say the same for the 2011 finals. no one thought the Heat would sweep the Mavs and when the Heat were favored most believed the Heat would take 6 games.

that alone speaks how the two isn’t really a toss-up.

was the 2011 Heat the biggest superteam failure? No. was it LeBron’s biggest failure in his professional career? Yes.

2020IsANightmare

1 | 30 minutes ago

The fact that the only example can possibly think of is from 22 years ago is telling,

And, I’m not gonna act like that Pistons team was filled with nobodies.

Two of their players and their coach are in the HOF.

Sheed, Prince and Rip.

That wasn’t a team that didn’t have superstar players. They didn’t have a top-level player, but they had really good players at every position. Similar to the Knicks this past season.

NoTrillionaires

0 | 3 hours ago

But the following season all 5 of the pistons starters made the all star team

Edit: im getting old my memory is shot. Its actually the 2006 asg with 4 of those pistons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_NBA_All-Star_Game

DuckieTheDuckie | GSW

2 | 3 hours ago

Not true

PersonalityLoud3681

0 | 3 hours ago

Under that premise, do any of the Spurs‘ first four rings meet the same criteria? Like yeah they had Timmy but he’s still a ~20 ppg guy for most seasons

BushyBrowz | NYK

5 | 2 hours ago

Tim Duncan is one of the greatest players to ever play the game lmao

The 2014 title would be the closest to qualify but it still doesn’t count, they had all their best players

PersonalityLoud3681

0 | 2 hours ago

I mean I don’t disagree with you one bit, it’s weird how he can be the best to ever play a position and not feel like a superstar

BushyBrowz | NYK

6 | 2 hours ago

He absolutely was a superstar though. Like without question

Oblivious_Latka

2 | 2 hours ago

I consider Tim Dunckin a superstar, even though he was one of the most humble superstars of the game. Also, Parker and Ginóbili could be, or should have been, considered superstars since they played like superstars. But the Spurs are definitely one of the few teams I liked watching because they played team basketball.

TwoProper4220

1 | 2 hours ago

it’s just weird to view Duncan just a 20ppg guy when he did contribute more in other aspects of the game

DrMisterNobody

1 | 2 hours ago

He’s a MVP and All NBA player

dbzmah | DAL

1 | 3 hours ago

20 ppg in that era is fine, especially with everything else he brought

eileyle

2 | 3 hours ago

The last team that won a championship despite not having any superstar was the Detroit Pistons. The NBA is much more superstar-reliant than other sports.

BushyBrowz | NYK

1 | 2 hours ago

2014 Spurs could also technically qualify, but it’s a stretch

outsidehere | LAL

2 | an hour ago

I’d argue 1980 Lakers

adeelf | LAL

1 | 3 hours ago

Don’t think it’s ever happened.

Not surprising, really. Since there are only 5 active players on the court at any given time, one superstar player has an outsized impact. By the same token, the absence of said superstar will leave the team severely affected.

TwoProper4220

1 | 2 hours ago

rookie Magic is the only one I could think of

lanfordr | SAS

1 | 39 minutes ago

Closest I can think of is 1999 Knicks making the finals without Ewing, but they obviously did not win.

AffectionateBend7507

1 | 31 minutes ago

Raptors in 2019. They won it WITHOUT OG Anunoby! ☺️

Impossible-Group8553

0 | 3 hours ago

The 2016 warriors won the semi conference finals without Steph

mattw08

2 | 3 hours ago

The 2019 Warriors had a chance and did win a series without Curry. But it’s near impossible in the NBA.

Shumonyu | GSW

5 | 3 hours ago

Steph Curry did not miss a series in 2019

a_large_plant | BOS

0 | an hour ago

But if he did, they had a chance to win one without him

Shumonyu | GSW

1 | an hour ago

A championship or a series? They could realistically win a series without him but not the championship. If anything Durant is the answer, they made the finals in 2019 with Durant missing the last two games of the semis and all of the wcf.

a_large_plant | BOS

1 | an hour ago

I was joking.

mattw08

-1 | 3 hours ago

KD did. Curry missed time in previous years.

NBA teams that won a championship despite missing their superstar?