When a team has two or more superstar athletes on their team, you’d think it’s a gift. Two times the talent, two times the performance! But sometimes, the addition of another star player can cause problems. It’s not an uncommon occurrence, especially in basketball. A team will have their “designated” star player, but a trade/draft will occur to acquire another, and now the team has to decide: are they willing to work together and share the spotlight? Or will they try to beat each other out and spark a downfall in the team’s cooperation and performance? Both can happen.
Take, for example, the 2012-13 Lakers. Dwight Howard was just signed to Los Angeles, coming off multiple great seasons with the Orlando Magic and several all-star appearances including an epic dunk contest win. He was signed to pair with Kobe Bryant, a guaranteed hall of famer with five championship rings already. Everyone expected the Lakers to be a powerhouse after this trade deal; who wouldn’t expect one of the greatest centers in the league and one of the greatest guards of all time to perform well? But who would’ve guessed that the Lakers’ offense would go to the garbage and Dwight and Kobe would have so many problems that he would leave the following year.
While some teams perform poorly with the an addition of another star player, some lead to back to back championships.
Take for example the 2011-13 Miami Heat. There was huge controversy leading up to the 2011 season, because Lebron James, a Cleveland native, decided to leave his hometown team, the Cavs, and pursue championships in Miami with Dwayne Wade. Dwayne Wade was the star player at Miami for years and lead them to multiple championships, so the question arose: how will these two star players work with each other? Dwayne Wade decided to share the spotlight with Lebron, giving him the star player role. Their cooperation paid off with two championship wins and four straight final appearances.
It’s surprising to see teams fail when more talent is added to their roster. One would think more talent leads to more performance, but for some teams, it’s upsettingly the opposite. But, sometimes, when the right players are paired together, perfection occurs, and the players can lead their team to to one, if not multiple, championships.