Will the Phoenix Suns reintroduce the superteam era in the NBA?
Heading into the 2023-24 NBA season, there’s a very important underlining storyline that is about to unfold – the experiment of the Phoenix Suns. If trading for Kevin Durant wasn’t enough for the new ownership, they decided to make another big splash during the offseason.
To open the offseason, the Suns acquired Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster trade. Heading into the training camp, it’s hard not to look at the top-level talent that the Suns have on its roster and not consider them a favorite to win the 2024 NBA Championship.
The Suns have as talented as a top 4 that we haven’t seen in the NBA, probably, since KD was a member of the Golden State Warriors. Phoenix will feature KD, Beal, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton to start the season. They also have a solid supporting cast centered around Eric Gordon, Bol Bol, and Yuta Watanabe.
But with a clear big 4, the big question is whether it will work as well – and as dominantly – as the Warriors did. And, if so, will that reintroduce the return of the superteam era in the NBA?
The superteam era in the NBA has gone away
After the Warriors broke up during the 2019 NBA offseason, the superteam era in the league pretty much disappeared. The “Big 2” era was ushered back into the NBA with the Toronto Raptors (Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam), Los Angeles Lakers (LeBron James, Anthony Davis), Milwaukee Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton), Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins), and Denver Nuggets (Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray) winning championships in recent years.
However, if the Suns were to complete this title bid, there’s at least a chance that it could usher in a new superteam era in the NBA. And when we saw superteam, you’re thinking about three superstars (or near superstars) on one team.
Looking around the landscape of the NBA, the only other teams other than the Suns that come close to being a “superteam” are the Boston Celtics (with the recent acquisitions of Kristaps Porzingis) and the Miami Heat (if they can land Damian Lillard). That’s it.
But if the Suns win the championship this season, there’s no question that it could steer the NBA back into a position that is not always great for the fans. I can’t help but feel like if the Suns win the championship, we could see even more stars begin to align themselves with better situations.
It’s something to keep an eye on heading into the season. We could be on the verge of another superteam run in the NBA.