MOST DISAPOINTING SUPER TEAMS

In the NBA, super teams are formed when multiple star players come together on one team with the goal of winning a championship. However, while some of these teams have lived up to the hype, others have failed to meet expectations.

Here are the most disappointing superteams in recent NBA history:

2011-2012 Los Angeles Lakers
In 2012, the Los Angeles Lakers assembled a super team featuring future Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and Steve Nash. However, the team struggled to find chemistry on the court and was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers' superteam experiment ultimately proved to be a failure, as they failed to win a championship and Bryant, Howard, and Nash all left the team within a few years.

2013-2014 Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets went all-in during the 2013 offseason, acquiring aging stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Celtics. However, the Nets failed to live up to expectations and were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Miami Heat. The Nets' superteam experiment proved to be a costly failure, as they mortgaged their future by trading away valuable draft picks in the deal.

2016-2017 New York Knicks
The New York Knicks were expected to compete for a championship after signing former MVP Derrick Rose, All-Star Joakim Noah, and scoring machine Carmelo Anthony. However, the team failed to gel on the court and missed the playoffs altogether. The Knicks' superteam experiment was a costly failure, as they ended up trading away Rose and Noah in the following seasons.

2018-2019 Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors were already a championship-caliber team when they signed All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins in 2018. However, Cousins suffered a season-ending injury in the playoffs, and the Warriors ultimately lost to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. While the Warriors' superteam was successful in winning two championships prior to Cousins' arrival, their 2019 playoff run was a disappointment.

2020-2021 Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers were the preseason favorites to win the NBA championship in 2021 after acquiring All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard and All-Star Paul George. However, the team underperformed in the playoffs, blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round. The Clippers' superteam experiment was a costly failure, as they lost Leonard to injury in the following season and failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs once again.

2019-2022 Brooklyn Nets
This one right here goes over multiple seasons, as KD tried forming his own super team in Brooklyn in the 2019 post season. KD got Kyrie and James Harden to join the Nets, as they were one of the most anticipated teams in the NBA, until… Well, the Nets went on to be a great regular season team, especially in the 2020-21 season, where they finished 2nd in the east. But still, the story of the Nets super team goes way deeper, as toxicity and back talking made the chemistry on the team less than requisite. Having failed to play all together (KD, Kyrie, and Harden) in more than a third of their games, the Nets could not find success and ended up trading James Harden after issues got out of hand. More recently, the Nets decided to rebuild as they traded both KD and Kyrie away.

Luckily for Brooklyn, they got a good deal out of those trades, getting picks and star players in Mikal Bridges, and the opportunity to give Cam Thomas more minutes.
 

Conclusion
While super teams can be exciting to watch, they don't always live up to the hype. The above-listed teams failed to win a championship despite having multiple star players on their rosters, and their superteam experiments ultimately proved to be costly failures. These examples serve as a cautionary tale to NBA teams looking to build a superteam, as chemistry and teamwork are just as important as individual talent when it comes to winning a championship.