Back In The Day NBA

NBA Great Suggests "Super Teams" Existed In 1980s Years Before LeBron James

Shandel Richardson

Unknown date and unknown location; USA; FILE PHOTO; Philadelphia 76ers center Moses Malone (2) against Milwaukee Bucks center Bob Lanier (16). Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Network.
Unknown date and unknown location; USA; FILE PHOTO; Philadelphia 76ers center Moses Malone (2) against Milwaukee Bucks center Bob Lanier (16). Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Network. / Malcolm Emmons - Imagn Images
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LeBron James is often credited for creating the term "Super Team" in the NBA when he and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat in 2010.

In reality, it's happened in the league for decades. That was the case in 1982 when the Philadelphia 76ers somehow traded for reigning league MVP Moses Malone, pairing him with Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Bobby Jones and Maurice Cheeks. The Sixers also had All-Star Andrew Toney.

They finished the season 65-17 on the way to an NBA title, sweeping the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. The only team to win one game against the Sixers that postseason was the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Bucks thought they had a chance after losing to the Sixers in six games the previous season. And then the Malone trade happened.

"We were poised to beat the Sixers the next time we played in the playoffs," former Bucks forward Marques Johnson told Back In The Day Hoops On SI. "We took them to (six) games in the playoffs and then they went out and got Moses Malone. Then that became unfair."

James is unfairly blamed for trends as such when it's occurred for years. The Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo during the Showtime era.

"That's what I keep telling people," Johnson said. "The more things change, the more they remain the same. Moses wasn't going to the New Jersey Nets. He wasn't going to the bottom-feeding teams. He was going to a team he had a legitimate chance to win a championship. You credit his agent. His agent made the moves that had to be made to put him in position to play with Dr. J. You put him and Dr. J together and it's a done deal. That was a definite super team. Guys were making those moves back in the day."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com