To be honest, the NBA has won the single-core championship five times in 79 years: Jordan and O Neal are on the list

It has to be admitted that the NBA has only seen 5 single-core championships in 79 years: Jordan and O'Neal have no suspense

On September 4, NBA legend Barkley talked about the trend of James and Durant's grouping, which triggered the rules of the second rich line, and accused these players of wanting to group and taking shortcuts and not wanting to compete! Durant responded online and said that since he wanted to play trash, I think Warriors general manager Miles should be the scapegoat. For a time, the controversy over the group competition for the championship was rampant. So, in the NBA's nearly 80 years of history, how many people have won the "single-core championship"? Looking at the history of the NBA, the author believes that there are only 5 cases that truly match the single-core championship. Leonard, who led the Raptors to win the championship in 2019, was unable to enter the group even if he won the FMVP due to the stable contribution of his teammates.

1. In 1994, Olajuwon, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement due to his father's death. This news made the NBA instantly unbalanced. The Knicks, Magic, the Suns and Spurs in the East all saw hope of winning the championship, and the Rockets, led by Olajuwon, opened their own "single-core legend". At that time, the Rockets' lineup configuration was far from being "luxury". The only team who can help Olajuwon is power forward Thorpe, who was selected as the All-Star substitute of the season. However, this player who averaged 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game is more like a functional blue-collar worker than a second-in-command who can share the offensive pressure. Other main players such as point guard Kenny Smith, who averaged only 12.6 points per game and had just exceeded 35% of the three-point shooting percentage; shooting guard Eddie Johnson is a 34-year-old veteran who can only contribute 10.9 points. Such a lineup was not favored from the beginning in the West, where there were many powerful people. The

The journey of the playoffs is completely a microcosm of Olajuwon's "carrying the team alone". In the first round against the Trail Blazers, he averaged 30.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.5 blocks per game, leading the Rockets to advance 4-1 easily; in the second round, facing the Suns, the two sides fought to the tiebreak, Olajuwon scored 37 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in the decisive battle, ending the series with dominance on both ends - You know, the Suns had MVP-level players Barkley at the time, as well as powerful players such as Kevin Johnson and Dan Marley. If Olajuwon had no super-god performance, the Rockets would have stopped. In the finals against the Knicks, Olajuwon and Ewing's "center showdown" became the focus, but the trend of the game was completely controlled by Olajuwon. He averaged 26.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He is not only the team's scoring champion, but also the steal king and the block king, and also the second in assists and rebounds. In the third game of the key, he sent 8 blocks in a single game, setting a record for single-game blocks in the finals; in the fourth game, he used 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists to help the Rockets win the key victory away. When the final whistle sounded and the Rockets defeated the Knicks 4-2 to win the championship, everyone understood: without Olajuwon's offense and defense, this Rockets could not even touch the threshold of the finals.

2. Jordan 1998's Chicago Bulls were no longer the "dynasty army" with 72 wins and 10 losses in 1996. Pippen has only played 44 games in the regular season due to a back injury, and his average data fell to 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists, a significant decline from his peak. Although Rodman, 37, can still grab 15 rebounds, his scoring ability is almost negligible (3.2 points per game); point guard Harper and shooting guard Kerr are both typical role players, who can only provide three-point support at specific moments and cannot assume the heavy responsibility of offense. This aging and injured team can stand on the finals stage entirely by Jordan's "lonely persistence". Jordan in the playoffs showed the ultimate form of "God of Basketball". In the first round against the Nets, he averaged 36.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and his shooting percentage was as high as 55% in the series. In the second round, facing the Hornets, even if the opponent used the "shark-cutting tactic" to surround him, he still averaged 29.6 points per game, of which he scored 41 points in the fourth game to lead the team to reverse; in the Eastern Conference Finals, against the Pacers, both sides played in 7 games. Jordan contributed 28 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in the tiebreak, blocking Miller's key shot at the last moment, locking the Bulls in the finals. In the finals against the Jazz, this round of series became the "Fight of Gods" in Jordan's career. The Jazz have the "Utah Double" of Stockton and Malone, as well as top shooters like Hornersec, with a balanced lineup and full of resilience. In the first six games, the two sides tied 3-3. In the seventh away game in Salt Lake City, Jordan carried the Bulls forward - he scored 45 points in the game, including 16 points in the fourth quarter, and the last 28 seconds was a "century break". After stealing from Malone, Russell fell down and hit the finale, bringing the perfect end to the Bulls dynasty. In the entire finals, Jordan averaged 33.5 points, 4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, making him the only player in the team to average more than 20 points per game. He carried the aging Bulls alone to complete the "second three-game championship". Such performance is the most extreme "single-core championship" in NBA history.

3. O'Neal in 2000

The Los Angeles Lakers in 2000 kicked off the "three consecutive championships" dynasty, but this first championship was completely O'Neal's "one-person stage". At that time, Kobe Bryant was just a sophomore player. Although he showed extraordinary talent, he averaged only 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He has not yet entered the All-Star lineup. He often plays the role of "Sixth Man" and cannot share too much offensive pressure for O'Neal. Other players in the team, such as Glenn Rice (12.4 points per game), Ron Harper (6.5 points per game), and Derek Fisher (6.3 points per game), are all functional players and lack independent offensive ability..

O'Neal's dominance in this year is the NBA's historical level. In the regular season, he averaged 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3 blocks, winning the scoring champion and regular season MVP without any suspense; the playoffs even started the "bad mode" - in the first round against the Kings, he averaged 33 points, 16.3 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks per game, leading the Lakers to sweep 3-0; in the second round, facing the Suns, he averaged 31.7 points, 15.3 rebounds per game, and scored 41 points, 21 rebounds in a single game, directly hitting the Suns' inside line; in the Western Conference Finals, he averaged 27.4 points, 13.9 rebounds per game. In the crucial seventh game, even though the Trail Blazers once led by 15 points, O'Neal still stabilized the situation with his 25 points and 11 rebounds, laying the groundwork for Kobe's finals. In the finals, O'Neal's performance was even more "crushing". He averaged 38 points, 16 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 61.1%. He scored 40 points, 24 rebounds and 3 blocks in the fourth game, and helped the Lakers secure the championship with 35 points and 11 rebounds in the fifth game. Throughout the series, the Pacers tried various ways to limit O'Neal, such as "shark-cutting tactics" and "multi-player double-teaming", but none of them helped - he was like a "big beast" in the inside, tearing down the opponent's defense with strength and skills. This year, O'Neal was the absolute only core, and Kobe and other teammates were more "icing on the cake", which also made the 2000 championship one of the most uncontroversial "single-core championship" cases in NBA history.

4. Although the Spurs in 2003 are still called the "two tower combination", they are actually Duncan's "single-nuclear team". David Robinson, who was 37 years old at the time, had a sharp decline in form. He averaged only 8.5 points and 7.9 rebounds in the regular season, and even fell to 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in the playoffs. He announced his retirement after playing this year. Ginobili, a second-year averaged only 9.4 points per game, and was still adapting to the NBA rhythm. Rookie Parker averaged 15.5 points per game, but lacked the ability to attack at critical moments - the so-called "GDP combination" has not taken shape at this time, and the team's offense and defense responsibilities are all on Duncan's shoulders.

Duncan demonstrated the ultimate comprehensiveness of "big basic skills" this year. In the regular season, he averaged 23.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.9 blocks, winning the regular season MVP, the best team and the best defense; the playoffs even started "unsolvable mode" - in the first round against the Suns, he averaged 24.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 4.3 blocks per game, leading the Spurs to advance 3-1; in the second round, facing the Lakers, he faced the OK combination, averaging 28 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.3 blocks, and scored 37 points, 16 rebounds in a single game in the fourth game, helping the Spurs eliminate the defending champion; in the Western Conference Finals, he averaged 27.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, leading the team to advance 4-2 with a stable performance. In the finals, Duncan completely dominated the inside. He averaged 24.2 points, 17 rebounds, 5.3 blocks, and 5 assists per game, with a "quasi-four double" data, scoring 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks in the sixth game, almost setting a first four-double record in Finals history. The Nets' inside line was upside down by Duncan, and players such as Kenyon Martin and Jason Collins could not limit his performance at all. When the Spurs won the championship 4-2 and Duncan won the FMVP without any suspense, everyone knew that there was only one core of this Spurs, that is Duncan; without his full domination, the afterglow of the "Two Towers" had long disappeared.

5. Nowitzki 2011 Dallas Mavericks (now the Mavericks) is the most "alternative" single-core championship team in NBA history - this "Old Boys Legion" with an average age of over 30 has no second All-Star player, but under the leadership of Nowitzki, he defeated the Heat Big Three at its peak. In the Mavericks lineup at that time, the main players were almost all "veterans": 38-year-old Kidd, 33-year-old Nowitzki, 33-year-old Marion, 34-year-old Terry, and 32-year-old Heywood. Among them, Terry averaged 15.8 points per game, making him the second scorer in the team, but he is more of a "nervous knife"-style outside shooter; Kidd averaged 7.9 points and 8.2 assists per game, and although he can organize offense, he lacks the ability to score; Marion averaged 12 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and his defense is greater than his offense - such a lineup was regarded as a "weak side" from the beginning in front of the Heat, which has James, Wade and Bosh.

But Nowitzki rewritten fate with "no solution shot". In the first round of the playoffs, he averaged 27.3 points per game and hit the finals in the fourth game. In the second round, he averaged 25.3 points per game, scoring 32 points in the fourth game, leading the Mavericks to sweep the defending champion; in the Western Conference Finals, he averaged 27 points per game, and used accurate mid-range shooting to defeat the defense of the Thunder. In the finals, Nowitzki's performance was even more "legendary". In the second game of the series, he scored 32 points in a single game with a fever of 38.5 degrees and hit the key goal at the last moment; in the fourth game, he used 21 points and 11 rebounds to help the Mavericks equalize the away game; in the sixth game, he scored 21 points in the game, leading the Mavericks to defeat the Heat 105-95 and complete a counterattack. In the entire finals, Nowitzki averaged 26 points and 9.7 rebounds, shooting percentage of 41.6%, and three-point shooting percentage of 36.8% - It seems that his shooting percentage is not high, but every shot is at a critical moment, and every point directly defeats the Heat's confidence. This Mavericks can win the championship completely by Nowitzki using "willpower + technology". The contribution of his teammates is more "adaptive" than "dominate".

mentioned that single-core leads the team to compete for the championship, many fans said that Leonard led the Raptors to win the championship in 2019 and won the FMVP, and should be selected. However, the author believes that the Raptors at that time had a balanced and strong lineup: point guard Lowry is an All-Star player, averaging 14.2 points and 8.7 assists, and is the team's starting point guard; Siakam ushered in a big explosion, soaring from averaging 17 points per game in the regular season to a playoffs to 19.8 points, and scored 32 points and 8 rebounds in his debut in the finals, stunning the whole game! Van Jordan also broke out in the second half of the playoffs, averaging 14 points and a 40% three-point shooting percentage; Ibaka is the inside defensive pillar, averaging 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. As the core of the team, Leonard averaged 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. His performance is indeed top-notch, but he has too many teammates who can make stable contributions. The team's victory is the result of "team collaboration" rather than "single-core carry". Therefore, Leonard in 2019 is an excellent champion core, but he is by no means a representative of "single-core championship".

What do you think about this?