Here are the greatest NBA duos that aren’t talked about much.
In the history of the NBA, there have been many great tag team duos that brought glory and jewels to their organizations.
Magic and Kareem. Jordan and Pippen. Kobe and Shaq.
But this story isn’t about them; it isn’t about the legendary tag teams that ran the league for seasons upon seasons.
They’re celebrated enough.
Rather, this list is about the forgotten ones. The duos that teams were once afraid to go up against but have been glanced over in the history books.
This list is about the greatest forgotten tag team duos from the 2000s (and in the early 2010s).
The 7 Greatest Forgotten NBA Tag Team Duos
Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn (2000-01 to 2003-2004)
Baron Davis, Jamal Mashburn and the Hornets always landed in the middle of the playoff bracket.
They were constantly the fifth or sixth seed, but always managed to upset their opponents in the first round.
For instance, in 2001 they went up against the third-seeded Miami Heat. And in four games, Davis and Mashburn were able to sweep the Heat.
Then, in the semi-finals, they went up against the second-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
Though they weren’t able to sting their opponents, they did take the Bucks to seven games, making it as hard as possible for Milwaukee to move on.
The Hornets were a scary playoff team and it was because of Davis and Mashburn.
Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak (2001-2002 to 2002-2003)
Before Kevin Garnett had Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, he had Wally Szczerbiak.
And though this duo didn’t have much success in the playoffs (were ousted in the first round three years in a row), they were an amazing regular-season team.
For the two seasons they led the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team won at least 50 games.
But during this time, the Western Conference was packed and winning 50 games only got you a fifth or sixth seed.
Nonetheless, 50 wins in a season is still a lot and the Timberwolves were one of the best teams in the NBA.
Tracy McGrady and Mike Miller (2001-2002 to 2002-2003)
Tracy McGrady was supposed to get Grant Hill.
But Hill was constantly on the injured list, so McGrady partnered with Mike Miller instead.
And you may think that this duo didn’t make any noise.
And you’d be right. The Orlando Magic won between 42 and 44 games in those three seasons and never made it out of the first round of the playoffs.
So, why are they on this list?
Well, it’s because they were a fun, exciting duo to watch and they had a lot of fans.
Additionally, had Miller not been injured in the 2003 playoffs, the Magic might have beaten the Detroit Pistons, a team they took to 7 games in the first round, and went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard (2004-2005 to 2008-2009)
After Steve Nash bounced over to the Phoenix Suns, Dirk Nowitzki needed another sidekick.
And he found one in Josh Howard.
In the five seasons that they led the Dallas Mavericks together, they were constantly a 50-plus win team (60-plus for two of those seasons).
Additionally, Dirk and Howard led the Mavericks to the 2006 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, when they lost to the Miami Heat 4-2.
Regardless, this was a fun tag team to watch.
LeBron James and Larry Hughes (2005-2006 to 2006-2007)
Larry Hughes was LeBron James’ right-hand man in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
As his sidekick, Hughes was assisting LeBron in his phenomenal playoff run in 2007, when they ran through the Washington Wizards, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons to meet the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
Though they were swept by the Spurs, the young Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron and Hughes, were able to accomplish something many teams have never been able to do -make it to the Finals.
Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer (2006-2007 to 2010-2011)
The Utah Jazz’s duo of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer were one of the scariest teams to face in the playoffs.
They were a young team but they were highly skilled.
And in the playoffs, they were beating or taking better, more experienced teams to the final games of the series.
For instance, in the 2007 playoffs, they took out the higher-seeded Houston Rockets in seven games.
Then they went on to “gentleman’s sweep” the “We Believe” Golden State Warriors, before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
Though they lost to San Antonio, they still put up a fight, where most of the games were close.
And this is what Williams and Boozer did for the majority of the time they played together.
They were a talented duo and many teams did not want to play them in the early rounds of the playoffs.
Chris Paul and David West (2007-2008 to 2010-2011)
Much like the Jazz’s duo of Williams and Boozer, the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul and David West were a young tag team duo that made a lot of noise.
In 2007-08, they led the Hornets to 56 wins and the second seed in the Western Conference.
The Hornets were expected to go far in the playoffs and in the first few games, it looked like that vision was going to be true
In the first round, they beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-1.
Then, in the first two games of the semi-finals against the San Antonio Spurs, it looked like this was going to be their year as they decisively beat their opponents.
However, as the series went on, the Spurs caught up and eventually beat Paul and West in 7 games.
The Spurs had too much experience but the Hornets played hard and almost went home with the victory.
Over the next few seasons, the Hornets inconsistently made the playoffs.
But when they did, they always put up a fight, and this is why they’re one of the best “glanced over” duos.
Final Thoughts
These are the greatest forgotten NBA tag-team duos.
Now that you know what they accomplished, remember their names for they deserve the same respect as the tag team legends.
