Pour one out for the super team, my friends.
Seriously, grab your nearest beverage, raise it high and toast to the end of an era that, let’s be honest, had overstayed its welcome. For the better part of a decade, we’ve been held captive by a predictable cycle of powerhouse teams stacked with household names who decided to join forces in a not-so-subtle attempt to rig the system or ‘chase a ring.’
But if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed the winds of change sending zephyrs galore. Now, amid the 2025 NBA Finals, we’re in the eye of a full-blown paradigm shift.
Look at the two remaining teams battling for the coveted Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Two small-market teams and two rosters were built from the ground up through savvy drafting, shrewd trades and much patience.
There’s no “Big 3” to be found here (well, kind of, but not really). There is no collection of perennial All-Stars who orchestrated their union on a yacht or banana boat during the offseason.
Instead, we have a collection of hungry, homegrown talent and a testament to the idea that a team is more than the sum of its parts.
This isn’t some flash in the pan, either.
The writing has been on the wall for a few seasons now. Remember the Denver Nuggets and their championship run a couple of years back? This team was meticulously constructed around the once-overlooked Nikola Jokic, a second-round draft pick selected during a Taco Bell commercial who has since become the best player on the planet.
They were surrounded by guys who bought into their roles and showed up for one another.
After the Nuggets came the Boston Celtics.
A team that, while undoubtedly talented, was the culmination of years of astute drafting and player development.
And now, with either the Thunder or the Pacers set to be crowned champion, 2025 will mark the seventh different NBA champion in as many years.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Seven different champions in seven seasons. That’s a level of parity the league hasn’t seen in its entire history. The days of penciling in the same two or three teams (or players) for the NBA Finals before the season even begins are, for now at least, a distant memory.
So what gives? How did we get from the era of LeBron James’ “Heatles” and the Warriors’ dynasty to this beautiful, chaotic landscape of unpredictability? For one, the league’s current collective bargaining agreement has made it financially punitive for teams to hoard a trio of max-contract players.
The luxury tax’s so-called “second apron” is so restrictive that it essentially acts as a super team deterrent. Front offices are now forced to be more innovative, strategic and creative in their team-building.
But beyond the financials, there is a philosophical shift at play. Perhaps players realize that the journey is just as important as the destination. There’s a certain romance to leading your squad, building something from scratch and seeing it through to the end. The manufactured camaraderie of a super team can’t replicate the organic bond forged in fire through years of shared struggles and triumphs.
For the fans, this is nothing short of a renaissance. The NBA is no longer a league of a few “haves” and a bunch of “have-nots.” Regardless of market size, your team has a legitimate shot if they build the right way. The regular season matters again. The playoffs are a wide-open gauntlet where anything can happen.
So, as you watch the Thunder and Pacers leave it all on the floor, appreciate it for what it is: a glimpse into the future of professional basketball. The era of the overpowered, pre-ordained champion is on its last legs.
The super team is dead. And frankly, the league is better for it.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846 or via email at noralp@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on TikTok @HorsemenSportsMedia. For more NBA Finals coverage from the Indianapolis Recorder, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
