The concept of superteams has been present in the NBA since its earliest days, with numerous iconic squads featuring more than a few Hall of Famers at the same time. From the legendary Boston Celtics dynasties that featured names such as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and John Havlicek, to the later Los Angeles Lakers teams with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy, talent has always found a way to gather in one place.
However, one major thing separated those teams from what fans often call superteams today.
Most of them were built through smart drafting and a couple of minor offseason moves that helped bolster their chances of becoming contenders and, ultimately, champions. For many people, that is still the preferred way to build a title team.
However, there was one moment in 2010 that, in many ways, became a turning point in how superteams were viewed around the league.
On July 8, during a nationally televised ESPN special dubbed "The Decision," LeBron James announced that he was taking his talents to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat .
The infamous decision literally shifted the balance of power in the best basketball league in the world and reshaped the future of the Association for years to come.
Overnight, LeBron became arguably the most hated athlete in the United States. His jerseys were burned in the streets of Cleveland , and everybody seemed to have an opinion on the move. Many viewed it as a shortcut to a championship, while others believed James simply exercised his right as a free agent. One of those who gave his two cents on the situation was none other than Michael Jordan .
The man many still consider the greatest basketball player of all time could not resist taking a slight jab at the King for what he viewed as taking a different route toward winning championships.
"That's yet to be determined. Free agency is a part of every professional sport. How that's going to play into this whole scenario, I don't really know. I think the time will tell," Jordan said at the time.
"There's no way I would have called up Larry and called up Magic and said, 'Hey, let's get together and play on one team.'. But things are different, I can't say that's a bad thing, that's the opportunity kids have today. In all honesty I was trying to beat those guy, I don't know if they would have been on my team," he added.
Known for his unmatched competitiveness, MJ definitely could not imagine himself joining forces with his biggest rivals, or even friends, in pursuit of a championship. He prefered to do it with the team that drafted him and built around him.
Jordan acknowledged that the times were different, and that was absolutely true.
The way James used his free agency decision at the time became one of the defining moments of the player empowerment era. Today's stars have significantly more control over where they want to play and who they would like to team up with than players from previous generations ever had.
LeBron was already a global superstar by then, but he had repeatedly struggled to get his Cleveland Cavaliers team over the hump. In the end, he made a business decision. And, ultimately, it paid off. The Miami Heat's Big Three captured two championships during their four-year run together, and James accomplished exactly what he set out to do, even if he chose a different path to get there.
Jordan represented the mindset that many stars from previous eras shared. The belief that you had to beat your rivals rather than join them. But basketball was changing on the fly, and so were the players.
For better or worse, that is up to everyone else to decide.
Related: Charles Barkley once revealed the only thing separating Kobe Bryant from LeBron James
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
