Big Time Sports Duos

So ESPN is doing their daily "let's all worship Michael Jordan for his birthday" segments for the next couple weeks. MJ was probably the most relevant and successful athlete of the 90s, and it IS black history month, so I guess they've got something there. I was tuning in today hearing Skip Bayless push the chips in against Stephen A. Smith and they raised an interesting question: Did Jordan's pairing with Scottie Pippen constitute the greatest sports duo of all time? I think you can make a case it may have been the most internally successful duo in terms of wins. I think you could make a case it was among the most effective duos in terms of execution. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the presence of Phil Jackson and his "triangle" strategy (who won another three rings with another great basketball duo in Shaq and Kobe Bryant) really hurts the argument it was the hands-down greatest coupling. Here is my countdown of the best bromances in north american sports history:

Honorable mention: John Stockton and Karl Malone


These guys were money, but I think they really only deserve recognition because of the longevity. Together, they endured the ups in downs in Utah. Stockton's sensational ball-handling skills, aggressive man defense, flopping ability, and court vision played well off Karl Malone's natural athletic talents, court smarts, and determination in the paint. Stockton ended his career the NBA all time assists and steals leader, both records that will probably never be broken. Malone would end his career chasing a ring as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Detroit Pistons would deny him in a Finals appearance. Stockton + Malone is arguably as good as Jordan + Pippen, but they don't have the rings and so they don't have the glory. Still, they mattered.

5. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade


My dislike of LBJ is well documented, but you've got to the respect the man called "the King." As far as I'm concerned there's only one King in sports, and that's Mariners' pitcher Felix Hernandez. I've always liked Wade's game, however, and I think he's more or less a class act, serving as an excellent role model for basketball-worshipping black men and a fine ambassador for the city of Miami. LBJ might be the most athletically gifted man in the world at the moment of this writing, but he would still be suffering question marks in the "champion" column had he not jumped Cleveland's burning ship and landed on Miami's beach. Forget Chris Bosh and forget Erik Spoelstra. Forget all the other irrelevant role-players. Bottomline: this duo allowed what might be basketball's greatest athlete of all time to finally get over the hump. If they can manage another five rings, history will surely consider them much better than Jordan-Pippen. But it'll never happen.

4. Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush


You can't talk about sports duos without mentioning these guys. Two Heisman talents on the same team. USC was in the mud before these boys showed up and made college football in the mid 2000s sexy. Leinart was constantly fighting for his job and that chip on his shoulder facilitated absurd statistics from the QB position. Reggie Bush was a hot commodity out of high school, and with Leinart lighting things up at the sticks and down the field, he could put his bottomless and near undefendable versatility on full display. While they've both disappointed in the NFL, they embarrassed nearly everybody who dared to challenge them on the college football field. If not for the coaching talent of a squat old man in Texas and the sheer will of another NFL fizzle by the name of Vince Young, their 2005 USC team would undoubtedly be considered the greatest of all time. Fucking chokers.

3. Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri


I don't know hockey. I know the basic mechanics and the basic strategy and how, basically, you win the game. I don't know the history, I don't know the dynamics, and I don't know how their front offices work. But god damn it, I know about Gretzky and Kurri. Gretzky, like Jordan, is considered the GOAT of his sport. Records for days. Situational statistics that boggle the mind. As a player for Edmonton and beyond, he could do it all. But he did it best with his BFF Jari Kurri on his wing. They stacked up Stanley Cups and laughed in the faces of their enemies. They epitomized teamwork. They were fantastic. Maybe one of these days Jeff can explore this relationship a bit more utilizing the proper jargon, but if you don't know hockey like I don't know hockey, at least wiki these two. Complete bad asses.

2. Joe Montana and Jerry Rice


Yup. You knew this was coming. And with good reason. In the 80s, Coach Bill Walsh couldn't get the ball rolling in San Francisco. Haters would tell him his system couldn't work. Morons would suggest he ditch the west-coast. But once "Cool" Joe Montana got his bearings and their defense actually stopped sucking, Rice would emerge as the single greatest wide receiver in the history of the league. Joe made some big time throws and showed up on the big stage like nobody we'd ever seen before. Quarterbacks today are compared against each other to the finest detail, and the "Jesus" bar will always be Joe Montana. Tom Brady is close. Peyton Manning is in the conversation. But Joe Montana did "the things" that you can never be considered a great quarterback without being able to do. That's his legacy. Meanwhile, all Jerry did was execute, execute, execute to the tune of 4 world championships. He was a monster athlete with the perfect combination of size, strength, speed, and smarts. A decade and a half of accomplished defensive backs and defensive coordinators who had to face him, at the mere mention of his game, usually utter the same pathetic reply, "uncoverable." And we're not talking Randy Moss style uncoverable. Not Larry Fitzgerald or Marvin Harrison uncoverable. Jerry Rice is at the top of the mountain and every other receiver since has barely started the climb. Paired with Joe Montana, he changed the NFL forever. As an NFL fan, no matter what team you cheer for, you owe them.

1. The Greatest Sports Duo of all time is Bill Russell and Bob Cousy


There isn't a legitimate argument against this ranking, and I'm not sorry to say that. I'm proud. If you don't think this is the indisputably greatest sports duo of all time, don't let me hear you calling yourself a sports fan or I will find you and embarrass you. There's never been anything like this combination in north american sports since, and in the age of salary caps and small market competitiveness and national fanbases that travel, we may never see anything like it again. Bob Cousy was the quintessential point guard. Bill Russell was the quintessential center. And in a game that's had its up and downs, scandals, and legion of superstars and phenoms, these two endure as the historical perfects of their relative positions. Most importantly, they won. They didn't win them all, of course, because nobody ever does. But this pairing was, for their time, virtually unstoppable, amounting to 6 world championships. They were politically relevant too, playing in the city of Boston in a time of civil unrest over race matters and communism. With all the divides in Boston, all the ethnic and generational angst, Russell and Cousy symbolized progress in a changing world. They were poise. They were patience. They were brilliance. They were a microcosm of America's overwhelming strength and determination. They were the cornerstone of America's first sports dynasty. They turned their teammates into all-stars and they always showed appreciation for their fans. They loved each other and they loved the game. They are sports royalty and the greatest duo in sports ever.

So that's it. I hate making lists, but I couldn't think of a better way to lay them out. There goes five duos that can be considered as good or better than Jordan and Pippen. There are other good duos that are worth mentioning, but fuck those guys. These five are the best of the best.