How difficult is it to win a single-core championship? Only 7 people have done it in NBA history, and James can t count it for 16 years

As we all know, it is very difficult to win the NBA. A team often needs multiple cores to continue to "drive" to reach the end. For example, the most classic "dual core drive" - the OK dynasty of the Lakers, the "big three combinations" that multiple teams follow - the Bulls Big Three, Celtics Big Three, etc. The champion team must have at least two cores to ensure that one core is not restricted in some games. However, there are often exceptions. There have been several "single-core championships" in NBA history, that is, a super player led the team to win the championship with an absolute core identity and strong performance. This situation has only happened seven times in NBA history. Even LeBron James, who finished the finals 1-3 behind the "shocking reversal", could not count. After all, he had the help of Kevin Irving, who averaged 27 points per game at that time. As for who completed these 7 times and what the specific situation is, today I will take you to take a look.

1. Rick Barry (leading the team to win the championship in 1975)

The first "single-core team to win the championship" in NBA history was in 1975, which was done by Warriors superstar Rick Barry. Before winning the championship, the Warriors team was generally considered not a particularly strong team by fans, because although Rick Barry, a super scorer who averaged 30+ per game, and the team's record was third in the league, there was no real second-in-command in the team. Jamal Wilkes, the team's second scoring point, was even a rookie, averaging only 14 points per game. However, what no one expected at that time was that Rick Barry proved why he was a superstar. Not only did he lead the team to the NBA Finals, but he also took over 35% of the team's offensive burden in the finals, scoring 29.5 points per game. The team's second scorer Jamal Wilkes even dropped to 11 points because it was his first playoff game. Compared with this performance, Rick Barry can be said to be an unquestionable single-core winner.

2. Hakim Olajuwon (leading the team to win the championship in 1994)

The second "single-core championship" recognized in NBA history happened in 1994, and was done by Rockets' super center Hakim Olajuwon. As the No. 1 pick in the draft, Hakeem Olajuwon, who beat Michael Jordan and became the No. 1 pick in the draft, is often ignored by fans because of Michael Jordan's brilliance. But it is undeniable that he is a super genius who is not inferior to Michael Jordan. When Michael Jordan first announced his retirement, Hakeem Olajuwon fully supported the "Diamond Generation" card in 1984. Not only did he lead the team to win two consecutive championships, but he also completed the super Grand Slam and the extremely difficult "single-core championship" in 1994, when he was at his peak. Specifically, Hakeem Olajuwon won the regular season MVP in 1994. While DPOY, he also led the team to the playoffs with averaging 27.3 points, 12 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game, and went all the way to the end. Finally, with the team's second scorer Maxville averaged only 13.4 points per game, he had both offense and defense, scoring a comprehensive data averaged 26.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, leading the team to win the championship, which can be called another "single-core championship miracle."

3. Michael Jordan (leading the team to win the championship in 1998)

The third "single-core championship" in NBA history is Michael Jordan mentioned above. As the basketball god Michael Jordan who "has me on any list", he naturally has to be on the list of single-core teams who lead the championship. Perhaps when many people mention the Bulls’ three consecutive championships, the first thing they think of is the combination of Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen, which is the perfect cooperation of the two of them to win so many NBA championships. Indeed, it is not denying that Scotty Pippen's arrival has greatly alleviated the pressure on Michael Jordan, but in 1998, Scotty Pippen's form had begun to decline. After entering the finals, he averaged only 15 points per game, which is very inconsistent with the name of "Golden Second Leader". As for another "big three" Dennis Rodman, he only has strong rebounding ability and averages only single digits per game. Therefore, the Bulls' championship this year was entirely due to Michael Jordan's personal performance, that is, averaging 33.5 points in the finals, accounting for 37% of the team. It is also worth mentioning that Michael Jordan even scored 45 points in G6, which is the most perfect curtain call.

4. Tim Duncan (leading the team to win the championship in 2003)

Tim Duncan, who was the Spurs for the fourth "single-core championship" in NBA history, did it in 2003. As a well-known representative of team basketball, the Spurs' stars have never scored high, and this was particularly obvious when they won the championship in 2003. Because at that time, except for Tim Duncan, the absolute core members of the team, the other core members were either old or young; the second scoring point Tony Parker was just a sophomore rookie, averaging 15 points per game. The former boss David Robinson was already 38 years old, and averaged only 8+8 per game. Manu Ginobili was a small transparent substitute, averaging only 7.6 points per game. Therefore, Tim Duncan, who averaged 23.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game in the regular season, and 24.7 points, 15.4 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game in the playoffs, can be seen at a glance that he led the team to win the championship with a single core.

5, 6, 7. Dirk Nowitzki (leading the team to win the championship in 2011)& Stephen Curry (leading the team to win the championship in 2015)& Kawhi Leonard (leading the team to win the championship in 2019)

After talking about the top 4 single-core stars, the following three single-core stars came to the 10s. They are Dirk Nowitzki in 2011, Stephen Curry in 2015, and Kawhi Leonard in 2019. When seeing the names of these three, fans may think that Dirk Nowitzki is not wrong with being on the list. He is the real single core who leads the team to defeat the Heat Big Three, while the single core of the other two seems to be very controversial. But in fact, as long as Dirk Nowitzki's championship that year can be called "single core", then Stephen Curry's championship in 2015 and Kawhi Leonard's championship in 2019 will be "single core", because the three of their championship configurations are really very similar. First, the team averaged 17.5 points, 18.6 points and 16.9 points in the playoffs, and the second scoring point was the second. The players of other roles also performed well and stablely, with at least three scoring points that could contribute about 10 points per game. Finally, these three players were able to score 27.7 points and 8.1 rebounds, 28.3 points and 6.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds, and 30.5 points and 9.1 rebounds, which is undoubtedly the old data.