sport news NBA: Where did it go wrong for the Brooklyn Nets' 'Big Three'? trends now
Kevin Durant. Kyrie Irving. James Harden. Three superstars who were meant to signal a new era in the NBA.
Brought together by the Brooklyn Nets, this is now arguably the biggest 'what if' in NBA history after this championship-caliber team was disbanded after just 13 months.
Harden was deemed the last piece of the puzzle but became the first to go, leaving in February for the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade.
Durant and Irving are both at Brooklyn, but neither by choice. Durant shook the basketball world by demanding a trade earlier this summer, while Irving would also like to seek pastures new. Neither have got their wishes though, resulting in two disgruntled stars.
So, where has it all gone for the Brooklyn Nets? Sportsmail analyses the issues.
James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant (L-R) were meant to usher in an era of dominance at the Brooklyn Nets but that 'Big Three' lasted just 13 months before the former left the team
There's a cliche in sport that 'availability is the best ability' and that certainly rings true with the Brooklyn Nets.
Putting it simply, their 'Big Three' were rarely all on the court together at the same time.
They played just 16 matches together in 13 months with injuries and the impact of coronavirus (which we'll get to shortly) playing a large role for that miniscule number.
It was rare to see Durant, Irving and Harden on the court together during their 13 months
Across the season-and-a-half that they were together, the Nets were 13-3 with the trio on the floor. It was rare, but they were excellent together across the 10 regular-season games and six play-off encounters - which totaled just 365 minutes.
They were an offensive juggernaut, logging 119 points per 100 possessions (which would be a NBA record) in the regular season. In the play-offs, that productivity only increased to 137.2 points per 100 possessions.
They had a positive effect on their team-mates too. As a franchise had an effective field-goal rate of 65.1 per cent and a true-shooting percentage of 70.7 per cent in the post-season.
Alas, it was only a small sample size of what could've been for reasons we'll get on to to now...
The trio were an offensive juggernaut, logging 119 points per 100 possessions (a NBA record)
Coronavirus has impacted everyone in their walk of lives with basketball no exception.
NBA superstar Irving missed the majority of the Brooklyn Nets 2021-22 campaign after deciding to remain unvaccinated - and being outspoken about so - but became free to play at the end of March after the state of New York relaxed their coronavirus policy.
Last August, the state of New York announced a mandate that meant civilians must have at least one jab of a vaccine to be able to enter indoor gyms, bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
Irving missed the majority of the last NBA season due to the state of New York not allowing unvaccinated people into entertainment venues and other places. That has now changed
As a consequence of this stance, it meant Irving was unable to train at Brooklyn's HSS Training Center or play matches at their Barclays Center.
A knock-on effect meant the Nets decided to sit the 30-year-old out of all of their activities, including away matches, to not disrupt their focus on the season.
However, they were forced to do a U-turn at the beginning of the year and bring back the point guard for their away matches due to mounting Covid cases and injuries within the squad.
The Eastern Conference outfit were bolstered even further following the decision by the Mayor of New York State, Eric Adams, to remove the mandate in March - meaning Irving was eligible to practice and play in Brooklyn.
However, it was too little too late for Brooklyn's season. The consistency of a settled side was never there and the circus around Irving's vaccination status loomed over the Nets - even when was fully cleared to play.
It left his team-mates disgruntled two-fold. One, they were without a world-class talent for the majority of matches which became a hindrance and two, they then had to constantly field questions about their team-mates.
These matters became grating on-and-off the court and played a reason as to why Harden eventually said enough was enough (more on that to come shortly).
Irving spending the majority of last season on the sidelines though was a hindrance to the Nets
Kevin Durant is arguably (and he will have many backers on this) the best basketball player on the planet currently.
And on June 20, 2021 he demonstrated his talents in an agonizing losing effort to the eventual champions Milwaukee Bucks. However, if it wasn't for his gargantuan size 18 feet, he and the Nets could've ended that campaign with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
After a topsy-turvy Eastern Conference semi-final series, the Nets hosted the Bucks in Game 7 of their best-of-seven series.
Durant thought he had won Game 7 of the 2020-21 Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Milwaukee Bucks - but his three-point shot was corrected to a two due to a foot on the line
Trailing 109-107, the Nets regained possession with six seconds left after the Bucks turned it over on a shot-clock violation.
In a fairy-tale finish, Durant hit a spinning, turnaround jumper from the right-center of the three-point line over elite defender PJ Tucker to seemingly put the Nets 110-109 in front with just a second left.
The Barclays Center became a scene of pandemonium as they felt Durant's clutch shot had won them the match.
However, their elation was dimmed slightly by the reality that their No 7's toe was on the three-point line following a review to the NBA's Replay Center.
The look on Durant's face said it all too. He knew he
