5 NBA Superstar Pairings That Would Never Work

Putting more than one superstar on the same team is usually a key to winning NBA championships, but sometimes the stars just don't work well together.

You can push and push to make it happen, but in the end, there's always a chance of the duo not working out.

Now, it's much more complicated than one plus one equals championship.

You have to break down a player's personality and style of play in order to understand if they'll mesh well with someone else.

There will always be those players that can play with anybody.

Players like Chris Paul and Kevin Durant will find a way to succeed with another superstar on their team, regardless of who that player is.

Then, there are the other guys.

Get your popcorn ready as we take a look at five superstar pairings that would never work.

5. LeBron James and Rajon Rondo, Miami Heat and Boston Celtics

You're probably thinking something along the lines of: "You can't be serious? Of course LeBron James and Rajon Rondo could play well together. LeBron's a scorer and Rondo is one of the best passers in the league."

That's true and all, but you're forgetting that James is also one of the best passers in the league.

Rondo has averaged 8.1 assists per game in his career vs. LeBron's 6.9 career assists average.

It's clear that LeBron is currently playing with other superstars like Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, so high assists numbers make sense.

If he has great players to pass to, then you would expect his assists numbers to be high.

But what about when his supporting cast wasn't as good?

James' first seven seasons were spent with the Cleveland Cavaliers where he was the clear superstar. Sure, he could pass to Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison for that assist, but his best option would have probably been to just pass to himself.

The interesting part is that he put up his four highest assist totals of his career during his time with the Cavaliers. Averaging at least 7.2 assists per game with the team he had is straight up impressive. Not to mention, his last season in Cleveland was spent averaging 8.6 assists per game.

The man can pass the rock.

Not only can he pass it well, but it also seems as though James is a pass-first player.

He'll absolutely get his points, nobody is disputing that. Questions just need to be asked about whether he could play with someone like Rondo.

Watch one Miami Heat game and you will see the majority of LeBron's assists coming from drive-and-kicks or drive-and-dumps.

Both those terms have to do with how defenses collapse when James drives to the basket. The defense forces him to either pass the ball out to an open shooter on the perimeter, or to drop a pass off to a big man or somebody cutting to the rim.

Rondo doesn't fit either of James' targets.

Being scared to shoot from outside of 15 feet, means that LeBron won't be able to kick the ball out to him. You also won't see Rondo cutting to the basket because he has to worry about getting back and playing transition defense.

Could Rondo maintain his style of play next to James? He probably could. LeBron would be a much more active and dominant Paul Pierce in Rondo's system, so that's not too hard to see.

The issue is that James would not be able to play his kind of basketball, and no superstar wants to change how they play.

Especially when they are as effective as he already is.

4. Carmelo Anthony and Stephen Curry, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors

Is there any way to play with two basketballs in one game?

Putting Carmelo Anthony and Stephen Curry on the same team would be a study in how many times somebody could yell "ball" when they think they're open.

This one isn't as detailed as LeBron and Rondo together, because there isn't as much to it.

Each of these players does one thing exceptionally well and that is shooting the ball.

Not only do they both shoot it well, but they also have a very similar shot selection.

The majority of the time they are playing isolation basketball that involves them on the wing or up top trying to create space to get a shot off.

There are only two major differences in their game, and that's with their size and that Anthony is significantly better in the post.

Attempting to put them on the same team would result in chemistry problems because both players need to shoot to be successful.

There just simply won't be a way for each of them to get enough shots.

On the other hand, that study on how often they call for the ball does sound entertaining, right?

3. Tim Duncan and Steve Nash, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers

If your superstars are 74 years old when you add their ages up, then you probably don't have the best situation on your hands.

Tim Duncan has the nickname of "Mr. Fundamental." He's dominated the league for years simply because of how well he does the little things.

Try and find a player that puts himself in a better position to get rebounds. There's also probably never been a better turn-and-face player in the history of the NBA. He turns and faces the basket when he catches the ball in the post, allowing him to put his shots off the backboard at an alarmingly high rate.

Duncan has made a career out of playing slow and under control.

Steve Nash is a bit of a different story.

If he were a car, then he would be in high demand because he always has gas in his tank. Nash is one of the best up-tempo point guards the NBA's ever seen. His eyes are always up the floor and he has no problem pulling up and taking a running three-point shot if he doesn't feel like there's a better option.

Another one of Nash's strengths is that his vision during pick-and-rolls is simply incredible.

He's the energizer bunny of the league.

So could the two play well together?

It doesn't really look like it.

A glaring concern has to be with health. Neither player has had a history of missing too many games with injuries, but there's a much higher risk because of their age.

Putting two superstars together, only to have them miss half of the season because of an injury is no good.

Even if they both remained healthy, the issue would then be about how they would play together.

Neither of them has playing styles that match the other. Nash's pick-and-roll game doesn't benefit Duncan in any way. Duncan is too slow to be a threat on the roll, leaving defenders to play him tight on the pop.

The same can be said the other way when looking at how Duncan's style of play wouldn't benefit Nash's.

Putting the two on the same team would be a fun final run, but not one that would last long or be too successful.

2. Russell Westbrook and Everyone Except Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

Russell Westbrook could be one of the most talented players in the NBA. Take a look at him play and you'll constantly be amazed with his athleticism and ability to get to the basket.

Another fun part of watching him play are the "what was he thinking" moments that are sure to come to your mind.

He would be a bad match for any superstar except Kevin Durant, because of one simple concept.

Westbrook won't change how he plays the game.

Harvey Fialkov, writer for sunsentinel.com, wrote a piece on how heavily criticized Westbrook was after Game 2 of the NBA finals this past season. Westbrook gave the media his opinion on possible future adjustments:

"

I'm not making no adjustments. Regardless of what anybody says or regardless of what you guys say about how I play, it doesn't matter. I'm going to play my game. I'm going to go out and give 110 percent, and try to find a way to help us win the game.

"

Kevin Durant is the kind of player that will support Westbrook (a close friend of his) to the end, which is both admirable and foolish. Durant's thought process is best explained by what he thought of Westbrook's critics:

"

It's not deserving at all because without him we wouldn't be here at this point, and people don't recognize that. Everybody thinks he should be a traditional point guard like a [John] Stockton or [Thunder assistant] Mo Cheeks.

There's a lot of people that can't be like Russ, either. We need him to play the way he plays. Of course, he's going to make mistakes, and we're all going to make mistakes.

You guys don't see how hard he works and how much he wants it. That's what I love about him. He doesn't care what people say, he's going to play his game and we need him to play his game, and we'll go from there.

"

Westbrook is a highly skilled player, but his unwillingness to change is too big of a turn-off to any other superstars.

Until that mentality changes, Durant will be the only big-name player that would succeed alongside the inconsistent star.  

He's probably the only one that won't publicly show signs of discontent with Westbrook's play. 

1. Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers

Controversy with this one!

As much as people want to believe in the Los Angeles Lakers experiment, it's one that just won't work.

Bringing Dwight Howard in will be great for jersey sales, they'll pack the crowd night in and night out and have a season full of highlight-reel plays.

What's the point of those, though, they're all areas of the game that the Lakers already had locked up.

The goal of bringing him in to join Kobe Bryant was to win an NBA championship.

It's just tough to see it happening.

The reason that this pairing won't work out isn't either of the stars' fault. It's more of the Lakers organization and how they planned on making it all happen.

If the game were all about who the starting five will be, then Los Angeles would have a great shot at winning it all.

Unfortunately, that just isn't the case.

Bryant and Howard are forced to either play with or watch players like Steve Blake, Antawn Jamison and Jordan Hill. As far as second units are concerned, that is a weak one at best.

Blake manages the game well, but doesn't bring many positives to the floor besides smart play and good defense.

Jamison was a good player five years ago, but 2007 was just that, five years ago.

Hill doesn't have much experience or the skill level to contribute enough to make much of an impact in a game.

Again, bench players like these aren't Bryant and Howard's fault, but they are the duo's problem.

They are the exact problem that will keep them from succeeding together.

And for the sake of the argument, succeeding is winning a championship. Both players and fans won't be happy with anything else.