Most Prolific Tandems in Pro Sports Today
Though over the years we've been trained to know that wins and losses matter most in sports, sometimes pure prolific production entertains more than anything.
Even better, when two dynamic weapons combine to form a tandem, the truly special tends to follow.
Fortunately, our current sports climate is filled with historically prolific tandems.
In basketball, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook—two of the NBA's top five producers—have teamed up to electrify fans in Oklahoma City and beyond.
In baseball, the same thing can be said of Albert Pujols and Mike Trout, two potential future Hall of Famers who call Los Angeles home.
And in football, Peyton Manning continues to wow audiences with legendary production, thanks in large part to his freakish counterpart, a receiver known to some as "Bebe" or, more formally, as Demaryius Thomas.
Inspired by the aforementioned duos, we decided to highlight the 13 most prolific tandems in pro sports today. Of course, we used a few ranking rules or principles that we'd like to make clear.
First, due to baseball's unique and almost individualistic style of play, we created two separate groups: hitting and pitching tandems. In a similar way, and with the notion of "tandem" in mind, we had to deal with hockey's unusual structure as well, and we did so by only including athletes who share a line or consistently play together (we may have made one small exception to this rule, though you'll have to keep reading to discover for whom me made it). Beyond those guidelines, we were all about pure production.
That said, one thing is for sure: In their respective sports, whatever it is they are asked to deliver—whether it's homers, strikeouts, buckets or goals—our chosen tandems provide, and in a hugely prolific way.
Close, but No Cigar
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As expected, not every prolific tandem made the cut. This, then, is our most prolific list of honorable mentions:
- Tim Duncan and Tony Parker (for championship sake)
- James Harden and Dwight Howard
- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge
- Stephen Curry and Clay Thompson
- Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison
- Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez
- Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista
- Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmermann
- Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski
- Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch
- Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson
- Matt Ryan and Julio Jones
- Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton
- Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek
Cabrera and Martinez
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We begin our list by highlighting the toughest decision we had to make—in the end, by the slightest of margins, and though it pained us to do so, we decided to give the nod among hitting tandems to Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez over the fearsome Jose Bautista-Edwin Encarnacion duo that resides in Toronto (out of respect, we should note, the latter is the only tandem in baseball in which both players rank in the top 10 in homers and RBI!).
In truth, with only one spot left, we simply had to include Cabrera—a two-time AL MVP—and Martinez, a five-time All-Star.
Here's why: In 2014, the two stars hit a total of 57 home runs and 212 RBI while simultaneously sporting a staggering combined batting average of .324!
Additionally, they both ranked in the AL's top 10 in on base percentage (OBP)—Martinez led the league with .409 OBP—and both also finished in the league's top seven in slugging percentage, with Martinez sporting the second-best number there (as you may have guessed, he also led the AL in OPS, while Cabrera finished a more-than-respectable sixth).
As reward for their especially prolific seasons, both Cabrera and Martinez were named to the 2014 AL All-Star Team, and the latter was also honored with the league's prestigious Silver Slugger Award.
Ovechkin and Backstrom
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Though their prolific production hasn't always led to wins—Washington missed the playoffs altogether in 2013-14—the tandem of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom nonetheless ranks among the very best in sports.
This season, in particular, the two are playing at an all-time level.
Ovechkin, of course, needs little representation. After all, the three-time Ted Lindsay Award winner sits atop the league's list of leading goal scorers with a gaudy 45—six more than second place—and ranks second in the NHL in total points, with an impressive 71 on the year.
Pretty prolific, right?
And in incredible fashion, on the very same line, Backstrom has been nearly as productive. The 27-year-old Swede ranks third in the league in total points with 69—sitting just two back of his dynamic teammate—and, with Ovechkin by his side to finish, he leads the entire NHL in assists on the year, dishing out a sensational 51 in total.
Together, the two Capitals are as offensively dynamic as any duo to share the ice, leading Washington to 201 goals—only seven teams so far this year have surpassed the 200-goal plateau—and a 36-22 record.
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Griffin and Paul
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If this discussion was about the most exciting tandems in sports, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin would likely rank at the top of our list.
However, we are more concerned with prolific production here, a discussion in which the Clippers duo is nearly as relevant.
Sure, Griffin has his faults—he's still not an elite or even consistent back-to-the-basket, low-post scorer, and he isn't exactly a top rebounder either, averaging just 7.5 per game from his power forward spot.
But, with all that said, he remains one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in basketball, averaging 22.5 points per game while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor. Not to mention his player efficiency rating (PER) of 23.1, which currently stands as the eighth best in the league, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Of course, when you throw Paul into the equation, the duo's case only grows stronger.
The eight-time All-Star is once again leading the league in assists per game (10.1) and is also still managing to score better than 18 points per contest.
And when you add his PER (24.9) to Griffin's, you get the No. 1 tandem total (among qualified participants)—48—in the NBA.
If that's not prolific, then we don't know what is.
Rodgers and Nelson
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In 2014, Aaron Rodgers added yet another accomplishment to his already loaded resume, taking home his second career NFL MVP Award.
He did so, of course, with good reason: In throwing for 4,381 yards, Rodgers finished seventh in the NFL in passing but attempted at least 77 fewer passes than the quarterbacks ranked ahead him.
To account for his relative lack of volume, consider that his yards-per-attempt average—8.43—ranked second overall, and that his quarterback rating—112.2—did as well.
You should also know, Rodgers threw a remarkable 38 touchdowns on the year—good for third in the league and just two behind Andrew Luck's league-leading 40—to go along with only five interceptions, the fewest among NFL starters with at least 241 pass attempts (to put things in perspective, Rodgers attempted 520 passes in 2014).
More than any other Packer, wideout Jordy Nelson was the beneficiary of Rodgers' prolific play.
In addition to totaling the fourth-most receiving yards in the league—his 1,519 yards were just 179 fewer than the league-leading total—Nelson found the end zone an impressive 13 times, the second-best total among all pass-catchers.
While Rodgers was rewarded for his efforts with a shiny new MVP trophy, Nelson was honored with his first Pro Bowl selection.
Kershaw and Greinke
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When it came time to identify the most prolific tandems in sports, we felt obligated to figure out a way to include pitchers. After plenty of deliberation, once we decided to create a category honoring baseball's top pitching tandem, it was far easier to select the duo with which we wanted to go.
As far as statistical production goes, no pitching tandem is as prolific as the one made up of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.
For starters, if not for a truly legendary postseason performance from Madison Bumgarner, Kershaw would be considered hands down the best pitcher in baseball. After all, he won the 2014 NL Cy Young Award and was named the NL MVP!
And forget about leagues—in 2014, Kershaw led baseball in both wins (21) and ERA (1.77)! That, by the way, hadn't been done since Johan Santana did it in 2006 (though, we should note, he actually tied for the most wins). In fact, the feat has been accomplished only three times since 1999, when Pedro Martinez joined Kershaw and Santana in the prestigious club.
Of course, we can't forget good old Greinke, either, who in 2014 won the fifth-most games in the National League—his 17 victories were also just one behind the AL leader—and sported the NL's eighth-best ERA (2.71) in addition to making his second career All-Star appearance.
And did we mention that both aces ranked in the top five in strikeouts as well?
In the end, with Kershaw and Greinke on its side, L.A. was one of only two teams in 2014 to place two pitchers in the NL top 10 for both wins and ERA. (St. Louis was the other, while no team did it in the AL.) When you add strikeouts to the equation, the Dodgers stand on a pedestal all alone.
Ronaldo and Benzema
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Though they have some hefty competition over at FC Barcelona—to whom we'll get in just a bit—the Real Madrid duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema is roughly as good as it gets.
Let's begin with Ronaldo, who—as it sits today—is once again atop the La Liga scoring list, tied with Lionel Messi at 30 goals on the season. Not surprisingly, he's also second in the league in assists, four back of Messi with 10.
That said, he has plenty of help, too.
For one, he plays alongside midfielder Gareth Bale, whom many would have included here rather than Benzema. The Frenchman, however, is sensational as well and, in fact, is having the better season.
More specifically, Benzema's 13-goal total on the year is good enough for sixth-best in the league, which gives Real Madrid two of La Liga's most prolific finishers. (For the record, Bale is tied for 10th with 10 goals scored.) Just as impressive, the 27-year-old striker has also contributed eight assists, ranking fifth in the league.
To put things in simpler terms, both Ronaldo and Benzema rank in La Liga's top six for both goals and assists on the year!
At the moment, Real Madrid sits in second place in the league standings, just one point behind Barcelona. And we're confident that highly prolific play from both Ronaldo and Benzema is the major reason why.
Crosby and Malkin
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In an attempt to stay true to the purest meaning of "tandem," we did our best to limit our list to duos that frequently compete together, side-by-side.
We, however, had to make an exception in the case of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, mostly because it's historically rare to witness two top-10 players suiting up for the same team.
Of course, we should also mention that, at times, they do in fact share the ice, whether it's in a pinch, in the closing minutes of an important outing or as members of Pittsburgh's first-team power-play unit.
Most important of all—whether it's at the same time or not—Crosby and Malkin are both currently playing about as well as anyone in hockey.
At the time this article was published, Crosby and Malkin ranked second and fifth, respectively, in offensive points this season, while Malkin also sat at ninth in the NHL in goals scored (28). We should also note, Crosby wasn't far behind with 23 goals on the year.
And, as you'd expect, both are churning out assists in a prolific way too; Crosby has the second-most assists in the league with 47, and Malkin has contributed an impressive 40 assists of his own.
Finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't also note that all their production has led Pittsburgh to an impressive 39-18 record, just three points behind the Eastern Conference's current standings leader.
James and Irving
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Many talented tandems have been together for much longer, but in just their first season of playing side-by-side, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have established themselves as one of the NBA's most prolific duos.
After a relatively slow start to the 2014-15 NBA season—Cleveland was just 19-20 nearly three months into the season—James and Irving now have the Cavs playing at an elite level, and with 42 wins, they occupy the second spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
As has been the case for the better part of the century, King James remains the best basketball player in the world.
In late January, with team sitting at 18-12 on the year, The King retreated to Miami for some much-needed rest and recovery. But when he returned eight games later, Cleveland had fallen to 19-19.
Since then, however, while armed with a healthier James, the Cavs have soared, winning 23 of their last 29 outings. Over the impressive stretch, James is only averaging 27.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.
He's currently the third leading scorer in the league and, more importantly, is shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor.
And though people at times love to criticize Irving, in truth, he's having a spectacular season too.
The fourth-year star out of Duke is scoring a more-than-solid 22 points per game in addition to dishing out 5.2 assists and grabbing 3.2 rebounds per contest.
There's no question that Irving has turned into one of the most dynamic offensive weapons the NBA has to offer. And though many have questioned whether the youthful star will be able to perform in the clutch, he answered that question in a resounding manner Thursday night, leading the Cavs to a come-from-behind overtime victory over the Spurs with an entire collection of remarkable, can't-miss plays.
Finally, the James-Irving duo isn't just winning in a prolific way; it is notably efficient too. Combined, their PER (48.2) ranks as the second best among all duos in the league.
Manning and Thomas
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For the second year in a row, Denver's season ended in disappointment, this time with a divisional round loss to the Colts.
Aside from the heartbreaking ending, however, Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas were once again among the most productive tandems in the league.
As usual, Manning did his part: The 16-year vet threw for 4,727 yards—the fourth-best mark in the league—and a whopping 39 touchdowns, just one score behind the NFL's overall leader (Andrew Luck).
Of course, in Bebe, the league's fourth highest-rated passer has an absolute monster at his disposal.
Over the last three seasons, the 6'3", 229-pound Thomas has established himself as one of the game's most dominant offensive weapons, and 2014 was his best season yet.
With Manning pulling the trigger, Bebe finished second in the NFL in both total receptions (111) and receiving yards (1,619), while his 11 touchdowns ranked among the very best as well.
Fittingly, as payment for their play, both Manning and Thomas were again selected to the Pro Bowl—it was Manning's 14th career appearance and Bebe's third in a row.
Trout and Pujols
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When it comes to the top hitting tandems in baseball, there's none better than Albert Pujols and Mike Trout.
If the past and present are any indication, and all continues to go according to plan, the duo boasts not one but two future Hall of Famers.
Of course, this was never meant to be a discussion about career achievements, the past or the future; no, we're talking about today's most prolific tandems, and that too is a conversation that must include the Pujols-Trout pairing.
In 2014, at the ripe old age 23, Trout alone accounted for 36 homers and 111 RBI, numbers that ranked third and first, respectively, in the American League. For those efforts, he was named the 2014 AL MVP.
And as baseball fans have come to expect, Pujols wasn't too far behind, knocking in 105 runs of his own (fifth in the AL) in addition to belting an impressive 28 homers as well.
Not surprisingly, the Los Angeles Angels are the only team in baseball with two—Pujols and Trout—top-five RBI producers, which guaranteed the tandem a lofty spot on this list.
Messi and Neymar
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In Neymar and Lionel Messi, one could argue that FC Barcelona plays home to the two most talented footballers in the world.
Of course, talent aside, they're awfully prolific too—as clear-cut a choice as any to make this prestigious list.
For proof, one need only look at the 2014-15 list of La Liga top scorers, on which Messi ranks first with 30 goals and Neymar ranks third with 17.
Just to review, combined, the tandem represents two of the top three goalscorers in all of Spanish soccer!
Oh, and just for good measure, Messi also leads the league in assists with 14, while Neymar has a contributed a respectable four of his own.
And to top it all off, the duo's tremendous production led Barcelona all the way to the La Liga championship game in 2014 and has Barca once again atop the league standings in 2015.
When all is said and done, then, no matter the method of measurement, Neymar and Messi rank among the most prolific tandems in sports.
Roethlisberger and Brown
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Though some quarterback-wide receiver tandems get a lot more attention, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown have somewhat quietly developed into the NFL's most prolific one over the last two seasons.
Most recently, the duo took the NFL by storm in 2014, pacing the league in some of its most prominent statistical categories.
To be exact, Big Ben led the NFL in passing yards with 4,952, while Captain Improvise set the curve for receiving yards with 1,698.
What's just as impressive, and perhaps more important, were the 32 touchdowns Roethlisberger threw in 2014—against just nine interceptions, by the way—and the 13 TDs Brown caught, which ranked as the second-best mark in the league.
Of course, Brown also led the NFL in total receptions, while, not so surprisingly, Big Ben ranked third overall in completions, completion percentage and passer rating.
Simply put, both members of the dynamic Pittsburgh duo ranked either atop or among the NFL's elite in literally every metric that matters, and they find themselves near the top of our list as a result.
Durant and Westbrook
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We know Kevin Durant has been injured for a large majority of the 2014-15 season, but how we can exclude a duo that arguably includes two of the NBA's top five overall players?
Not to mention, when KD has suited up this year, he's been nothing short of spectacular. His averages—25.4 points, 4.1 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game—yield a gaudy PER of 27.81, per ESPN.com, which would rank third best in the NBA if not for his insufficient 27 games played.
What's shocking, however, is that his partner in crime—Russell Westbrook—is playing at an even higher level, sporting the league's second-best PER (29.84).
Answer me this: When is the last time a point guard has led the league in scoring (27.3 PPG) while also averaging 8.3 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game?
What's perhaps more impressive is the run Westbrook went on to end February and begin March, when he recorded four consecutive triple-doubles and five in six games.
Not surprisingly, Westbrook has the chance to follow up Durant's 2013-14 MVP campaign with one of his own and, should he do so, the duo would become the first teammates to win the award in back-to-back seasons since Bob Cousy and Bill Russell did it with the Celtics in 1957 and 1958, respectively.
Now that's prolific!
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