30 Greatest Sports Trios of All Time

From legendary teammates to iconic rivals, these players are inevitably linked as sports trios.

Whenever fans think of great trios in sports, they usually think about the various “Big Three” combinations in basketball. While that may be the first sport that comes to mind with threesomes of players, you can find great trios in pretty much all sports, including individual sports.

From a QB/RB/WR trio in football to lines in hockey or All-Star outfields in baseball, athletes often get linked together almost to the point that you can’t say one without the other. Just as Stockton and Malone is a duo that rolls off the tongue, the same goes for Bird, McHale and Parish as a triumvirate of players.

As for individual sports, obviously, teammates aren’t in play, but trios still are. These take the form of great rivals who competed against each other time after time. You can’t say Federer without also saying Nadal … and Djokovic! So, what is the greatest trio of athletes in sports history? Read on to find out.

30. Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo

Sport: College football

Team: USC Trojans

Years together: 2003-05

Championships won together: 2

Bottom line: Imagine a trio in which you have two Heisman winners and another player who led the NCAA in touchdowns. That was the USC Trojans backfield by the time the 2006 Rose Bowl came around. They, along with Pete Carroll, helped resurrect the Trojans after they had fallen off during the 1980s and ’90s. In their first year together in 2003, the Trojans won the Rose Bowl and split the national championship. The next year, Leinart won the Heisman as the Trojans ran the table and won another natty. Then in 2005, Bush was the Heisman recipient, and White led the nation in TDs. USC was riding a 34-game win streak but were upset by the Texas Longhorns, preventing a three-peat. All three players would enter the NFL Draft the next year as Bush would go No. 2 overall, Leinart No. 10 and White No. 45.

29. Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed

David Richard / AP Photo

Sport: Football

Team: Buffalo Bills

Years together: 1988-96

Championships won together: 0

Bottom line: Four times the bridesmaid but never the bride, the four straight Super Bowl losses shouldn’t diminish the greatness of these three. They were the heartbeat of the Bills’ K-Gun offense, which was a no-huddle, hurry-up offense ahead of its time. Kelly made four Pro Bowls during this stretch, Thomas led the league in scrimmage yards four times, and Reed sacrificed his body countless times going across the middle of the field. These three allowed the Bills to post top 10 offenses in both scoring and in total yards five times during their nine years together.

28. Bill Russell, Sam Jones and John Havlicek

AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: Boston Celtics

Years together: 1962-69

Championships won together: 6

Bottom line: There were so many Celtics that could have surrounded Russell as part of the Celtics trio, but Jones and Havlicek stood out for different reasons. Jones’ 10 NBA championships are second-most in history, trailing only Russell. And Havlicek was the second-best player of the Celtics dynasty after Russell.

With Russell anchoring the defense, Jones and Havlicek filled many roles for the Celtics’ offense. Jones played both guard positions and became the Celtics leading scorer during the first part of the trio’s run together. Havlicek then took over as the primary scorer during the end of the run once he joined the starting lineup after being a Sixth Man for the first five years of his career. The trio would win six NBA championships in their seven years together.

27. Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble and Randy Myers

Al Behrman / AP Photo

Sport: Baseball

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Years together: 1990-91

Championships won together: 1

Bottom line: When the Detroit Pistons won the 1989 NBA championship, their “Bad Boys” nickname really took off. Elsewhere in the Midwest, a derivative nickname was created for a trio of Cincinnati Reds’ relievers during their 1990 World Series run. Charlton, Dibble and Myers were the backbone of the only Reds’ World Series-winning team since The Big Red Machine, and they played their best when it mattered the most. In the 1990 World Series versus the Oakland Athletics — who were making their third World Series appearance in a row — The Nasty Boys combined for 8.2 innings and zero earned runs.

26. Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and René Robert

Terry Pegula, Rick Martin, Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert

David Duprey / AP Photo

Sport: Hockey

Team: Buffalo Sabres

Years together: 1972-79

Championships won together: 0

Bottom line: In April 1972, “The French Connection” won the Oscar for Best Picture. So what happened just a few months later when three French-Canadians paired together on the Sabres’ line? They were nicknamed the French Connection, and Robert even had the name trademarked to reap the royalties from its use. Martin manned the left wing with Perreault at center and Robert on the right. Each made at least one All-Star Game, and they combined for seven All-Star appearances during their run. They also played major roles in helping the Sabres reach their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history in 1975.

25. Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson

Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson

Elise Amendola / AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: Houston Comets

Years together: 1997-2000, 2003

Championships won together: 4

Bottom line: This trio came together due to great fortune for the Comets franchise during the WNBA’s inaugural season. The league initially allocated two veteran players to each of the eight teams, and Houston was the only team that ended up with two Naismith Hall of Famers in Swoopes and Cooper. If that wasn’t enough, the WNBA then held its normal collegiate draft, and the Comets ended up with the first overall pick in which they drafted Thompson. Those three players would form the nucleus of back-to-back-to-back-to-back championship teams. There were a total of five players from that 1997 draft that would wind up in the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, and three were scooped up by the Rockets.

24. Wes Chandler, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow

Carl Viti / AP Photo

Sport: Football

Team: San Diego Chargers

Years together: 1981-86

Championships won together: 0

Bottom line: Coach Don Coryell revolutionized the NFL with his Air Coryell style of offense. From 1981-86, the Chargers led the league in points three times and in yards four times with the pass-catching trio of Chandler, Joiner and Winslow leading the way. Chandler was a speedy receiver who could beat you deep, while Joiner was the wily veteran who was a precise route runner. But the piece that really made Air Coryell operate was Winslow, the tight end who was built like a lineman but ran like a receiver. The modern-day tight end can trace its lineage back to Winslow who was a mismatch for defenders in the 1980s. But despite San Diego’s aerial exploits, the team never even reached a Super Bowl during the Air Coryell era.

23. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard

Tom Mihalek / AP Photo

Sport: Baseball

Team: Philadelphia Phillies

Years together: 2004-14

Championships won together: 1

Bottom line: All within one year in age of each other, Rollins, Utley and Howard were the backbone of the last Phillies’ championship team. Rollins was the leadoff man who won an MVP and is one of seven players in MLB history with 200 HRs and 450 SBs. Howard was the cleanup man who also won an MVP and who was the fastest player in MLB history to reach both 100 HRs and 200 HRs. And Utley was the No. 3 hitter and the best all-around player of the three despite never winning an MVP. During their 11 years together, they contributed to four of the franchise’s nine winningest seasons in the 139 years of Phillies baseball.

22. Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson

Jim Kerlin / AP Photo

Sport: Auto Racing

Team: N/A

Years together: 1960-86

Championships won together: N/A

Bottom line: These three weren’t teammates and were rather rivals. But they are undoubtedly linked due to the dominance they had in their era. From 1964-79, they accounted for 13 of the 16 NASCAR Cup Series Championships, with Petty winning seven times and Yarborough and Pearson winning three apiece. No season better encapsulates the trio’s dominance than the 1974 Cup Series season, which consisted of 30 races. These three won an astounding 27 of the 30 races and led for 74 percent of the possible laps. They were also inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in consecutive years with Petty being part of the inaugural 2010 class. Pearson then went in a year later, and Yarborough was enshrined in 2012.

21. Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce

Colin E. Braley / AP Photo

Sport: Football

Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Years together: 2017-present

Championships won together: 1

Bottom line: Combine, perhaps, the most talented QB in NFL history with, perhaps, the fastest receiver in NFL history and the most productive tight end in NFL history … and you have the Kansas City Chiefs.

There is no throw that Mahomes can’t make on a football field, and he hasn’t even reached his prime yet. He has the highest passer rating in league history, and much of that is thanks to the players he’s throwing the ball to. Hill was a high school track star whose 200m personal best was one-one-hundredth of a second off the all-time high school record. He’s been able to translate that speed to the gridiron and is one of two receivers to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons. And Kelce is on his way to Canton and is the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 8,000 receiving yards.

20. David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo

Bernat Armangue / AP Photo

Sport: Soccer

Team: Real Madrid

Years together: 2003-06

Championships won together: 0

Bottom line: In the early 2000s, Zidane and Ronaldo were like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — the two best players in the world. They then joined forces on Real Madrid, only to then be joined in 2003 by the most popular soccer player in the world in Beckham. With all of this star power on the same team, this era at Real Madrid was nicknamed Galácticos, which literally means “bigger than a star.”

With the marketing potential of their star players, Real Madrid became the richest soccer club in the world in terms of revenue. But its success off the field didn’t necessarily carry onto the field, as the club failed to win La Liga, the Champions League or any major title during the run of Beckham, Zidane and Ronaldo playing together.

19. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh

J.Pat Carter / AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: Miami Heat

Years together: 2010-14

Championships won together: 2

Bottom line: Also known as The Big Three or The Heatles, they didn’t win the eight NBA championships that LeBron James estimated they would win during his introduction to the team. But they did go to the Finals all four years together, winning two titles. The team really took off in their second year together when Wade ceded his Alpha Dog status to James who was three years younger and at the athletic peak of his career. Miami would win its first title under The Big Three that season and then embark on a 27-game win streak the next year en route to winning back-to-back championships.

According to Carmelo Anthony, this trio was originally supposed to include him instead of Bosh. But Anthony opted for a longer contract beforehand that prevented him from becoming a free agent in 2010. Thus, Bosh was the next logical choice to complete the triumvirate.

18. Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris and Jim Kiick

Charles Knoblock / AP Photo

Sport: Football

Team: Miami Dolphins

Years together: 1969-74

Championships won together: 2

Bottom line: The only perfect season in NFL history — the ’72 Dolphins — achieved perfection on the strength of their run game. They had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers who were Pro Bowlers in Csonka and Morris, while Kiick was the do-everything third back in the rotation. Kiick played the role of fullback and third-down back and also topped 500 yards on the ground that year. That ’72 season was just a microcosm of how the Dolphins deployed their triumvirate of backs in one of the early, successful examples of a running-back-by-committee.

17. Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Early Wynn

AP Photo

Sport: Baseball

Team: Cleveland Indians

Years together: 1949-56

Championships won together: 0

Bottom line: For eight seasons, the Indians had three Hall of Fame pitchers they could call upon in a big game. But these three had a bond that extended beyond the pitching mound, as all three also missed seasons of their pro career to fight in World War II. When they all finally returned to the States and linked together, they were in different parts of their careers despite all being within two years of age. Feller had already seen his best days, while Lemon was in his prime and Wynn’s best would come later in his career with another team. Even though all three led the AL in wins at some point during their run together, the Indians never won a single postseason game during this stretch.

16. Mike Singletary, Wilber Marshall and Otis Wilson

Charlie Bennett / AP Photo

Sport: Football

Team: Chicago Bears

Years together: 1984-87

Championships won together: 1

Bottom line: Teams rarely use three linebackers on the field anymore, but this trio complemented each other perfectly on those dominant 1980s Bears teams. Wilson was the best blitzer of the group and terrorized backfields from his outside LB spot. Marshall was the best coverage LB who would always find himself around the ball in order to force turnovers. And Singletary was the best run-stuffer, as he clogged running lanes and delivered devastating hits to ball carriers.

The Bears’ 46 defense wouldn’t have been as successful as it was without players of these abilities, and there was a perfect confluence of their talents in 1985. Playing for, perhaps, the greatest defense in NFL history, these three combined for 19.5 sacks, eight interceptions and six recovered fumbles.

15. Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy

Harry Harris / AP Photo

Sport: Hockey

Team: New York Islanders

Years together: 1977-86

Championships won together: 4

Bottom line: After losing in the playoff semifinals in three straight years, the Islanders shook things up in 1977 by inserting rookie Mike Bossy into the top line. He manned the right wing while Gillies was on the left and Trottier was at center, forming what’s known as The Trio Grande, which translates to “The Big Threesome.” “Big” was an exaggeration, as Gillies was the only one over 6 feet and 200 pounds, but the three complemented each other beautifully on the ice.

Bossy would emerge as a leading scorer, topping the NHL in goals twice, while Trottier would lead the league in assists two times. Gillies became an All-Star and was one of the best enforcers of his era. The Islanders would win four straight Stanley Cup Finals from 1980-83, and all three players would make the Hall of Fame.

14. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green

Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: Golden State Warriors

Years together: 2012-present

Championships won together: 3

Bottom line: With all due respect to Kevin Durant, he likely wouldn’t even get the nod if this was a great foursome list, as Andre Iguodala would get that honor. But Steph, Klay and Dray put the Warriors on the map in the mid-2010s and brought an exciting brand of basketball to TV sets. Curry and Thompson are two second-generation stars who excel at the fundamentals of basketball: shooting, passing, dribbling and moving without the ball. They get most of the attention, but the heartbeat of the team is Green. He’s a playmaker on offense and can guard all five positions on defense, as his versatility allows the Warriors to play fun and freely.

13. Jim Rice, Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans

Charles Krupa / AP Photo

Sport: Baseball

Team: Boston Red Sox

Years together: 1974-80

Championships won together: 0

Bottom line: These three all came up together, are within 18 months of each other in age and patrolled the Red Sox outfield as Carl Yastrzemski shifted to first base. Rice was the Hall of Fame left fielder who won the 1978 AL MVP after claiming two-thirds of the Triple Crown. Lynn was the center fielder who had won the MVP three years earlier, in addition to the AL Rookie of the Year, to make him the first player to win both in the same season. And Evans was the defensive ace right fielder who would later improve his hitting and even lead the league in home runs.

Rice and Evans would play together with Boston until 1989, but Lynn’s Red Sox run was cut short in 1980. He was traded to the Angels after that season as the organization believed that Lynn was going to bolt in free agency a year later. Lynn denied that claim, but the trade broke up the best outfield in baseball.

12. Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley

Susan Ragan / AP Photo

Sport: College Basketball

Team: Duke Blue Devils

Years together: 1990-92

Championships won together: 2

Bottom line: There have been some memorable trios to pass through Durham, North Carolina, such as Zion, RJ and Cam or Battier, Boozer and Jay-Will. But Coach K’s finest is the one that won him his first, and second, national championships.

Laettner joined the program first in 1988, and Duke lost in the Final Four. Then, Hurley joined the next year, and the Blue Devils lost in the national championship game. Hill then came aboard in 1990 and was the missing piece, as Duke went back-to-back and knocked off some iconic teams to do so, including UNLV’s squad that was on a 45-game win streak and the Fab Five team of Michigan.

11. Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Edgar Martinez

Ted S. Warren / AP Photo

Sport: Baseball

Team: Seattle Mariners

Years together: 1994-99

Championships won together: 0

Bottom line: When it comes to the heart of a lineup, it doesn’t get much more impressive than these three. Griffey and A-Rod were both No. 1 overall picks who combined for nearly 1,300 home runs, while Martinez is maybe the greatest designated hitter in MLB history. From A-Rod becoming a full-timer in 1996 thru 1999, they ranked second (Griffey), sixth (Rodriguez) and 10th (Martinez) in WAR during that span. The Mariners, as a team, hit over 100 more HRs than any other during this four-year stretch, but they have nothing meaningful to show for it. Seattle only won a single postseason series with this trio, as none of them could affect the Mariners’ pitching struggles.

10. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish

Mark Phillips / AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: Boston Celtics

Years together: 1980-92

Championships won together: 3

Bottom line: Red Auerbach was the architect of this trio coming together, as he drafted Bird first overall in 1978 and then swung one of the most lopsided trades in sports history to land McHale and Parish. Boston netted the two in a deal in 1980 to create the greatest frontcourt in NBA history, one that won a championship in its first year together. McHale was originally the Sixth Man with Bird as the power forward, but in later years, McHale would take over that PF spot with Bird sliding down to small forward. Only Bird’s back issues prevented even more success for the Celtics, but they won’t complain about making five NBA Finals and winning three rings from 1981-87.

9. Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player

AP Photo

Sport: Golf

Team: N/A

Years together: 1961-2005

Championships won together: N/A

Bottom line: Known as the Big Three of Golf, Nicklaus, Palmer and Player brought golf mainstream in the 1950s and ’60s. They won a combined 34 major championships, including a stretch from 1958-75 in which at least one claimed a major in all but one year. They were intense rivals but in later years would become good friends.

As we saw with Tiger Woods in his era, it’s rare for a great golfer to even find one rival who is on a similar level. But Nicklaus — who was the best of the trio — to find two other golfers near his ability was something special.

8. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili

Darren Abate / AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: San Antonio Spurs

Years together: 2002-16

Championships won together: 4

Bottom line: The best part of this trio is that each player was at one point the go-to player on the team. First, it was the Greatest Power Forward in NBA History in Duncan, who anchored both the offense and defense. Then as he aged, Ginobili took over with his unbelievable playmaking and shot-making skills. Finally, Parker had his turn, as defenders could never figure out how to keep him out of the paint. These three won 575 regular-season games together, which is the most in NBA history for a trio.

7. Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods

Richard Drew / AP Photo

Sport: Wrestling

Team: The New Day

Years together: 2014-present

Championships won together: 8

Bottom line: The WWE hasn’t created many memorable tag teams over the last decade, but they did create one of the greatest stables in The New Day. The trio of Big E, Kingston and Woods are as decorated as any team in pro wrestling history. They’ve won 11 tag titles and hold the longest tag team championship reign in WWE history at 483 days. But their success goes beyond their accomplishments, as they are just as popular with the fans, if not more so, than they are with WWE’s creative teams. Their likable gimmick and memorable catchphrases have allowed them to crossover into pop culture with the individual members also experiencing success. Big E and Kingston both won the WWE Championship, while Woods claimed the 2021 King of the Ring.

6. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman

John Swart / AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: Chicago Bulls

Years together: 1995-98

Championships won together: 3

Bottom line: With all due respect to Horace Grant, the first Bulls’ three-peat featured just a dynamic duo in Jordan and Pippen. But the Bulls added the greatest rebounder in NBA history for the second three-peat, and those Bulls were almost like rock stars with the worldwide fame and popularity they achieved.

What truly made this trio special was that they were all elite defenders and combined for seven All-Defensive First-Team selections during their three seasons together. With all three between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8, they were able to easily switch on defense, and this style provided a blueprint for future teams to follow.

5. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz

Doug Mills / AP Photo

Sport: Baseball

Team: Atlanta Braves

Years together: 1993-2002

Championships won together: 1

Bottom line: When you say “Big Three” in regard to baseball, the pitching trio of the 1990s Braves should be the first group that comes to mind. No MLB team could match the depth of Atlanta’s rotation, and there were no weak links with this trio. During a span of six years, they combined to win five NL Cy Young awards — with Maddux winning three — as well as the 1995 World Series. They all brought something unique to the Braves that allowed the team to have so much success. Maddux had exceptional command, Glavine was the crafty lefty, and Smoltz was the power pitcher. All three would then be inducted into the Hall of Fame in their first years of eligibility.

4. Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri

Rusty Kennedy / AP Photo

Sport: Hockey

Team: Edmonton Oilers

Years together: 1980-88

Championships won together: 4

Bottom line: These three didn’t always play together, but when they did, they formed a Hall of Fame Line. That line was headlined by The Great One who played center and was flanked on the wing by Messier and Kurri. The highlight of their tenure came during the 1986-87 season, which resulted in the Oilers not only winning the Stanley Cup, but all three players also shining individually. Gretzky, Kurri and Messier finished first, second and third, respectively, in points and were an unstoppable trio when sharing the ice.

3. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Carlos Moya, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray

Sang Tan / AP Photo

Sport: Tennis

Team: N/A

Years together: 2003-present

Championships won together: N/A

Bottom line: With all due respect to Andy Murray, the Big Four of tennis is really a Big Three. Murray has three Grand Slams, while the trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic each holds 20 Grand Slam singles through the 2021 season. They’ve each dominated one of the major tournaments, as Nadal holds the record with 13 French Open wins, Djokovic has a record nine Australian Opens and Federer has a record eight Wimbledon victories. The only question when it comes to The Big Three is which will go down in history as the best of the group? With all still active, how the rest of their careers play out will determine that.

2. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy

Jim Davis / AP Photo

Sport: Basketball

Team: Los Angeles Lakers

Years together: 1982-89

Championships won together: 3

Bottom line: Perhaps no trio in NBA history complemented each other as well as this one. Johnson was the maestro of Showtime and would push the ball down court to either distribute it to a streaking teammate or take it to the hole himself. Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, had an unblockable shot with his legendary skyhook, that he could get over any defender. He operated in the low post and was essentially the Lakers’ half-court offense if they couldn’t get anything in transition. Worthy was the athletic slasher who was often the recipient of Johnson’s assists with his ability to finish above the rim. He also developed a productive low-post game that likely was influenced by Abdul-Jabbar. This trio went to six NBA Finals in their seven years together, winning titles in 1985, 1987 and 1988.

1. Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin

Linda Kaye / AP Photo

Sport: Football

Team: Dallas Cowboys

Years together: 1990-99

Championships won together: 3

Bottom line: This trio was known as The Triplets, as the Cowboys hit home runs in back-to-back-to-back NFL Drafts. Irvin was the team’s first-round pick in 1988, Aikman followed as the top overall pick in 1989, and then Smith was a first-rounder in 1990. They were all Pro Bowlers by 1991 and became Super Bowl champions a year later. That would be the first of three championships in a four-year stretch as no team — not even the 49ers — could match the QB/RB/WR trio of Dallas.

Michael Irvin would say what made their chemistry so great on the field was the fact that they were so different off the field. He was extremely bold and brash, while Aikman was Californian cool and Smith’s personality was in the middle of his QB and star receiver.