Until recently, the NBA was all the big three. Each team that wanted to contend for a title felt it was necessary to have three standout players. Look at the Golden State Warriors, the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs, and even the Cleveland Cavaliers. All had three star players on their teams, all won titles. The Toronto Raptors were the last of those teams to win a title.
They, too, had a big three. The trio of Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam led the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA title with a lot of help from the rest of the roster, but those three were the big names.