NBA: The 30 best trios in league history
Best trios in NBA history: 13. Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Happy Hairston
- Chamberlain: 18.9 ppg, 18.6 rpg, 62.2 fg%
- West: 26.6 ppg, 8.8 apg
- Hairston: 17.1, 12.2 rpg
- Finals record: 1-2
- Time together: 1970-1973
It was a forgone conclusion that Wilt Chamberlain was going to score whenever and where ever he wanted. Having led the league in scoring a total of seven times, there was simply nothing anyone could do to stop him. With that said, once he got to the Los Angeles Lakers, albeit a bit diminished, he helped form one of the best trios in league history.
Alongside Jerry West and Happy Hairston, Chamberlain had the sort of team success that eluded him for much of his career. As a group, the Lakers went on to play in three NBA Finals in four years. Only once, however, would they win it all.
Chamberlain was solid, even great at times. In his first season with the purple and gold, he averaged 27.3 points and 18.4 rebounds. While he may have continued to rack up boards, leading the league a total of 11 times, his scoring numbers reached career lows. In his final two seasons with the Lakers, Chamberlain averaged 14.8 and 13.2 points respectively.
Chamberlain’s declining numbers were easier to swallow due to West. He averaged a career 31.2 points per game when they initially grouped up. He would then go on to average 25.1 a night for the remainder of their three seasons together.
Happy Hairston was the least ballyhooed player of them all. He wasn’t exactly All-Star material, although he did average a career-high 20.6 in 1970 after he was traded to the Lakers from the Detroit Pistons. He never reached the 20 point plateau again but he was a consistent double-digit scorer for the remainder of his time with Chamberlain and West.
If this trio had more championship success, instead of holding a 1-2 mark in the Finals, we may have been forced to move them up a few notches.