21 Hall of Famers you had no idea played with each other

5) Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash

The "This is going to be fun!" Lakers—named after a Sports Illustrated cover that aged like milk—likely rank as a low point for the franchise in the 21st century. After all, the Lakers traded multiple first-round picks to acquire a then-37-year-old Steve Nash and another, as well as Andrew Bynum, in a deal to land Dwight Howard. The plan was to pair them with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, but that plan was derailed by injuries.

He was then dealt to the Miami Heat, where he won another championship with Dwyane Wade. Those Heat teams featured many former NBA stars who wanted to try and win a title, including Hardaway. Actually, Hardaway came out of retirement to play with the Heat during the 2007–08 season and reunited with Shaq and played on the same team as Wade.

Unfortunately for Hardaway, the Heat won just 15 games that season despite being seen as a potential championship contender during the preseason. He retired again after that season without having won a championship, while Shaq was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Given how great he was to start his career, it would have been nice to see Hardaway win a championship with Shaq and even Wade but it wasn't meant to be.

Who would have thought that this fact would end up being more relevant as a piece of sports bar trivia than anything else? Nash ultimately retired as a Laker after failing to make an impact, and Kobe would never actually play another playoff game after missing the 2013 postseason due to injury and retiring in 2016.