It's a tale as old as time. Somebody becomes a champion doing something a little off-kilter, a little strange, a little new---and suddenly everyone is trying to duplicate that strategy. When the Celtics united Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, the league was taken aback. When the first contemporary incarnation of the "Big Three" managed to squeeze out a title, the league took notice.
The Lakers stole an All-Star Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for chump change and Gasol's younger brother - what a scrub that guy (and yes, I know Gasol came over before the Big Three won their title but shut up for a second). LeBron James, the league's best player, joined forces with rivals Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the latest version of the Big Three. Chris Paul joined Blake Griffin in Los Angeles. Houston grabbed James Harden and Dwight Howard. Carmelo Anthony joined Amar'e Stoudemire and superstar Andrea Bargnani which, as we all suspected, destroyed the Knicks.
Point being: the league was gravitating towards top-heavy superstar combos and trios.
And then came along... the Spurs.