Chiefs Super Bowl Three-Peat: Ranking Mahomes, Kelce Among Best Dynamic Duos of All Time

Gary Pearson

Last Updated: February 3, 2025 11:01 AM EST • 5 min 21 sec read. Twitter link Google News Link

We look at how Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce rank among the best three-peat duos. — Pictured: Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce celebrates with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Photo by Denny Medley via Imagn Images.

You've heard it before, probably about a million times, but here's a painful reminder for those thinking about jumping on the #BoycottSuperBowl bandwagon: The Kansas City Chiefs are one win away from becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three straight.

For those who adore Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Co., that sentence will never get old. The same cannot be said for Kelce himself, as the 35-year-old tight end looks to accomplish the unprecedented feat in lockstep with his partner in crime.

That brings up the question of how Mahomes and Kelce rank among the best three-peat duos. Like Mahomes on the sideline after barely being touched, let's dive into it.

When was the last time a team won a three-peat?

While we're still waiting for it to happen in the Super Bowl era - a wait that will be over in less than two weeks if our Chiefs vs. Eagles prediction is anything to go by - we've seen 14 three-peat winners across the NBA, WNBA, NHL, and MLB.

Of those 14, six happened since 1980:

(NBA) — Los Angeles Lakers, 2000-02
(MLB) — New York Yankees, 1998-2000
(WNBA) — Houston Comets, 1997-2000
(NBA) — Chicago Bulls, 1991-1993, 1996-1998
(NHL) — New York Islanders, 1980-83

The most recent three-peat winners were the Lakers, who were led by one of the most famous duos in sports history in Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. While the Core Four can all take a bow for spearheading the New York Yankees' most recent three-peat, I've anointed Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter as the duo deserving the most credit. The Houston Comets were led by the triumvirate of Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson, with the spotlight shining slightly brighter on the former two.

You'll get no argument from anyone about who the Chicago Bulls' Batman and Robin were - it's more evident than a few recent missed penalties at Arrowhead Stadium. Finally, the New York Islanders' headline act featured Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier.

Ranking the best three-peat duos in sports history

Here is how we'd rank the five duos above in terms of their partnership across their record championship runs.

5) Jeter and Rivera (1998-2000 Yankees)

We look at how Mahomes and Kelce rank among the best three-peat duos. — Pictured: New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter hugs former player Mariano Rivera. Photo by Robert Deutsch via Imagn Images.

Jeter and Rivera won four World Series in five years with the Yankees. Rivera holds the MLB record for career saves (652) and boasted a 2-1 record with a stingy 0.99 ERA, 32 strikeouts, and 11 saves in 24 World Series appearances. Meanwhile, Jeter had a .321 batting average with 50 hits, three home runs, nine RBIs, and 32 runs scored in 38 World Series games.

While the duo was primarily responsible for leading the Yankees to three-peat glory, I don't rank them as highly as the other partnerships, as they weren't nearly as dependent on each other.

4) Trottier and Bossy (1980-83 Islanders)

Trottier rarely got Bossy with Mike. Their chemistry consisted of a shared and uncanny understanding of where each other was on the ice. Their line, referred to as the Trio Grande, was completed by Clark Gillies. Bossy and Trottier won four Stanley Cups in a row together - the last time a team in the NHL completed the three-peat (or better).

And, unlike earlier NHL dynasties that formed with less competition and fewer teams, Bossy and Trottier completed the trifecta in a league of 21 teams, four of which had just been added.

3) Swoopes and Cooper (1997-2000 Comets)

Talk about starting with a bang: Swoopes and Cooper led the Comets to glory in the first four years of the WNBA's existence. Both averaged double-digit points per game during Houston's final three titles, while Cooper won the WNBA MVP award in 1997 and 1998. Swoopes took the accolade in 2000.

That puts them ahead of some of the other duos in our rankings, but like with Jeter and Rivera, Swoopes and Cooper didn't do all the heavy lifting themselves and weren't the quintessential 1-2 punch as some of the other iconic pairings on this list.

2) Shaq and Kobe (2000-02 Lakers)

A famous partnership coupled by an infamous feud, O'Neal and Bryant were perfect complements of one another on the court.

Their gleaming year as a duo came in the 2000-01 season, when the Lakers enjoyed one of the most incredible postseason runs of all time, winning 15 of 16 games. O'Neal won all three NBA Finals MVP awards across their dynastic run as the most recent three-peat winners in sports history.

The pair were separated by six years, the same age difference between Mahomes and Kelce. Unfortunately, their time together in Los Angeles came to a premature end when O'Neal requested a trade in 2004 - one year removed from their third straight title.

1) Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (1991-93, 1996-98 Bulls)

I don't think you can state a case for any other tandem at No. 1. Jordan and Pippen won six - yes, six - titles together and completed the three-peat twice. That record will probably never be broken. With such a dynamic partnership on the court, you'd think the pair would be thick as thieves off it.

That wasn't the case, though, as Jordan and Pippen never went out for dinner on their own.

Pippen once famously said: "Michael is a very difficult person to deal with ... Great teammate, but we just never were great friends ... I guess the last three championships that we won, we trained together at his house, but other than that, we didn't really put a lot of time in away from basketball. Most of our time was spent whether we were working out or on the practice floor."

That makes their on-the-court accomplishments all the more impressive.

Where do Mahomes and Kelce rank among all-time duos?

Mahomes and Kelce are looking to make it four Super Bowl triumphs as a tandem, including three straight. They've already punched into unchartered territory by becoming the first team to make it to a third successive Super Bowl after winning the previous two.

They have connected on 18 touchdowns in the playoffs, three more than the second-place combo of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. And like O'Neal, Mahomes swept the MVP honors, winning all three. As the Super Bowl MVP odds favorite, he's in pole position to make it four in a row.

Kelce had posted 14 consecutive playoff games of 70-plus receiving yards - the longest streak in NFL history - before that run ended against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship. The 35-year-old also has the most receptions (174) in NFL postseason history.

The terrifying twosome has made it to five of the last six Super Bowls and seven straight AFC Championships. If they complete the three-peat, I will lock in the duo at second, behind only the seemingly impassible pair of Jordan and Pippen.

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Written By:
Gary Pearson

Gary Pearson has written professionally since 2010, focusing on sports betting since 2014. Before entering the sports betting space, he contributed to the Canadian Press, FanSided, the Hockey Writers, the Calgary Herald, and other publications. His work has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report. Gary, who consumes sports like a blue whale devours plankton, has a penchant for writing predictions and analyses across several sports, including hockey, soccer, football, tennis, and more. He bets regularly, preferring single-game picks, props, and live betting. While there isn't a sport he has yet to dabble in, Gary prefers betting on soccer, hockey, and football. He studied at various post-secondary institutions, including the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Griffith University, located in Brisbane, Australia. Gary has a marketing degree and completed his bachelor's degree in journalism at Griffith University. He feels strongly that life experience is as essential as post-secondary education, helping formulate more accurate predictions and analyses. Gary believes that competing at a high level of amateur sports during his formative years helped him better understand an athlete's psyche and the nuances and complexities of a team's dynamic, both on and off the playing surface. He feels that knowledge is immeasurably important when offering his analytical expertise. He has lived on five continents and currently resides in Canada.