James Harden and the Clippers join list of NBA Big Fours - ESPN

The LA Clippers' recent acquisition of James Harden marks another chapter in the NBA's history of «Big Four» partnerships.

Harden joined Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to form a quartet of superstars. So far, the trade hasn't reaped benefits for LA — the Clippers have yet to win a game, while the Philadelphia 76ers are 6-1 since moving Harden.

LA's decision to trade for the former MVP came months after the Boston Celtics also created their own Big Four. Boston made separate trades for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday during the offseason, pairing the two with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The new partnership, alongside key players Al Horford and Derrick White, has the Celtics atop the Eastern Conference with a 9-2 record.

History says the Clippers and Celtics' Big Four can either emerge victorious with a championship or end without one.

Here's how some notable Big Four partnerships in the NBA, put together either by free agency or trades, panned out.

One of the earliest superteams in the NBA formed in 1970 when the Phoenix Suns traded Gail Goodrich back to the Los Angeles Lakers. Goodrich had been drafted by the Lakers, but signed with the Suns in 1968, the same season Wilt Chamberlain arrived in Los Angeles.

The group's first season together ended in a Western Conference finals loss, but everything turned around the next season.

The Lakers won 69 games, including an NBA record 33 in a row, in 1971-72. Baylor retired nine games into the season, ending the Big Four after two seasons. But L.A. still won the title, defeating the New York Knicks 4-1 in the 1972 Finals.

Always in the way of the Celtics, the Lakers had multiple iterations of their own Big Four throughout the 1980s.

Los Angeles traded for