The great NBA rivalries.....where have they all gone?

[xxbammxd]

I have some ideas for rivalries now. Bulls-heat, bulls knicks, bulls celtics, knicks heat, knicks celtics, celtics heat, miami orlando, lakers and clippers ( I think it will become a rivalry ) ,bulls pacers, hawks bulls, hawks heat, hawks celtics, oklahoma city lakers, dallas okc, san antonio dallas, san antonio lakers, clippers warriors,

[xxbammxd]

The NBA rivalries went away when NBA on NBC did. That iconic music. the intros, the moments, we need NBA on NBC back!

[xxbammxd]

Sonics vs suns, Suns vs warriors, rockets vs suns, bulls vs cavs, philadelphia vs detroit, milwaukee vs chicago, kings vs lakers, "jailblazers" vs lakers, utah vs chicago,philadelphia vs boston, knicks vs pacers, bullets vs heat, hawks and celtics, bulls and celtics,

[DarthNutz]

Dallas vs San Antonio was a great rivalry! those series were always good!

[hangtime23ful]

Bulls & Cavs were a pretty good rivalry from the late 80s to early 90s

[TheEman67]

agree players today are so freaking soft

[reltub17]

Jazz/Rockets rivalry is still going on, they faced eachother twice in the playoff recently and all throughout the 90s

their fans still hate each other no matter what, both teams just aren't very good at the moment, it doesn't take away from their matchups always being some of the most anticipated games of the year

[snakebitgoat]

Bad Boys vs. Bulls were epic, Lakers and Celts are great, Bulls and Sonics (when they were still the Sonics)

[AWAChamp619]

I wonder what happen to the Pistons nowadays they suck in the 90s Bad Boys era they had awesome players and they were the only team to actually defend against Michael Jordan

[wrestlerguy22]

yo spinner reggie miller and mj had some beef going on in the 90s. i dont care what any1 has to say but if the celtics meet the bulls in the confrence finals, kg, ray allen, and rondo have to step up there game aganist jokaiem noah, derrick rose and carlos boozer

[haitian1989]

You guys remember the Lakers vs Kings rivalry in the early 2000's? That rivalry was amazing. Even the Rock burned the Sacramento fans about it on Raw when he was a heel in 2003.

The Knicks and the Heat will probably be the next rejuvenated rivalry. The Knicks are going to add some pieces around Melo and Amare and the Heat are already stacked.

[starwarsapprentice]

a few rivalries you left off were the bulls-jazz and the bulls-cavs rivals from the 80s/90s. Jordan had about 3 game-winning shots against the cavs in the playoffs. also in the early 2000s the lakers and kings had a short but great rivalry in the western conference finals. In recent years you could say the cavs-magic and cavs-celtics had a rivalry when lebron played for the cavs. you cant really blame the players for the weaker fouls but stern for the rule changes.

[ChiGuy251]

If you can or want to try and find Bob Costas' commentary after the Bulls '98 finals victory over the Jazz he was pretty prophetic on what the league was to become in later years

[ChiGuy251]

Stern has made the league soft with all these bullshit rule changes thats why guys like Lebron can get away with traveling while driving to the basket because if you lay a fingertip on him it's a foul if you shrug your shoulders about it it's a tech and if you question the call it's a fine also back in the 90's flopping was a way of saying "I'm a pussy and I can't play defense" now it's smart defensive strategy and players don't stay with teams as long as they used to

[craig1653]

The NBA use to be a league of teams. Stern has turned the league into a league of individual stars, who are promoted  for being individuals, and not part of a team.

[SuperBrian501]

i still think it's very good

Some great rivalries:

lakers vs celtics, suns vs lakers, bulls vs heat, cavs vs bulls, spurs vs lakers

[tinofest1989]

Lakers n spurs still a rival

[24varner]

New coaching system, rules and regulations. Players are based more on talent, finesse. Plus the overall interests of the NBA has went down. The great teams don't play at a high level on a consistant basis. The Lakers obviously throw games away when they think it's not important to them. Similar to the NFL.

[cod4modernwarfare2ex]

@24varner yo it's you again, I thought you only watch wrestling , you fucking nerd

[24varner]

@cod4modernwarfare2ex No wrestling is not the only thing I watch. There are plenty of other sports I have interest in. So next time come at me correct before talking shit jackass.

[cod4modernwarfare2ex]

@24varner you want me to come at you correct? are you fucking gay man?

[24varner]

@cod4modernwarfare2ex No moron. I meant come at me with respect and get your head out of your ass.

[cod4modernwarfare2ex]

@24varner why should I respect yo ass , you don'tknow me

[24varner]

@cod4modernwarfare2ex Well you don't know me either by calling me a "fucking nerd". It works both ways.

[bradystaral]

Well spinner, things are different now teams got different players,coaches,owners etc. thats why rivalries arnt as frequent now a days and its a different time when great players like MJ,Clyde,Nique. etc retiring and now the new stars need to develop to start new rivalries.

[cod4modernwarfare2ex]

Imma go off topic all I know rival in NFL is Raiders/Chargers and Chargers/Patriots

[spinnerNsports]

@cod4modernwarfare2ex Most of the rivalries that you mentioned are not rivalries that are talked about NATIONALLY. I'm talking about BIG rivalries that the whole country follows. The Utah Jazz are a team on the decline. Jazz-Lakers was never a big rivalry. The Suns are on the decline. The Suns and Mavs rivalry has died down. The Suns-Lakers rivalry is just about dead. The Mavs and Lakers have never met in the playoffs. So that's not a big rivalry either

[spinnerNsports]

@cod4modernwarfare2ex (continued) Blazers vs. Lakers hasn't been a rivalry since the early 2000s. The Pacers-Pistons rivalry from a few years ago is dead. The Magic and Celtics may be rivals, but it's not a big rivalry that is nationally talked about.

Many of the rivalries that you mentioned are either dead or have died down.

I'm talking HUGE rivalries like Bulls vs. Knicks from the 1990s and Bulls vs. Pistons (late 80s, early 90s). Those rivalries were popular on a national level.

[cod4modernwarfare2ex]

malice in the palace was the reason NBA isn't that physical anymore.

[Shep490]

After the 2004 Pacers Pistons brawl, i believe that's when the NBA went soft because of that incident

[feeback06]

I can still kinda argue the Lakers and Celtics Rivalry with two great final's series in the last three years.

[spinnerNsports]

@feeback06 well, I wouldn't call those NBA finals "great". Even last years 7 game NBA finals between the Lakers and the Celtics wasn't that great. There were a couple of boring games. A couple of games with bad shooting by both teams and a couple of blowouts. Game 7 was a very ugly game, won by a low score of 83-79. Just because Lakers-Celtics went 7 games last year, doesn't necessarily mean that it was good. Games 6 and 7 were both huge disappointments. 6 was a blowout. 7 was ugly.

[pats14fann01]

@spinnerNsports What are you talking about?! CELTICS/lakers are great rivals if not THE biggest rivalries in all of sports!!!! Reason.......... CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!! BOTH teams have nearly half of the nba titles and yet they're seperated by only 1 title between them!!!

[spinnerNsports]

@pats14fann01 I didn't say that the Celtics vs. the Lakers is not a great rivalry. You totally misinterpreted what I wrote. I just said that I don't think that the NBA finals series between the two in 2008 or 2010 were that great.

[ShinobiclanTV]

I believe in a Bulls vs. Heat rivalry for years to come

[TheWill1225]

As a Knick fan, the Knicks vs Heat rivalry was awesome as the Knicks won in 1998,1999, and 2000. the Knicks vs Pacers and Bulls vs Knicks rivalry not so much as the Knicks lost it more often than not

[spinnerNsports]

@TheWill1225 well, the Bulls may have dominated their rivalry with the Knicks, but the Knicks won their share of playoff series against the Pacers. The Knicks beat the Pacers in the 1993, 1994 and 1999 playoffs. The Pacers beat the Knicks in the 1995, 1998 and 2000 playoffs. So the two teams were 3-3 against eachother in playoff series.

[TheWill1225]

@spinnerNsports True, But I didnt start watching the NBA until 1998 so i missed the Knicks Victories in 1993 and 1994 and loss in 1995 against the Pacers so to me The Pacers were 2-1 on my Knicks :(

Didnt mention it before but this was a great video and a very true video

:

[TheWill1225]

The Knicks vs Celtics are doing there darndest to rekindle the rivalry they had in the 70's and 80's

[MrMutombo2000]

You dont have fights in NBA, maybe because NBA, prefere be PG.

[Wacko4Boldin81]

Jordan, Ewing, Bird, Johnson all retired.

[Wacko4Boldin81]

What happened? Bird, Johnson, Jordan all retired.

[skdakd]

come on now, we have Grizzlies - Spurs and Lakers - Hornets.

[MrMutombo2000]

And what about Lakers vs Chicago...Magic vs Jordan!!!!!!

[AttitudeEra4life459]

Basketball in the 1990's was amazing. That's all I can say. NBA on NBC. Good times. 

[BigDaddy0207]

I think the feuds need to return I can only think of Boston vs Los Angles and a few others.

[raider8sox]

What About Magic Vs. Bucks?, Back When TMAC Was With The MAgic, That Was A GREAT Rivalry, Haha!

[quakey987]

loved watching the 1980's Lakers with Kareem and Bucks with Sydney Moncrief

[RandyOrtonIsGod24]

its weird because Boston & Lakers were a huge rival & ever since the heat came along it came a lil downward & now heat r rivals with the celtics & lakers

[Flow909]

My favorite Rivals:

Mavs vs Suns 2005-2207

Bulls vs. Knicks 1994-1997

[SBXXChampions]

completely agree with you there spin

[Alex44343]

Well the NBA game has changed totally and yeah its a less physical game than it was in the 80's or 90's and today's NBA the rules are SUPER STRICT to the point that a physical player like Dennis Rodman of the 80's or 90's would foul out every single game by halftime in today's NBA,Also I believe in a year or two you will see many old/new rivalries happen again in the NBA so don't worry the NBA will still be fun to watch as long as you are a fan of the game of basketball.

[cm13thrash]

I am a HUGE Jazz fan, I consider the Bulls and Lakers to be rivals, Im still bitter over the 97 and 98 Finals, and the Lakers beat the Jazz out of the playoffs for like the last 3 years.

[arniesalmon]

mavs vs lakers towards the end of this season was the only game where the two teams looked like they hated each other. That game was insane.

[SoxXxOwnsU]

Spurs/Lakers was the biggest rivalry in the 2000s and no one ever even calls it a rivalry.

[GoldStandard000]

Yeah not too many rivalries these days. Only ones I can think of now are Celtics/Knicks, Lakers/Spurs, Mavs/Spurs, maybe Magic/Celtics, and thats about it. The Heat and Bulls could be rivals like you said.

[spinnernetfan1]

its called free agency dude you dont have the same 5 guys going at each other for 10-15 years

[Jeremyakita14]

NBA ON NBC we NEED IT BACK

[spinnerNsports]

@Jeremyakita14 the NBA on NBC was great. the only thing I didn't like about it was Bob Costas. Ugh. I never did like that guy.

[24varner]

@Jeremyakita14 Marv Albert ftw

[AWAChamp619]

@Jeremyakita14 NOW!!!!!!

[ak47523]

@Jeremyakita14 Amen the music was ill. Dahnanaaduhdannanananananana.

[CharmCityKingRulez]

Heat vs this Celtics team is the rivalry of the season. As far as what happened to the big rivalries.....I don't know. Less physical games as mentioned. The stars are there but I don't think the teams are talented or deep enough to put on good games. The best rivalries wasn't always about the Jordans, Birds, Magics, etc., it was about people off the bench who came in the game and made noise. Or that guy in the starting 5 that's not popular or great but help make the team better.

[Jeremyakita14]

they should go back to NBA ON NBC OR CBS

[therehastobeme]

Best Rivalries Celtics / Lakers 60's / 80's

Celtics / Sixers 1980-1985

Knicks / Bulls 1992-1994

Sixers / Bucks 1980-1986

[spinnerNsports]

@therehastobeme The Don Nelson coached Milwaukee Bucks were a GREAT team in the 1980s. It's too bad that they never made it out of the East and made the NBA finals. The Bucks would always get eliminated from the playoffs by either the Sixers or the Celtics. It's too bad. That was a very good team.

[SportsKid42]

Spurs-Lakers is still going strong, Bulls-Heat, Celtics-Heat, If you wanna count playoffs Magic-Hawks, Celtics-Lakers, Heat-Lakers, Cavs-Heat, Spurs-Bulls, Clippers-Lakers, Mavs-Lakers, Thunder-Nuggets, Celtics-Knicks.

There, some strong rivalries for ya.

Lakers-Thunder would be an awesome rivalry, but Phil and Kobe are leaving soon, Can you say Pau Gasol and Lamar Odoms Lakers?

[spinnerNsports]

@SportsKid42 Some of the "rivalries" that you named are not really big rivalries and some of them aren't rivalries at all. Spurs vs. Bulls? They've never been rivals. Lakers vs. Mavericks? They never meet in the playoffs. Thunder vs. Nuggets is not a rivalry yet. Maybe it COULD be in the future. Bulls vs. Heat could be a big rivalry in the future, but it's not a real rivalry yet. The Lakers and the Clippers are like a hammer and a nail. The Clippers always suck. That's not a rivalry.

[SportsKid42]

@spinnerNsports I go by the intensity of the games, Spurs and Bulls looked like they couldve killed each other out there, same goes with Lakers/Mavs. Thunder and Nuggets depending on what the rest of the series and what Denver does in the offseason, and the Clippers have a good young core and Lakers are old, you never know.

[spinnerNsports]

@SportsKid42 (continued) The Knicks and the Celtics have the POTENTIAL to be a big rivalry. However, it's all gonna depend on how long the Celtics can keep that team together. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are not getting any younger.

Heat vs. Lakers could be a rivalry. But they could only meet in the NBA finals. They would have to play atleast two NBA finals series against eachother for that to be considered a rivalry.

[SportsKid42]

@spinnerNsports True, the Celtics need to blow that load after the season and get some good draft picks lol

[codebreaker212p]

thats one of the reasons football has grown in popularity each year, you have rivalries that have been going on for decades, and then you have new rivalries from last year..

[superroc23]

michael jordan vs john starks lol those were the days

[spinnerNsports]

@superroc23 yeah. don't forget Patrick Ewing as well. man, Knicks vs. Bulls was great in the early to mid 1990s.

[superroc23]

@spinnerNsports the game is so girly today

[spinnerNsports]

@superroc23 I agree.

[metalmadness00]

ya just reminded me of yesterday game in boston

[EnoughSaidInc]

Miami vs. Chicago hopefully will be a rivalry. Or New York vs. Miami.