5 reasons Cavaliers and Warriors are the NBA’s best rivalry
Rivalries in the NBA are very unique in the sense that they have a shelf life. Think about it. Outside of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, what two teams have a rivalry that has lasted for decades? The Boston Celtics had rivalries with both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, but those were always about LeBron James against the Celtics. There was the epic Sacramento Kings series against the Lakers, but once Sacramento fell apart those games lost all meaning. Their fans say they care, but does a random game in December on a back-to-back really mean anything? No. It doesn’t. Even the Lakers taking on the San Antonio Spurs has lost all importance with Los Angeles unable to be competitive.
Rivalries live on forever in other sports with random regular season matchups defining entire seasons. All time rivalries such as Red Sox-Yankees, Cowboys-Giants, Auburn-Alabama, and Duke-North Carolina have national appeal, with networks planning entire TV schedules around them. Locally these games can mean more than national championships. Who cares about the national title when you couldn’t even beat THOSE jerks? The NBA doesn’t have this. Their rivalries are short lived fireballs that putter out once the teams inevitably fall out of relevance.
This NBA culture of short lived rivalries is what has created their current best. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers may only meet twice in the regular season, but each game is appointment viewing for any NBA fan. They’re the best the NBA has to offer with the greatest stakes involved. Any chance to get a read on what the other group may be planning, or to just do some mental damage creates a scenario where this game always means a little more. Here are five other reasons they are the best rivalry in the NBA right now.
5. The score is even
The Warriors won the first go around with a historically great defense and an offense that played at a level never seen before. The Cavs gave them a good run, but injuries to both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love left them tired. There’s an incredible image during this series of LeBron collapsing to the floor following an exhausting victory for Cleveland. He would lose the series, but his efforts didn’t go unnoticed as he came very close to winning Finals MVP despite the loss.
In the following year, Cleveland won their revenge. Injuries and suspensions plagued Golden State as they couldn’t close out the series and blew a 3-1 lead. This series not only gave us dozens of narratives to pick through and discuss, but one of the greatest games ever in Game 7, topped off by a highlight that will be played on repeat for the rest of NBA history.
That’s one Championship for Cleveland and another for Golden State. Until this score is settled we’ll never know which team is truly the greatest of their era. Is it the group that’s changed how we view basketball, or the one that has an all-time great on their roster chasing history on a nightly basis? Both sides know the stakes even if they refuse to acknowledge it, and they’re well aware that a victory over the other by any means gives them that slight edge. They’re exactly what the NBA wants in a rivalry.
There’s no need to drum up interest, or create a David vs Goliath scenario, because both sides are well aware of just how close they are to each other. This isn’t LeBron James trying to knock off the Celtics team that’s constantly stood in his way, or the Chicago Bulls trying to keep down young upstarts on their way to six titles. It’s a question that needs to be answered. Which team is truly better?