5 biggest rivalries in NBA history
One of, if not the most important thing in all of sports is rivalry. They create many different storylines, hatred among fans, bad blood between teams and players and bring intensity to games. There is no better form of entertainment when two teams, their players, and fans hate each other.
The biggest rivalries across all sports include the Red Sox v. Yankees, Yankees v. Dodgers, Peyton Manning v. Tom Brady, Real Madrid v. Barcelona, Packers v. Bears, Duke v. UNC and so many more.
The NBA has some of the best rivalries in sports history that vary from Bill Russell v. Jerry West to LeBron James v. Kevin Durant, and a potential new rivalry forming between the Pacers and the Bucks. Here are the five biggest rivalries in NBA history.
5. LeBron James vs. Steph Curry
The LeBron James v. Stephen Curry rivalry has been the biggest rivalry in recent NBA history and has been one of the best of all time. This rivalry became official after the 2016 NBA Finals, but it started in the 2015 NBA Finals.
The 2014-15 season was pivotal in NBA history because, after four years with the Miami Heat, James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in hopes of giving his city their first title in franchise history. This season was also the emergence of the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry, where Curry had won his first MVP, and the Warriors won a league-best 67 games.
The Warriors had some doubts about them because their style of play relied so much on shooting jump shots, a recipe that hadn't necessarily worked in the past. But they were able to make it to the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers and win the series, 4-2.
The rivalry between the two players was solidified after the 2016 season when Curry became the first unanimous MVP, which created conversations that he was better than LeBron. The Warriors had the best regular season of all time finishing with a 73-9 record, and faced off against LeBron and the Cavaliers once more in the finals. When the Warriors went up 3-1 in the series it looked over, but LeBron and Kyrie Irving rallied the Cavaliers to create the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history and win the series 4-3.
After this epic matchup, LeBron and Curry faced off in the Finals two more times in 2017 and 2018, in the 2021 Play-In and faced off once more in the Western Conference Semi-Finals in the 2023 playoffs.
In playoff or playoff-adjacent matchups, their record is tied at 3-3 but Curry has the better record in the Finals with a 3-1 record against LeBron. Overall, their total record is 27-22 in favor of Curry. Their record in the regular season is tied at 10-10, their postseason record is in favor of Curry at 17-11, and the Play-In record is in favor of LeBron at 1-0.
Curry has averaged 24.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in head-to-head matchups. LeBron has averaged 30.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. Statistically, LeBron played better than Curry in those matchups.
Their rivalry is one of the most important and greatest in NBA history because you have a physical specimen like LeBron and the greatest shooter ever, Steph Curry who changed the way the game was played.
The only reason this rivalry isn't higher is because when Kevin Durant joined the Warriors in the 2016 offseason, it flipped the side Curry's favor too much and for a few seasons, LeBron vs. Durant was a bigger rivalry than Curry vs. LeBron. If Durant never joined the Warriors, LeBron v. Curry could have been the best player rivalry in NBA history.