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Braden: Top 5 Biggest Rivalries in Professional Basketball. In this lesson you'll learn about Basketball's rivalries, more specifically the top 5, biggest rivalries in the NBA, or National Basketball Association.
Ann: Now, we've had to take a special angle with this because, especially in basketball, rivalries change over time.
Braden: For that reason, we are adding in the time frames for the peaks of the rivalries.
Ann: Beyond that, the NBA seems to have purposefully altered how teams play each other in order to diminish the intensity of rivalries.
Braden: It seems, recently, that even with those changes, some of the big rivalries may be coming back.
Ann: Just for future reference, the major basketball rivalries are dominated by about 4 teams—LA Lakers, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and the Boston Celtics. So, you'll see them often.
Braden: To start things off, our number five biggest rivalry in basketball is between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs.
Ann: This was during the 2000s and this rivalry is as much about proximity as it is about basketball.
Braden: That’s right, both teams are from Texas. Actually, both are from Dallas but the Spurs moved to San Antonio after they were founded.
Ann: These teams fight about fans, about championships, about points, about referees, you name it.
Braden: For example, since 2000, these two teams have played each other 5 times in the playoffs. The Spurs have won 3 and the Mavericks have won 2.
Ann: We shall see what the future hold for these.
Braden: Our number four biggest rivalry in basketball is between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. This is in the late 90s.
Ann: The Pacers and the Knicks had probably the angriest rivalry in the history of the NBA. This anger always came to a peak during the playoffs.
Braden: We need to make special mention of Reggie Miller, who played for the Indiana Pacers. He was central to the rivalry.
Ann: His way of taunting and mocking the Knicks players and their fans angered the players so much that a "flagrant" became commonplace.
Braden: In basketball, there are accidents, fouls, and flagrant fouls. An accident is when a rule is broken or someone gets hurt by accident.
Ann: A foul is where a rule is broken purposefully or by accident. Sometimes someone gets hurt.
Braden: A flagrant foul is when a player breaks a rule, typically to harm someone from the other team.
Ann: There weren't many accidents during these games. Just many, many flagrant fouls, from both teams.
Braden: Our number three biggest rivalry in basketball is between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs around 2001.
Ann: Since about 1999, the LA Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs have pretty much dominated the NBA.
Braden: Over the past 12 years, the Spurs have won the NBA Finals 4 times and the Lakers have won it 5 times for a total of 9 championships in only 12 years.
Ann: Now that's a tight rivalry.
Braden: An interesting fact, from 1999-2004, the LA Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs played each other every season in the playoffs.
Ann: The winner between the two went on to win the NBA championships that year.
Braden: Our number two biggest rivalry in basketball is between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks.
Ann: This rivalry was the strongest in the late 80s and early 90s, during the Michael Jordan era.
Braden: Some speculate that if Michael Jordan hadn't played for the Bulls, then the New York Knicks would have won the NBA Finals several times. But that's just guessing.
Ann: Repeatedly, both teams met in important playoff games. Repeatedly, the playoff series "best of seven" reached the famous "game 7." And repeatedly, the Bulls won but mostly because of Michael Jordan.
Braden: After Michael Jordan retired (the first time) the Nicks won several important games against the Bulls but were never able to win a full championship.
Ann: During the 2000s this rivalry has diminished but it's still there. Some say it's even returning. We'll see!
Braden: Ok, and our biggest rivalry in basketball is the Boston Celtics versus the Los Angeles Lakers. This is between 1962 1990.
Ann: This is the classic rivalry. The one that everyone over the age of 30 thinks of when you speak of basketball rivalries.
Braden: These two teams met in the NBA finals 9 times during this period and numerous times during the regular season.
Ann: The rivalry was aided by each team having one of the world's best players. Larry Bird played for the Celtics and Magic Johnson played for the Lakers.
Braden: They were icons of basketball and the rivalry between them and their teams turned them into almost mythical beings.
Ann: Yeat! Two interesting facts - 1) The Celtics still hold the highest number of NBA Championship wins ever at 17 but the Lakers are close behind with 16.
Braden: And 2) If you add them together, exactly half of all NBA championship titles (66) are owned by either the Celtics or the Lakers.
Ann: In basketball, it doesn’t get any better than this.
Braden: That just about does it for today.
Ann: Thanks for listening!
Braden: Have a great day!

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