The Top 10 NBA Player Rivalries Of All Time

In all sports the basic concept is to beat your opposition. You never want to lose a game to anyone, but when your rival beats you there’s a different feel. When your rival beats you, there’s suddenly an everlasting second wind about you. When your rival beats you it feels like the whole world is laughing at you in shame.

Pride won’t let you accept that you’ve just been outdone by the one player you just know you have to beat every time you hit the floor. Failure is not an option in these instances, not even close to one.

The history of the NBA boasts many different player rivalries that stem from many different places. Some have started from childhood roots, some have started in college, and some have come about in the final years of a player’s career. Sometimes players don’t even know each other but they grow to hate each other because of circumstances that are out of their control. It’s just, well, destiny.

The beauty of sports is these battles are in a controlled environment where this behavior is acceptable. Without rivalries sports wouldn’t be as competitive as it is.
Some of the greatest rivalries in the history of sports have come from the NBA. We’ve already been over the best team rivalries. Now we’re going to go through the individual player rivalries.

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10. KOBE BRYANT vs. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL
This is probably the weirdest rivalry the NBA has to offer. That’s because it started while these two were on the same team. When Shaq came from the Orlando Magic in 1996 fresh off of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, he was considered one of, if not the, top big man in the world. He carried an Orlando Magic team on his back for four years and had the experience of going to the NBA Finals as well.

There was no question that this was going to be Shaq’s team upon his arrival. His experience in the league as a winner and as a four-time All-Star was more than enough to confirm that. At the time, Cedric Ceballos was probably their best player, and Magic Johnson, fresh off a comeback attempt, wasn’t going to stay on the court. They were bounced out of the first round of the playoffs and obviously needed a new star to carry the load. Shaq was the perfect candidate.

Enter Kobe Bryant. The Lakers traded with Charlotte for the young wing’s draft rights. They sent Vlade Divac to the Hornets for Bryant and his seemingly limitless potential. The acquisition of Bryant annoyed Shaq because he wanted to win a championship now. What was the help of a kid that should still be in school going to do for him?

In the end, the Laker duo proved to be a successful tandem that won three championships together under Phil Jackson. We can’t help but think about what could have been if the two just cooperated with each other and played cohesively throughout their primes. Even throughout their championship stretch, the two stars continuously called each other selfish and criticized their styles of play.

O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. The Lakers wanted to re-sign Bryant and if they were going to do so, O’Neal had to go. Their relationship had became rocky again after coming up short of a championship over the previous two seasons. O’Neal would win another title with Dwyane Wade in Miami before Bryant won another title with the Lakers.

These two still take shots at each other to this day. I know we all remember Shaq’s rap song about Bryant after he lost to the Celtics in the ’07-08 NBA Finals. Bryant fired back after winning back-to-back titles the following two seasons, saying that he had more rings than Shaq.

As childish as these things mays seem, this is the essence of a rivalry.

9. REGGIE MILLER vs. JOHN STARKS
If you recall, one of the biggest rivalries we featured in last week’s team rivalry post was the Knicks and the Pacers. These two players epitomized what that rivalry was. They battled every time they took the floor together because they guarded each other. Once, Starks refused to shake Miller’s hand and even head-butted him during an Indiana win in the playoffs. Can you blame him though? I mean, eight points in nine seconds happened under his watch. I’d be pretty frustrated as well. Reggie Miller had his way with the Knicks for most of his career, especially in the postseason.

We can remember moments like Ewing‘s Game 7 miss, Miller’s point explosion, Stark’s head-butt, and Miller’s choke sign to Spike Lee to see the reasons why these two guys hated each other. They didn’t have any kind of history before they played with their respective franchises. After they met in the playoffs any kind of positive vibes these two had between them were gone.

8. KEVIN GARNETT vs. TIM DUNCAN
The Big Fundamental against the Big Ticket. That’s something that resonates with all NBA fans. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan had two of the best careers, winning multiple MVPs and championships between them. But their rivalry still remains unsettled.

Tim Duncan has dominated the regular season series by winning 24 of their 41 matchups, and has averaged 19.9 points per game and 12.2 rebounds against Garnett’s teams. However, Garnett has been just as dominate individually, averaging 20.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. The series has been much closer since Garnett was moved to the Celtics in 2007.

Though Tim Duncan really recently just admitted that he hates Garnett in a player profile done by Chris Ballard, you could’ve assumed that he did by the many head-slaps and back-and-fourths the two have had on the floor. They are both intense players who want to win, but Duncan is reserve and Garnett can act like a spaz of energy on the floor. Not many players have taken a liking to Garnett, but his teammates love him for the way he is and the energy he brings to the floor.

Two players who have the same mentality on the inside but express it in different ways on the outside make for a great rivalry. These two have entertained us for many years and when they tie their shoes for the last time it will be a sad day.

7. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL vs. TIM DUNCAN
Unlike Timmy and Kevin’s rivalry, this one has less to do with hate and more to do with mutual respect. Not that Garnett and Duncan don’t respect each other, but they also don’t like each other. Shaq and Duncan had seen each other multiple times in the playoffs and had grown to admire each other’s game because of that.

They had to go through each other in the postseason to reach the NBA Finals in 1999, and then from 2001-2004 they played each other every year in the Western Conference Playoffs. When they competed against each other they made moments that NBA fans will never forget. Tim Duncan’s near buzzer-beater over Shaq in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals was golden (or at least would’ve been had Derek Fisher‘s .4 not happened). I’m sure that’s something that still sticks with Shaq even today.

As recently as 2010, O’Neal still talks about Duncan respectfully. When asked about Kobe’s comments on having more rings than him, Shaq replied, “If Tim Duncan said it, I’d be pissed. He’s the only guy I’m competing against.” That says a lot about the respect that Shaq has for Duncan.

6. HAKEEM OLAJUWON vs. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL
Speaking of Shaq, again, he and Hakeem Olajuwon have the same respect that he and Duncan had. While O’Neal was a member of the Orlando Magic, he faced Olajuwon in the NBA Finals where they were swept by the Dream and crew, getting embarrassed in the process.

After that sweep, O’Neal dominated Olajuwon for the rest of his career. A few years later, Shaq got his revenge. Olajuwon lost to O’Neal’s Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs in four games during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season.

Against the Dream, O’Neal averaged 22.1 points per game, 12.4 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game in the regular season. What about the postseason? Shaq’s numbers got even better here. He averaged 28.8 points per game, 11.4 rebounds per game and 5.1 assists per game against Olajuwon in eight career games facing the Dream in the playoffs. Olajuwon, of course, has the 1995 ring to counter.

The two players have a mutual respect and friendship, but when it comes to their rivalry, there is no love lost. In the end, Shaq has said he regrets how nice he was to Hakeem Olajuwon because he believes that’s why he lost in the Finals. He says he respected him too much and that allowed Hakeem to have his way with him.

If that’s true, things could’ve turned out to be much different for Shaq. He would’ve had more incentive to stay with Orlando and not go title hunting with the Lakers. This is a rivalry that may have changed a career, for better or worse.

5. MAGIC JOHNSON vs. ISIAH THOMAS
This rivalry stretches even beyond the court of basketball. These two have the most polarizing relationship in NBA history. Sometimes they hate each other and sometimes they love each other, but it changes just like the seasons do.

These two kissed on the court before the ’88 NBA Finals as a show of mutual respect between one another and did the same when they played in the ’89 Finals as well. They were the two best lead guards the game had to offer and they were facing off for the gold. It gets no better than that.

Their matchups turned into battles and their friendship turned into a slight resentment. These two were so competitive that sacrificing what they had together for an NBA title was nothing. Now they’re talking about each other in the aftermath of their careers.

Johnson co-wrote a book with Larry Bird and Jackie MacMullan called When The Game Was Ours. In the book, Magic talks about how he helped keep Isiah off of the Dream Team because he believed that Thomas spread rumors about him being homosexual or bisexual after he contracted the HIV virus. Thomas says these rumors aren’t true, and he’s upset because Magic actually believes them. At this point, we don’t know who to believe, but as you can see this rivalry stretches beyond the realm of basketball. At the end of the day, this could be because of a Finals loss. All I know is that when they played each other, it was some of the best point guard play I ever saw.

4. MICHAEL JORDAN vs. PATRICK EWING
Finally, Michael Jordan is showing up on our list. He was one of the most competitive players in NBA history. I’ve heard on numerous occasions that Jordan, just to rise up to a challenge, created fake rivalries with players because of quotes that he may have purposely misunderstood.

Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan led one of the greatest rivalries of all time, featuring the Bulls and the Knicks of the ’90s. Unfortunately for Ewing, he was at the wrong end of Jordan’s rampage for most of his career. It all started in ’89 when the Knicks were upset by the Bulls in the first round of the Eastern Semis. The Knicks had a 52-30 record and were the No. 2 seed in the East. They lost to a team that was only a six seed, and that was as embarrassing as it could get back then.

Jordan’s domination over Ewing and the Knicks continued for four straight years in the playoffs (including one of MJ’s best dunks of his career, fittingly on Ewing’s head) before he retired after the first three-peat. He came back into the NBA after a hiatus away from the league and had a 55-point game in Madison Square Garden against Ewing’s Knicks.

The two grew to have a mutual respect and a friendship for each other – especially after the ’92 Olympics. They grew to know each other more and more. However, Ewing believes that this was all a part of Jordan’s game. He befriended you to find your weak points, and that’s how he attacked when he played. It looks like Ewing may have been onto something.

3. ISIAH THOMAS vs. MICHAEL JORDAN
Isiah Thomas hated Michael Jordan and Michael Jordan hated Isiah Thoams. It was just that simple. There was never any love between these two because of an infamous All-Star Game freeze out or Jordan reportedly orchestrated by Thomas, as well as their tumultuous and heated playoff meetings. Michael Jordan couldn’t get past the Detroit Pistons because of the Jordan Rules, where the Bad Boys guarded Jordan physically and forced him to his left. Whenever he went to the bucket, the Pistons fouled Jordan hard and sometimes it wasn’t called. Jordan felt the Pistons were a dirty team and he openly admitted that throughout his career.

Michael Jordan was a pivotal figure in keeping Isiah Thomas off of the Dream Team because of the way the Pistons had played against him. He caused people to question Isiah Thomas’ character, spreading belief he could be a bad apple on that team.

When the Bulls finally broke through to start their reign of terror in 1991, Isiah Thomas refused to shake any of the Bulls hands in the final Game 4 of a sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals. Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Mark Aguirre walked off of the floor with 7.9 seconds left in the game.

If that doesn’t show how competitive this rivalry between Jordan and Thomas got, I don’t know what can. Michael Jordan had finally ended the Piston’s dominance in the NBA, and began to build a dynasty of his own. For your rival to accomplish that by going through you – yeah, that probably stung.

2. BILL RUSSELL vs. WILT CHAMBERLAIN
Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were two beasts during the late ’50s and throughout the ’60s. No one had ever seen any players like them so when they matched up against each other, it was obviously must-see stuff.

Chamberlain and Russell were complete opposites. What Russell didn’t quite have in individual success (even though his numbers were insane) he made up for in team success. Chamberlain had plenty of individual success like records and accolades that may never be broken, but he couldn’t quite put it together with his team. He only won two NBA championships to Russell’s 11.

The two giants played a whopping 142 times throughout their careers. Russell won 82 of those, leaving Chamberlain with only 57. It was a surprising outcome because Chamberlain was obviously the more talented player. He was taller, bigger, faster and stronger than Russell. He scored 100 points in a game and averaged over 50 points and 25 rebounds for a season in his career. Russell couldn’t come anywhere close to that 50-point number because of the sacrifices that he made for his team.

Russell’s pride was in the 11 championships that he won with the Celtics and not his individual play. When it was time to rise to the occasion he did that for his team, but winning the game was the only thing that he was worried about.

These two were totally different players on and off of the court. Russell was reserved and calm while Chamberlain was a sight for all to behold. He was a 7-1 center that held the NBA’s scoring title for points in a game – there was no way he was being quiet. In the end you can’t really blame him either.

1. MAGIC JOHNSON vs. LARRY BIRD
Larry and Magic ended up becoming the best of friends and even wrote a book about it. It wasn’t always that way though. Their rivalry started back in college when Bird played for Indiana State and Johnson played for Michigan State. Johnson’s Spartans beat Bird and Indiana State in the National Championship game in 1979. Today that game still stands as the highest-rated championship game in NCAA history. That Indiana State team had been 33-0.

Bird hated Magic for destroying his magical season and wanted to get revenge for it. In the NBA, he had the opportunity to do just that. These two met countless times in their career during the regular season. Magic won five championships; Bird only three. Bird won one title over Magic Johnson and the Lakers in 1984, but lost in their two other meetings in the NBA Finals.

Bird and Magic grew to like each other over time, though. Their respect turned into a friendship because of the similarities that the two shared. They found out from a commercial shoot that they had a lot more in common than they had thought. They had lunch after a commercial shoot in 1985, and by the end of that they became good friends. Their rivalry was still alive, though. The commercial was shot in the middle of the NBA Finals – they still wanted to beat the snot out of each other, even if it was in a more friendly way.

The NBA may never again see a more pure, respectful rivalry than Magic and Bird. That’s why this is number one on our list.

What’s the best player rivalry in NBA history?

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