The Most Memorable Teammate Beefs In North American Sports
Even if things are going well on the court, in the gridiron or on the diamond, the locker room isn't always a happy place.
The reality of professional sports—although it's easy to forget this—is that athletes won't necessarily like everyone. While that's no different than every of us, our beefs tend to happen in private.
Feuds between pros, however, can spill into the spotlight. The breakup of former Buffalo Bills teammates Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen is just the latest example.
Now, the bright side is many of these memorable disagreements were resolved in the future—particularly when careers had ended. At the time, though, it made for tremendous content.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving
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In hindsight, we know the breakup of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving was relatively tame.
But when Irving requested a trade one year after the Cleveland Cavaliers won an NBA title, it didn't seem that way. Initial reports indicated that Kyrie no longer wanted to play alongside James and desired a leading role.
Then, a few seasons later, Irving said he felt Kevin Durant was his first teammate who could be as clutch offensively.
They eventually smoothed things over, and despite the fascinating what-if question about a longer partnership in Cleveland, at least LeBron and Kyrie brought the Cavs a ring.
Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter
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Early in their careers, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter had an iconic friendship that was well-known within Major League Baseball.
The tenor changed in 2000 when A-Rod suggested Jeter wouldn't be the player to break his record $252 million contract. They denied a beef, but Rodriguez said in a 2001 interview that Jeter has never had to lead a team and received more favorable media attention.
After they became teammates with the New York Yankees, their relationship was a not-so-secret issue.
"You have to fake it with Alex," former Yankees hitting coach Don Mattingly said he told Jeter at one point.
Rodriguez acknowledged in 2007: "People start assuming that things are a lot worse than what they are, which they're not. But they're obviously not as great as they used to be."
The frustrations continued to bleed into their post-playing days, and Rodriguez didn't attend Jeter's jersey retirement ceremony. However, the beef appears to have settled in recent years, and A-Rod said he regretted how their relationship deteriorated.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal
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I mean, there's a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to this one.
Any number of stories could be used to describe the rift between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Sharing them all, however, could quickly turn a summary into a lengthy book.
Throughout their years together on the Los Angeles Lakers, O'Neal called out Bryant for playing selfishly. Kobe questioned Shaq's leadership ability, criticized his physical fitness and lamented many other things in a 2003 interview with ESPN's Jim Gray.
Shaq and Kobe eventually split when the Lakers dealt O'Neal to the Miami Heat in 2004.
Within a couple of years, the beef had simmered. True or not, Shaq claimed on multiple occasions that it was just "marketing" anyway. In 2018, they expressed regret for the once-fractured relationship.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook
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The worst news possible emerged in 2023. Kevin Durant said he didn't believe the infamous cupcake post was directed at him.
I don't believe it. (Or maybe am choosing not to.)
Regardless, the Oklahoma City Thunder underwent a league-altering breakup when KD bolted for the Golden State Warriors in 2016. He left OKC in the hands of Russell Westbrook, who seemingly took a shot at Durant with a picture of a cupcake—inferring that KD was soft for his exit.
Durant said on the All the Smoke podcast in 2020 that he didn't play with a lot of athletes and not a lot of skill guys in Oklahoma City. "I was tired of being the only guy who could make threes, make jump shots and consistently make them," he said.
But, hey, like so many others, this one is over too.
Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds
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Oh, buddy, some Grade A beef!
Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds cooked up an incredible quote during their time as members of the San Francisco Giants.
"They've hated each other since the day Kent came to town in 1997," Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle said in 2002. ''They hate each other today ... the one who lives longer will attend the other's funeral, just to make sure he's dead."
Ratto's takeaway came in the aftermath of a dugout altercation between Kent and Bonds that season.
Kent also criticized Bonds for being a selfish player, later saying he called Bonds lazy and had a love-hate relationship with him.
Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens
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Back in 2004, the Philadelphia Eagles made the Super Bowl behind Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens. They both enjoyed prolific seasons and helped the Eagles win the NFC.
And that's about as good as it would get.
That offseason, T.O. jabbed at McNabb and gave the infamous driveway interview. Owens' subsequent behavior in the season ultimately led to Philly sidelining T.O. for the final nine games of the 2005 campaign.
The short version is that McNabb thought T.O. was a distraction. On the other side, Owens believed McNabb was jealous.
Clearly, the relationship had became untenable. Philadelphia released Owens following the year, sticking with McNabb until his departure after the 2009 season while T.O. joined the rival Dallas Cowboys.
Oh, in 2021, Owens said he wanted to box McNabb.
Beef: Not squashed.
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