The Friendliest Rivalries in Sports

Some sports fans and writers automatically assign the adjective "bitter" to any rivalry, but many who compete against each other, from LeBron James and Chris Paul to Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki, are actually close friends. 

The term "rival" means a person or group that tries to be more successful than the other. While this could be applied to any two teams competing in a sporting event, a proper rivalry becomes forged by repeated meetings, longstanding connections and competitive spirit, which is why friends and siblings can easily become rivals with one another. 

While heated rivalries make for the best competition (and the highest TV ratings), being rivals does not require the desire to humiliate and obliterate the opponent in question. 

Instead, in the case of these rivalries, a sporting bond has been created—whether friendly or familial—and endures. In the tight-knit fraternity of professional sports, these sets of buddies are pitted against each other in the heat of competition in a wide variety of ways.

Bill O'Brien and Doug Marrone

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When people refer to the NFL's "head coaching fraternity," it's really just a group of older men that rarely changes. It's not like a Greek organization in college, but the bonds usually do stretch back to college, where football coaches hope to prove their mettle and make the leap to the pros. Such is the case with Bill O'Brien and Doug Marrone.

Now, O'Brien is the head coach of the Houston Texans and Marrone handles the same duty for the Buffalo Bills. 

Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle (subscription required) noted the long coaching history between the two: 

"

Marrone and O'Brien have come a long way from when they met at the bottom of George O'Leary's coaching tree at Georgia Tech—Marrone a tight ends coach and O'Brien a graduate assistant. Just a couple of years earlier, Marrone entered the coaching profession taking over the tight ends at Cortland State and O'Brien had taken the same job at Brown, his alma mater.

"

In fact, O'Brien first met his wife when she joined her roommate on a trip to Atlanta. Her roommate was dating Marrone at the time, and they eventually married as well. Call it kismet. 

Marrone still keeps a close eye on his old friend. According to Solomon, in February 2014, Marrone "stopped a reporter from asking a question about O'Brien because he wanted to know if 'probably' before the phrase 'his best friend in coaching' was a word O'Brien had used to qualify their relationship or one the inquisitor inserted."

These two are definitely best friends in coaching, and watch your verbiage.

Chris Long and Kyle Long

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An older brother has to know when the time has come to let his younger brother fight his own fights. However, fighting is not allowed in the NFL, and everyone wears a helmet anyway, which makes fist-fighting especially difficult and unwise.

Perhaps that's why St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long, 29, refuses to allow 25-year-old Kyle Long, an offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears, to finish what he starts.

During the Rams' 42-21 win over Chicago on Nov. 24, 2013, a scuffle broke out after Bears QB Josh McCown succumbed to a second-quarter sack.

Kyle started the fracas when he appeared to kick a Rams player on the ground, which caused Chris to sprint off the Rams bench and haul his brother out of there, lest he start a full-on brawl and incur the wrath of the Rams (and the league office).

Kyle tweeted a contrite apology afterward, but he probably also uttered a cliched teen movie line to his brother in the vein of, "I can stand up for myself, bro!"

Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr

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Jackson (top row, center) coached Kerr (bottom row, right) to success as a player, and perhaps as a coach too.

Phil Jackson made Steve Kerr into a championship player, a long-range assassin on some of the best teams in NBA history with the Chicago Bulls in the '90s, starring Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. But without Kerr's potent three-point shooting, it might be said, Jackson might not have all 11 titles from his coaching days. 

Then Jackson helped groom Kerr for a position as head coach, only to see Kerr leverage the offer from the New York Knicks' new president into a sweet coaching deal from the Golden State Warriors, keeping Kerr on the West Coast near his family home. 

The Wall Street Journal's Chris Herring tweeted that Jackson claimed Kerr had verbally committed to accepting the Knicks job, but Jackson also admitted the Warriors represented the superior job opportunity:

"

Phil, on why he believes Kerr took GSW job: "It was California. And to be honest, that's a better team for him." Says GSW has better roster.

— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) May 30, 2014"

Asked by the New York Post's Marc Berman, Kerr played politician with a vague confirmation: "It’s not inaccurate. We were very, very close. We never agreed to a deal. But we were very close."

And close doesn't count in basketball.

Jim Caldwell and Bruce Arians

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Jim Caldwell used to be the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Now he coaches the Detroit Lions, but in 2012, he watched as an old friend took his old job and went on to win Coach of the Year.

After Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia during the season, Arians assumed the clipboard as interim coach and guided the Colts to 11-5 and the playoffs behind rookie QB Andrew Luck.

Caldwell no doubt brimmed with pride for Arians, but it used to be Caldwell who enjoyed all of the success, even before coaching Peyton Manning in Indy.

As The Detroit News' Josh Katzenstein chronicled it: "Caldwell and Arians have known each other for nearly three decades—Caldwell started coaching quarterbacks at Penn State in 1986, and Arians was Temple's coach."

Asked about the old days of Pennsylvania college football, Arians offered nothing "besides the fact (Caldwell) always got the best quarterbacks on the East Coast every year."

This season, Arians and the Arizona Cardinals seem to have won the upper hand, especially after moving to a league-best 9-1 record following a 14-6 victory over Caldwell and the Lions on Nov. 16, though Detroit remains well positioned at 7-3.

Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews

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Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and Los Angeles Kings center Mike Richards have clashed in the NHL for many seasons, but their relationship extends back to the youth hockey leagues of Canada. 

As relayed by NHL.com's Adam Kimelman:

"

Playing in the Winnipeg area as a youngster was common for Richards, who grew up three hours east of the city in Kenora, Ont. As each grew into a young hockey star—Richards with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, Toews at the University of North Dakota—they would see each other during summer hockey in Winnipeg.

"

They grew even closer playing for the Canadian team leading up to and during the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. As Richards told NHL.com, "Just at the Olympics I got to know him a lot better, hanging out with him a lot more."

"That's when you get to know guys on a personal level," added Toews.

One can only imagine what they got up to in the Olympic Village, but after Canada won the gold medal in February 2010, some bitterness and jealousy probably ensued from their meeting in the Stanley Cup Final in May of that year.

Richards then played for the Philadelphia Flyers, and Chicago prevailed, with Toews hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. But don't pity Richards, as he's won two titles since joining the Kings. 

Tim Hardaway Sr. and Tim Hardaway Jr.

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It's usually difficult for a father-son pair to be true rivals, but there's an undeniable element of that between Tim Hardaway Sr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. 

And you can blame it all on the New York Knicks.

You see, Hardaway Sr. professed a public dislike of the Knicks during his playing days with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, but tempers became especially flared during the raucous Eastern Conference postseason series between the Heat and Knicks. 

"

I lost count of the times Tim Hardaway, Sr., said that he hated the Knicks.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 28, 2013"

In fact, hard-nosed Hardaway and his long-range shot became something of a "Knicks killer." 

Then the Knicks drafted Hardaway Jr. with the 24th pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Initially, Dad reveled in his son's rookie success with the team, which earned him a spot on the All-NBA rookie team.

But in August 2014, Hardaway Sr. joined the Detroit Pistons staff as an assistant coach, which would require him to coach against his son and, by contractual obligation, help expose the weakness of his son's game, as is a coach's goal with every opposing player. 

The Knicks fell to the Pistons in Detroit 98-95 on Nov. 5, but Hardaway Jr. did lead the Knicks in scoring with 20 points and four three-pointers from eight field goals on 15 attempts, not to mention three dimes and zero turnovers. Call that a win-win for Hardaway Sr.

Yadier Molina and Jose Molina

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Yadier Molina plays catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Jose Molina works as the backstop for the Tampa Bay Rays. Their brother Bengie Molina also played catcher in the MLB before taking on duties as first base coach with the Texas Rangers. 

The family knows how to catch. We get it. But the Molinas also know how to inject some mirth and merriment into a humdrum 162-game baseball season. 

When the Cards and Rays met up in July 2014, Yadier found himself on the disabled list. That gave him plenty of time to torture his poor brother, or perhaps to think of an extremely kind gesture to make sure his bro didn't get hungry between innings. 

Yadier got Cards third base coach Jose Oquendo to place two packets of cheese crackers on home plate during the break between innings.

When Jose went to his position to catch the warm-up pitches, he found his favorite snack laid on the dish, looked to his brother in the opposing dugout, slipped the crackers in his back pocket and went about his business.

As if Yadi's World Series rings and top-four finishes in the NL MVP voting weren't enough, he's doling out snacks from the vending machine too. 

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol

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In a new twist of fate, former Los Angeles Lakers teammates have been cleaved apart. Pau Gasol signed on with the Chicago Bulls for the 2014-15 campaign, and the forward whom the Bulls amnestied to clear room, Carlos Boozer, arrived in L.A. 

That certainly left Kobe Bryant with some mixed feelings as he counts his millions and rages against the dying of the light. 

Gasol sounded somewhat melancholy about the free-agency move, and he admitted that he struggled to inform Bryant, per Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com:

"

We've been through a lot together, and I'm sure I will miss him. But we talked to each other and our relationship goes beyond basketball and we'll always have a friendship. It was difficult to talk to him, but he was very supportive and he understood. He just said I had to do what was best for me and what felt right for me and he was going to support me no matter what. That's what friends and brothers do, and that's what we are.

"

The Lakers' plan had been to make a run at a third title for Gasol and a sixth for Kobe, ostensibly aided by the arrival of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, but things fell apart. 

Bryant eventually accepted the news, no doubt after feeling slightly jilted by his old pal, saying of Gasol in September via Serena Winters of Lakers Nation, "He felt rejuvenated by going to a new situation. At the end of the day, he's my brother before basketball."

Through 10 games of the season, the Bulls sit third in the Eastern Conference while the Lakers have sunk to last in the West, proving Pau prescient. 

Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner

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Pro golfers Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner have been paired up on the course dozens of times, strolling picturesque fairways and shooting the breeze with a huge payday riding on the result of each shot. 

But their unique friendship takes on all of the hallmarks of a couple of teenagers eager to prank the other. After Dufner poked fun via Twitter at Bradley's choice of hat during one tournament, comparing his appearance to a Lego figurine, Bradley struck back:

"

Actually @JasonDufner I'm thinking of going to this look.... #eminem pic.twitter.com/KDbWGrAHGC

— Keegan Bradley (@Keegan_Bradley) March 11, 2013"

However, while Dufner admits that he's usually the instigator between them, he also speaks to some of the core virtues of friendship, telling Brian Wacker of PGATour.com, "I needle him a lot more than he needles me. I try to drive him to the brink, to the edge of the cliff. ... It’s a good relationship. You’re not going to get along with everybody out here. If you could find a couple of true friends it’s a nice thing."

Zdeno Chara and Marian Hossa

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Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and Chicago Blackhawks wing Marian Hossa know each other pretty well, and it stretches far back beyond their 2013 meeting in the Stanley Cup Final.

Per ESPN's Scott Burnside, "The two Slovaks essentially grew up together, played together as young men and now are neighbors living across the street from each other in their shared hometown of Trencin."

Chara attempted to remain stern and stone-faced when discussing the then-upcoming matchup in the championship round, saying, "Yeah, we know each other for many years, from back home. Obviously we cannot ignore that we know each other, we know the families. But we all know that right now our jobs are: play for our teams and compete and do whatever it takes to win games."

Chara's enormous play turned out to be not quite enough that year, as Hossa brought the Stanley Cup back to Trencin. 

In fact, Marian Gaborik also hails from the very same town in Slovakia, and he had a successful bid in 2014 to return the Cup to his hometown, with the Los Angeles Kings beating Gaborik's former squad, the New York Rangers.

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony

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LeBron and Melo yukking it up at the Beijing Olympics.

In the 2003 NBA draft, LeBron James earned the No. 1 pick straight out of high school, beginning his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then the Detroit Pistons took Darko Milicic, and Carmelo Anthony fell to the Denver Nuggets at No. 3.

While Milicic actually became the first member of that draft class to earn a championship ring (in '04), LeBron and Melo became inextricably linked for their careers. 

Anthony, 30, played one season of college ball at Syracuse, winning a national championship as a freshman before entering the draft. James, 29, was already familiar with Anthony's game, as the two "have been friends since their AAU days in high school," per the New York Daily News' Frank Isola.

A decade later, the jury is in on both players. James is the best on the planet, with five NBA Finals appearances and two rings to his credit after pairing up with two other 2003 draftees, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, on the Miami Heat. 

Meanwhile, Anthony languishes on the New York Knicks, a team left waiting for next year, at which point president Phil Jackson should have some money under the cap to lure marquee free agents. 

The Knicks actually notched their first playoff win in 11 years against James and the Heat in 2012, but it was an ugly series for New York, bounced from the first round in five games. 

Anthony and James have a longstanding friendship that has also seen them share success with Team USA on the international stage, but in NBA competition, a little jealousy must be affecting Melo by now. 

As a side note, in the 2003 draft, the Knicks selected the spectacularly unsuccessful Michael Sweetney eighth overall.

Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus

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Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre has this thing about people touching him on the head.  He doesn't like it. It's also an insult in some Asian cultures, so perhaps his aversion to head-touching has some foundation.

But Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus got wind of Beltre's fastidiousness with regard to the crown of his head, and that started a maelstrom of acts rarely seen in baseball, including mid-play pranking on the infield. 

And if you prefer the antics in GIF form, Deadspin unearthed a collection here. The visual evidence speaks for itself.

LeBron James and Chris Paul

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As with LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul first met LeBron playing AAU basketball, when they were actually on the same team in Cleveland. Winning a gold medal together at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 brought them even closer.

As James told John Reid of The Times Picayune during the 2010-11 season, when Paul was still playing for the New Orleans Hornets, "There’s definitely a close bond that we have. We have a lot in common. Our friendship has grown over the years. We respect what we do on the court, but it goes beyond that."

It goes far beyond that, as Reid notes that Paul's wife, Jada, is "best friends" with LeBron's wife, Savannah Brinson. Paul was at the hospital for the birth of LeBron's sons, and LeBron and Carmelo headed to Las Vegas for Paul's blowout bachelor party, then to his wedding later in 2011. They have also aided each other in many charity ventures. 

The bonds have only grown stronger since then, but friends or not, rest assured the ever-competitive Paul would love nothing more than for his L.A. Clippers to smoke James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, while James would be eager to show his friend how it's done once again.

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki

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Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have become tennis' new A-list couple, and the Grand Slam-winning girlfriends have painted the Internet red with their fun-loving jaunts along the Eastern Seaboard. 

After they each crashed out of the 2014 French Open in May, they headed for the sunny sands of Miami's South Beach, DJ'ing at a nightclub and photobombing a beach wedding.

Clearly undeterred by Williams' 6-3, 6-3 dispatch of Wozniacki in the final of August's U.S. Open, not to mention the WTA thriller Williams eked out in late October, the pair recently hit New York to shake up the Five Boroughs.

The New York Post's Page Six salivated over the star power, as Wozniacki ran the New York City marathon with Serena cheering her on, and then they attended a Nov. 4 New York Knicks loss and sat near Spike Lee after dining at Fresco by Scotto mere chairs away from Bill O’Reilly.

Sports rivalries don't get much friendlier (or more high-profile) than this.