5 NBA Player Rivalries We Want to See Fire Up in 2015-16
Russell vs. Wilt. Magic vs. Bird. MJ vs. Zeke. The Dream vs. The Admiral. KG vs. Duncan.
What do these and other great NBA player rivalries have in common? Quite a bit, actually.
For one, they all involve transcendent talents who were, more or less, contemporaries. In the case of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they came into and rose to prominence within the league at the exact same time.
Proximity, of both general geography and on-court position, plays a pivotal part in stoking flames between foes. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain both manned the middle for their respective squads in the '50s and '60s, as did Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson in the '90s.
And if their teams played in the same division, as Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and Isiah Thomas' Detroit Pistons did, or in the same conference, as Kevin Garnett's Minnesota Timberwolves and Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs did, there were that many more opportunities for the chief combatants to come to blows, be it in the slog of the regular season or the hothouse of the playoffs.
The very best battles were those fought on level playing fields, with teams trading wins and losses while players traded barbs. Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers owned a 2-1 Finals edge over Bird's Boston Celtics. Zeke's Pistons took down Jordan's Bulls three times in the postseason before His Airness was able to turn the tide.
Tiffs between players aren't as prevalent today as they once were, though you can still find that kind of antagonism from time to time if you know where to look. Whenever Blake Griffin goes toe-to-toe with Zach Randolph or Draymond Green, you're bound to see some bad blood boil to the surface. The same goes for Paul Pierce's long-running troll job on LeBron James.
The following five pairings have the potential to turn into riveting conflicts—maybe not on par with those that have come to define different eras in basketball history, but entertaining nonetheless.
Stephen Curry vs. Chris Paul
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Blake Griffin has a point. As far as competitive balance is concerned, Clippers-Warriors isn't really a rivalry.
At least, it hasn't been for a year-and-a-half. Since Mark Jackson was deposed as head coach, Golden State has won five of its six meetings with L.A.'s other team, including its most recent meeting, a 23-point comeback victory for the visitors at Staples Center.
But that 124-117 win for the Dubs offered a glimpse into what could be between Chris Paul and Stephen Curry.
Paul delivered the first punch, despite coming in off a groin injury. He scored 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the opening frame while pestering Curry into two turnovers and two quick fouls—not to mention just two attempts from the field.
But Curry, like the Warriors as a whole, came back with a vengeance. He poured in 10 or more points in each of the final three quarters on the way to a 40-point night. Paul finished with 35 points and eight assists of his own but couldn't quite cut off the MVP when it mattered most.
In some respects, it may be too late for these two to truly become rivals. Curry, at 27, is at the peak of his powers and still seems to be improving. Meanwhile, Paul, at 30, could soon be on the decline, if he isn't already.
For now, though, Curry and Paul are arguably the top point guards in the world, on teams that (hopefully) will have more scores to settle as this season bleeds into the playoffs.
The conditions are ripe for these competitors to take greater exception to one another. Now it's on them and their respective squads to make it happen.
Wesley Matthews vs. James Harden
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The war of words between Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been fun to track, but there's only so much juice to squeeze out of a spat in the executive suites. Mavericks-Rockets may well become more than a sideshow in the Lone Star State, but only if the animosity extends to the court.
And who better to bring that bad blood to life between the lines than James Harden and Wesley Matthews?
At first glance, this may not seem like a fair fight. Harden, in one corner, is one of the game's preeminent players, a slashing savant who was nearly the league's MVP last season. Matthews, in the other, ended the 2014-15 campaign on crutches, after tearing an Achilles tendon in March.
But Harden (37.3 percent shooting, 26.3 percent from three) is off to a relatively slow start this season. Matthews (34 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from deep) isn't scorching the earth with his shot, either.
However, the fact he's been a fixture for the Mavs at shooting guard in 2015-16, less than eight months after suffering a devastating injury, speaks volumes of how far he's come and where he's headed.
"We think he can be physically better," Mavericks head trainer Casey Smith told Bleacher Report. "Obviously we do if we committed [that much money to him]. We wouldn't be having this conversation if we didn't think that."
As far as leadership is concerned, Matthews might already be miles ahead of Harden. Where the former has established his voice as a strong one in Dallas' locker room, the latter has a ways to go when it comes to the ins and outs of guiding his teammates, even after accepting blame for Houston's slow start and subsequent canning of head coach Kevin McHale. As Bleacher Report's Jonathan Feigen wrote:
"Only Harden can lead the way the Rockets so obviously need to be led. He has to be the guy who rallies his teammates but also develops the credibility that must come first to sometimes offer a verbal kick in the pants.
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Once Matthews and Harden get up to speed in their own ways, they should find themselves going at each other as Texas antagonists on somewhat equal footing, time and again, for years to come.
Anthony Davis vs. DeMarcus Cousins
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So far, circumstances have tamped down the positional battle between Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Davis finally made his postseason debut this past spring but already seems hard-pressed to return in the wake of the New Orleans Pelicans' shockingly sluggish start. Cousins has yet to taste the playoffs and probably won't in 2016 if the Sacramento Kings don't pull themselves out of their perpetual swamp soon.
When it comes to the best big men in the game today, though, there may be no better matchup than Boogie and the Brow.
Statistically speaking, Cousins (6'11", 270 lbs) has taken Davis (6'10", 253 lbs) to task in their 11 meetings to date:
| Mins | Pts | FGA | FG% | FTA | Rebs | Ast | Stls | Blk | |
| Cousins | 34.5 | 24.1 | 16.5 | .516 | 9.7 | 13.4 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| Davis | 34.8 | 18.4 | 14.4 | .437 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 2.4 |
But Davis' Pelicans own the slightest of edges (6-5) over Cousins' Kings in the win column. And if collegiate accomplishments count, the Brow can brag about the championship he won during his lone season at Kentucky—as opposed to the Elite Eight elimination Boogie suffered with John Calipari's Wildcats.
Nowadays, both are All-Stars, All-NBA performers and gold medalists with Team USA. Chances are, they'll be sporting the red, white and blue together at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next summer, just as they did at the FIBA World Cup of Basketball in Spain last year.
Until then, we can look forward to watching these two titans try to tower over one another in the Association, with the Pelicans and Kings facing off Jan. 13.
Kevin Durant vs. Kawhi Leonard
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Trash talking can add a layer or two of intrigue to any rivalry, but it's not a necessary ingredient.
At least, we can hope that's the case. Otherwise, it might be tough to sell the matchup between Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard as a testy one.
Durant, though not as nice on the court as he used to be, has cut down on his word count this season in order to stem the tide of speculation surrounding his impending free agency. Leonard's been the opposite of verbose since well before he set foot in the NBA.
What Leonard can do—perhaps better than anyone else—is frustrate the former MVP on the floor. In 10 regular-season meetings, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year has held Durant to 46.3 percent shooting overall and 33.3 percent from three while flustering him into 4.9 turnovers per game.
Leonard, too, seems to have caught up with the four-time scoring champ when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. In fact, Leonard outscored Durant 32-22 in part by swallowing up his mark's shot during the San Antonio Spurs' season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Granted, Durant was fresh off a foot injury, and his team won the game. At full strength, KD might still have the capacity to torch Leonard at will.
Their regular-season exploits aside, the two have essentially played to a stalemate (6-6) in their prior playoff meetings. And Leonard, for his part, has a ring and a Bill Russell statuette to show for his postseason efforts.
The overlap of the Red Rivalry could add some regional intrigue to this southwestern slugfest. But at its core, the Durant-Leonard duel could become a staple of the NBA by virtue of the quality of its combatants and the frequency with which their teams have met (and will hopefully meet) in meaningful games.
Paul George vs. Jimmy Butler
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Everything about Paul George and Jimmy Butler begs for these two to become bitter rivals—their personal stories included.
Both were relative unknowns coming out of college: George, the 10th pick in the 2010 NBA draft out of Fresno State; Butler, the 30th pick in the 2011 draft from Marquette.
Each slowly, steadily molded himself into an All-Star on an established squad that already sported accomplished talent and a clear identity. The Indiana Pacers were an Eastern Conference contender, built around the strength of their frontcourt. The Chicago Bulls had a home-grown MVP, in Derrick Rose, by the time Butler was a rookie.
Both have overcome daunting obstacles on the way to basketball stardom. For Butler, it was a turbulent upbringing marked by family strife and homelessness. For George, it was a gruesome leg injury that sidetracked his meteoric rise through the league's ranks.
Now, each is considered, without much (if any) argument, the best player on a Central Division squad. Each also carries himself with the kind of confidence required of the NBA's elite.
All that's needed to turn these two into bona fide basketball enemies are some epic on-court clashes. The latest meeting between the Bulls and Pacers certainly sufficed, courtesy of Butler's game-saving block on George.
Their teams are separated by less than 300 miles along I-65, and the playoff aspirations of their respective squads could put them on opposite sides come April and May.
Butler vs. George might never be as nasty as, say, Jordan vs. Reggie Miller was back in the day, but it could be more even in terms of individual ability. And if there's anything we've learned about player rivalries, it's that those who are close—in terms of age (Butler is 26, George is 25), geography, position and talent—make for the fiercest foes.
All statistics are current before games on Nov. 20.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
