In the NBA, there is always the talk of a rivalry over the years and it can be historic. In the 1980s, it was the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. In particular, it was Magic Johnson of the Lakers against Larry Bird of the Celtics due to them being the face of their respective franchises. To this day, they are still rivals and combined have made the most NBA Finals appearances together in NBA history.

For there to be a rivalry of some sorts, it would need to have a bit of a competitive battle without question. That is what makes them enjoyable to say the least. There is always going to be some form of trash talk going on between fans to say which team is truly better than the other. A few notable examples of what would be classified as a rivalry that can be really good.

As of late there has been one brewing between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. It has picked up some intense steam following the fact that both teams are very even in terms of victories. As a matter of fact, looking into further into it, the home team has won each time. It dates back to the 2007-08 season when the Celtics became major players with key players added like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen teaming up with Paul Pierce. It was against LeBron James and crew and again no one truly has the edge because the road team hasn't won lately between these two franchises. How long this one lasts is up for debate depending upon how good both teams last and how much they meet in the post-season.

There really hasn't been one but it will depend on the NBA Championship as there is the great debate between Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and LeBron James of the Cavaliers. Dwayne Wade can be mentioned as well making it seem like there are three superstars competing to win championships for their respective teams.

There doesn't seem to much as of late in terms of team rivalries like they were in the past. Unlike in the NFL, where there is always a rival match up like the Dallas Cowboys against the Washington Redskins or even The Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers. What made them a rivalry was that they were competitive and for what it is worth compelling. The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers used to be a big deal but because of Art Modell, that rivalry has pretty much gone to waste.

In baseball, there are some teams rivals like the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees in the American League and in the National League with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals as a major one. The other would be the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants going back to the days when both teams were in New York.

Perhaps at some point, there could be a new team rivalry that will build and be very consistent. It would need excitement but right now it seems to be more about superstar rivalries than it has been about team but that can change in the future.

Learn more about this author, Bruce Bostwick.
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