Rivalries are at the heart of NBA lore — Lakers vs. Celtics, Jordan’s Bulls vs. Bad Boy Pistons, 1990s Knicks vs. Heat, Wilt vs. Russell, Magic vs. Bird, and the list goes on and on.
Notice that none of those great rivalries are modern. The league tried to make one of LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry — they did meet in the Finals four straight years — but there was never really bad blood between them, just respect. What happened to all the rivalries? JJ Redick had Devin Booker on The Old Man and the Three podcast and Booker had an answer for that (hat tip Clutch Points).
“I’d say there’s no real rivalries because of grassroots basketball. A lot of these guys we’ve known for a really long time and I think people just realize that it’s not that deep half the time. People always say they’re not really about to fight on the court, they’re really not about to do that. That’s a half-a-million-dollar fight like nobody should do that. I haven’t heard too many times that crazy lines were crossed on the court but it has happened and I’ve seen people handle it behind the scenes in the correct way like it should.”
Bird and Magic didn’t
meet and hang out until they made a commercial together once they were in the NBA. Isaiah Thomas and Michael Jordan didn’t play youth hoops together or against each other. There was room for some animosity to build up.
Today’s players see the league more as a fraternity — they will go hard at each other on the court, but there is camaraderie and general respect for other players. Guys in the league understand how much work it is just to get to this level, let alone stay there. Beyond that, nobody wants to injure another guy and risk his livelihood — the karma on that is ugly. Not everyone gets along with everyone — there are a******* around the league — but it’s essentially just a recognition of other guys and their path.
That’s not changing. It doesn’t mean guys are soft, it’s just how things are.
