NBA's Greatest Modern Rivalries The NBA is as much about personal rivalry as it is about basketball. Here are some of our recent favorite grudge matches. Maxim Online, Sep 2006 By Brian Williamson Some rivalries force gameplay to the next level. Some keep us awake through a late game as we hope for a mid-court brawl. The most special ones continue in the headlines after the games are over. Realizing this, the folks at Sony have beefed up NBA '07 The Life: Volume 2 (out September 26th). The Life allows gamers to play through the season in story mode as rivals The Kid and Willie "Big W" Brown. To celebrate, we compiled a list of the hottest rivalries currently fueling the NBA. 5. Tracy McGrady vs. Vince Carter Both silky-smooth scoring machines, their careers are so similar you'd think these guys were related. Oh wait, they're cousins! Though out-shadowed by Carter while together in Toronto, McGrady has emerged to be quite the show-stopping star in his own right. Survey says that the next few years will determine this family feud. 4. Lakers vs. Clippers Lakers legends include names like Jerry West, Magic Johnson, and Paula Abdul. Clippers legends include names like…well, Eric Piatkowski. Sure, the Laker Show has owned Tinseltown for years, but the "other guys" have become a quiet contender. Will the Lakers take a mighty fall? Will the Clippers finally get their 15 minutes? Will Jack Nicholson ever die? Not sure, but this rivalry is almost as good as it gets. 3. Dirk Nowitzki vs. Steve Nash One sings David Hasselhoff under his breath while shooting free throws. One is from America Junior…err, Canada. Both are perennial MVP candidates and will likely battle for Western Conference supremacy for years to come. Rivals or not, they're such good friends they'll probably continue to forward Evites, share hair-styling tips, and call each other to say goodnight. 2. Shaq vs. Kobe Off-court verbal onslaughts have gone on since their days together in LA, but there's no doubt Diesel has a major upper hand in this rivalry. In recent years, Kobe was arrested in Denver, stripped of a Nutella endorsement, and whined about Shaq in interviews while Shaq-Fu gained a few pounds, won a championship in Miami, and served Kobe on his (hit?) track, "You Not the Fightin' Type." Word. 1. Lebron vs. Carmelo vs. Wade In only three seasons these crazy kids are well on their way to being the next Michael, Magic, and Isiah. Unfortunately, they're all battling to be Michael. Lebron has the shoe deal. 'Melo has the smile. Wade has the early championship ring. All three have gifted ability. But can any of them gamble, make a ****ty Bugs Bunny movie, and play AA baseball? http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=7311&src=mx149
The next Michael, Magic, and Isaiah??? Interesting choice, though I probably would have gone for Larry Bird there. Maxim is such a joke.
I don't think you can consider that a rivalry when one has simply outplayed and outclasses the other everytime.
Ok couple of points: 1 In what way are the careers of T-mac and Cater similar?? 2 The only two that are really rivalrys are Kbe shaq and the lebron wade carmelo thing. I do not see the lakers clippers rivalry, And also not the Nash Nowitzki one. I miss the Amare Yao rivalry(i think that one is more then the one with shaq and yao, because Amare and Yao also battled for the ROY award). It is overal not the best article i have ever read.
Both have had injury problems, had people questioning their desire to play the game, both can jump out the building and throw down some nasty dunks, both were traded and both of them are scoring machines.
Injury - agreed Traded -agreed, But the same goes for a lot of other players. the other things do not have anything to do with their career it is playing style.(maybe not the passion part, but that is also not their career). it took T-mac some time before te became the man of a team, Carter was an instant star. That is a big difference. T-mac came from high school, carter from college also a big difference. T-mac was traded twice carter once, difference So still i do not see the comparison where their careers are so similar that you should think they are family. I understand it would be good for his article if their careers were that similar, but they just weren't.
Yikes, forgive me for my forgetfulness, but I thought Tmac opted out of his contract and went to Orlando as a FA? As for the big similiarities, Id have to agree. Scorers, malcontent with team that was the joke of the east and demanded trades, now with legitimate contenders. but the family thing magnifies it all, even though its like...distant 3rd cousins or what not.
Ehhh, yeah you are actually right he went as a free agent to Orlando. my fault. However that is also a difference with Carter
None of them are white, and everyone knows only white players draw comparisons to Larry Legend. Of course, that is partially made up for by the fact that nearly EVERY white player gets compared to Bird at some point. BTW guys, technically TMac was traded to the Magic, it was a sign and trade deal for a future first.
