Who are the best player rivalries in the NBA? my list would be -Iverson vs. Tyron Lue -Vince Carter vs. Tracy McGrady -Stephon Marbury vs. Jason Kidd Those are all i can think of right now
Iverson vs. Tyron Lue? Come on man, that's not that big of a rivalry. Lue just managed to defend Ivy well in one playoff series. I would have to say Kobe vs. TMac Lebron vs. Melo (it just started, but i bet that it will get better over the years) Would anyone count TD vs. KG as a rivalry? They're arguably the 2 best PF's in the game today, and perennial MVP contenders. It just seems to me that this isn't a highly touted rivalry, and I don't know why it isn't.
I saw Iverson play in DC last year and Lue and Iverson just go at each other and Iverson brings out the best in Lue
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Purple N Gold:</div><div class="quote_post">Earl Boykins vs Yao Ming</div> Oh course, the best. Iverson vs Lue isn't big because Lue isn't a top player so the little "rivalry" they got on isn't too big. I would have to say the top two are T-mac vs Kobe and Melo Vs Bron. T-mac vs VC maybe, but I've seen some great performences when Kobe and T-mac play.
I don't think T-mac and Kobe are much of a rivarly. We just make it like that because they are the two best young players in the league, but they haven't had one of those "memorable" battles yet. The biggest rivalry right now is Lakers vs Kings....player-wise, how bout Rick Fox vs Doug Christie
Carmelo vs. Lebron has only happened 2 times and will only happen 2 times every year for a long time the two meetings earlier in the season were not impresive. The Iverson vs. Lue has been statistically better than Carmelo and LeBron.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MVPlaya:</div><div class="quote_post">Oh course, the best. Iverson vs Lue isn't big because Lue isn't a top player so the little "rivalry" they got on isn't too big. I would have to say the top two are T-mac vs Kobe and Melo Vs Bron. T-mac vs VC maybe, but I've seen some great performences when Kobe and T-mac play.</div> T-mac vs Vc is to lopsided t-mac always dominates that match up. T-mac vs Kobe is great though.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobeonfire:</div><div class="quote_post">Iverson vs. Tyron Lue? Come on man, that's not that big of a rivalry. Lue just managed to defend Ivy well in one playoff series.</div> I wouldn't necessarily call it defending well. Lue was guarding Iverson like Bruce Bowen guarded Kobe in last year's playoffs. There was an awful lot of handchecking and jersey grabbing going on. However, he did get away with it so more power to him. I think it's pretty obvious what the good rivalries are. Kobe/McGrady, Kidd/Marbury, Marbury/Iverson, Shaq/Yao, etc. One that has been building up slowly though has been Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire.
Honestly I dont think their are any more good rivilaries because most star players dont play each other on both ends off the court. Alot of teams are scared to have their star player guard another teams star player. In a way its smart because it keeps your star player out of foul trouble.but this method has killed the player rivilaries. There are alot of possible good matchups that could take. But the likely hood of them happening on a consistent bases is slim. Kobe vs T-mac, is a good matchup to think about.but they arent going to guard each other & go back &forth for a full game.The best battles right now are between bigmen.
Lets not forget Yao vs. Shaq. Although Shaq always come's out with better numbers, Yao's team always comes in with an equal chance of winning. Besides, the media hypes it up so much you can't help but get caught up. Another one is Payton-Allen now. Even though they don't match up against each other, both players have come alive in every game they've played against each other since The Trade.
One of the best current rivalries in the NBA that no one ever talks about: The Van Gundy brothers! Jeff vs. Stan! Or perhaps Spreewell vs. the entire Knicks team . But in all seriousness, I think the T-Mac vs. VC rivalry is the best current rivalry in the NBA right now, but the matchup which gets the most publicity is Shaq vs. Yao.
Why dont we take this a step further and do ALL time favorite NBA rivalries...i'd pick Jorden and Isahia Thomas. Those two used to go at it all the time...and it was great to watch!
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's not a player rivalry..but a player/team rivalry...lol Reggie Miller vs The Knicks</div> that was indeed a great rivalry and always a good one to watch....but was it Reggie vs. the Knicks or Reggie vs. Spike Lee LOL
The best rivalry, although it is within a team, is Kobe vs. Shaq. The thread starter never said they had to be on different teams, so that is my pick. Ten minutes don't go by without one of them trying to prove he's better than the other, both on and off the court. It's actually a little annoying right now, a little old. Shaq vs. Yao has potential to be a great rivalry. Both are some of the best in the league at their position, and Shaq really resents Yao after the whole all-star game business last year. Then, when Shaq ripped Yao in "Chinese", it was the funniest thing he's ever said. I still laugh when I even think about it.
You guys need to realize that Bron vs. Melo and Shaq vs Yao are rivalries that were created by the media. Shaq has no competition, so they created some for him by promoting "Shaq vs Yao" everytime that the Rockets and Lakers play. With Bron vs Melo it started well before they were even drafted, and has continued only because they are the front-runners for ROY. These types of rivalries are superficial. Anyway, how could we forget about Maic vs Bird? Started in their college years, and continued to their pro careers. Probably the best rivalry ever IMO.
