Throughout more than 76 seasons, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has had many intense rivalries. This article lists some of the famous rivalries in the NBA. Rivalries are classified into three primary groups; intradivisional, interdivisional, and interconference.
Intradivisional rivalries comprise games between opponents in the same division. Since the 2004–05 NBA season, there are 30 teams in six divisions of five teams each. Each team plays each division opponent four times during the regular season (twice at home, twice away) for a total of 16 games out of 82 total regular season games.
Interdivisional rivalries comprise games between opponents in different divisions but within the same conference. A team plays against each team from the other two divisions in its conference either three or four times. The total interdivisional games an NBA team plays is 36. Conference games are often important, as a team's record in common games, as well as its overall record against its conference, are sometimes used as tiebreakers for playoff seeding at the end of the regular season. Also, many regular season opponents meet again in the playoffs, and the result of a regular season game can determine the team that will have home-court advantage in the playoff series.
Interconference rivalries comprise games between opponents in different conferences. A team plays each opponent from the other conference in one home game and one away game. The total interconference games an NBA team plays is 30.
Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 76ers–Celtics rivalry Celtics–Knicks rivalry Knicks–Nets rivalry
Central Division Bulls–Cavaliers rivalry Bulls–Pistons rivalry Pacers–Pistons rivalry
Southeast Division Heat–Magic rivalry
Interdivisional Bulls–Knicks rivalry Celtics–Heat rivalry Celtics–Pistons rivalry Heat–Knicks rivalry Knicks–Pacers rivalry
Western Conference Northwest Division
Jazz–Nuggets rivalry Nuggets–Timberwolves rivalry
Pacific Division Kings–Lakers rivalry Kings–Warriors rivalry Lakers–Clippers rivalry Lakers–Suns rivalry Lakers–Warriors rivalry SuperSonics–Trail Blazers rivalry (defunct/inactive)
Southwest Division Mavericks–Rockets rivalry Mavericks–Spurs rivalry Rockets–Spurs rivalry
Interdivisional Jazz–Rockets rivalry Lakers–Spurs rivalry Spurs–Suns rivalry
Interconference rivalries
Cavaliers–Warriors rivalry Celtics–Lakers rivalry Lakers–Pistons rivalry
See also
Major League Baseball rivalries Major League Soccer rivalries National Football League rivalries National Hockey League rivalries
References