Image via Complex Original
When David Stern, a former New York law firm shark, became NBA Commissioner in 1984, he stumbled into a league that had star individual talents but lacked the ability to catalyze ideas. By the time Stern was sworn in, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were already NBA champions, and Michael Jordan was just drafted. The success of those three propelled the NBA into another stratosphere, but under Stern’s early guidance, the league began to change its marketing M.O.
Instead of “Watch the Celtics play the Lakers tonight,” advertisers would exclaim, “Don’t miss Larry Bird and the Celtics take on Magic Johnson and the Lakers.” Catch the difference? Individual player rivalries—the stacking of a star power against that of another star until one tower toppled—became standard. It put the spotlight on players, with teams being secondary to the rivalry narrative.
Thankfully, Bird, Magic, and Jordan were smart—dynamic personalities with a will to win matched only by their pop culture relevance. They won championships, played up their rivalries to the joy of fans, and dragged the NBA to international importance. From Magic vs. Bird to LeBron vs. Durant, these are The Greatest One-on-One Rivalries in NBA History.
LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant
The 2012 NBA Finals were, unfortunately, the last instance of high-stakes basketball in which we saw these two compete. They’ve met 19 times, and each matchup promised to be more exhilarating than the last. It’s rare that basketball’s two best players inhabit the same position across opposite conferences, which makes the lack of Finals appearances featuring LeBron pitted against Durant quite disappointing.
In one of the closer 4-1 series wins that you’ll ever witness, LeBron averaged 28.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists en route to his first title. Durant countered with his own 30.6 points, but it wasn’t enough. These guys put up monster stats when faced with the other’s number, but a lack of memorable moments, especially in late-game situations, stunted this rivalry. There’s no image of Durant sinking a jumper over LeBron at the buzzer, or LeBron picking Durant’s pocket during crunch time and dunking at the other end—just a silly non-call controversy from Game 2 of the 2012 Finals. If these two continue to light it up though, expect those signature moments to come in the next decade.
Hakeem Olajuwon vs. David Robinson
The battle for the biggest center in Texas raged during the 1990s. Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets and Robinson’s San Antonio Spurs went head-to-head for Western Conference supremacy throughout the decade.
At the height of their respective powers, the rivalry peaked in 1994-95; when Michael Jordan left basketball for two years, Olajuwon and Robinson seized the championship window. The Rockets won it all in Olajuwon’s 1994 MVP season, and in 1995, Robinson won MVP. The award was announced the night before the start of the Western Conference Finals, giving Robinson an opportunity to do exactly what Olajuwon did the year before: win MVP honors and a ring.
The timing of the award, however, ended up hurting Robinson. The Spurs were slated to play the Rockets in the Conference Finals, and Olajuwon was pissed about losing out on back-to-back MVPs. With Robinson in his sights, Olajuwon balled out. Although Robinson averaged 23.8 points and 11.3 rebounds in the Finals, he wilted with the series tied 2-2. Over the last two deciding games, Olajuwon outscored Robinson 81-41, bringing his averages to 35.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 4.1 blocks, and 1.3 steals for the series. He raised his game when it mattered most, as all great champions do.
Wilt Chamberlain vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Two of the game’s greatest centers went head-to-head 27 times. After a decade of Bill Russell straight-up bodying everyone, Wilt’s time to shine came as Kareem was just entering the league. Kareem and Wilt controlled the Western Conference axis-of-power during their rivalry. The former was fresh out of UCLA’s dynasty, and the latter was 11 years Kareem’s senior. Despite the age gap, Wilt was up to the challenge, winning 14 out of the 27 duels.
Early on, however, the rivalry seemed lopsided. Kareem’s Bucks beat Wilt’s Lakers in the 1971 Western Conference Finals en route to winning the title, carrying that momentum into 1972. During five regular season matchups in 1972, Kareem averaged 40 points, and outscored Wilt 201-70.
In the playoffs that year, the story was the same: Kareem outscored Wilt 202-67, but he’d probably trade those 202 points for a ring. Kareem’s scoring in the Western Conference didn’t add up to Ws. The Lakers bested the Bucks in six games to advance to the Finals, and Wilt ended up winning his second and final championship. He was named the 1972 Finals MVP after averaging 19.4 points and 23.2 rebounds. A year later, he retired, leaving the floor open for Kareem, who had to wait until 1980 to win another ring.
Shaquille O’Neal vs. Tim Duncan
Many of Shaq’s personal rivalries turned ugly (Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, two combative men in their own right, can attest to this), but with Tim Duncan, relations were, well, respectful. And of course they were: Tim Duncan isn’t the type to talk trash or get chippy. As the two best bigs in the game at the time, The Big Fundamental squared off against The Big Aristotle in key Spurs-Lakers playoff series from 1999 to 2004. The Spurs got theirs in 1999, before the Lakers ripped off three-straight titles.
One of the gems of the rivalry happened in the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals. Game 5 is remembered for Derek Fisher’s insane buzzer-beater, but if that shot didn’t go in, Duncan’s fadeaway jumper over Shaq (which you can see in the above video) would’ve been the lasting image for the series.
Magic Johnson vs. Isiah Thomas
Of all the rivalries on this list, Magic vs. Isiah is by far the most personal in the best way—these two famously kissed on the court before the start of the 1988 Finals (Magic won that one), and a year later, they repeated the kiss in another Finals matchup (Isiah took that one, partly helped by an injured and ineffective Magic).
Admirable signs of respect, yes, but on the court, their respective competitive fires burned to the touch. Within the game’s embers, Magic and Isiah absolutely despised each other, as they should’ve—each was the best point guard in their respective conferences, and both were in their prime. Isiah was an entire foot shorter than Magic, too, fueling a Napoleon complex that meshed perfectly with his “Bad Boys” Pistons crew. The hatchet was shortly buried thereafter, as Magic tweeted in 2013 that they were buddy-buddy, kissy-kissy once again.
Michael Jordan vs. Patrick Ewing
Patrick Ewing must lose sleep at night knowing that Michael Jordan is the reason why he doesn’t have any rings (the same goes for Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone, and many other 1990s NBA legends). It was Ewing, however, who was Jordan’s Eastern Conference whipping boy. Jordan’s sixth-seeded Bulls upset Ewing’s second-seeded Knicks in the 1989 Playoffs, and after that, nothing was the same for either player.
The Bulls kicked the Knicks out of the playoffs in four straight years, Jordan won three-straight titles, and Ewing had to wait until Jordan was playing baseball to make the Finals. To add to Ewing’s misery, in the middle of all of the annual defeats, he wound up on one of Jordan’s most memorable posters in the 1991 Playoffs, which you can peep in the above video.
Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain
This was the NBA’s OG Battle of the Titans. Before heavyweights like Shaq and Duncan went toe-to-toe, Russell and Chamberlain were locked in a decades-long tug-o-war for league supremacy. They first met in 1959, and by their last duel in 1969 they’d played 142 times against each other, with Russell winning 82 of those games. They met in the postseason eight times in 10 years (including the 1964 and 1969 Finals, both of which Russell won), and from 1960-1968, they won seven MVP awards combined.
Although Russell was only a few years older than Chamberlain, the two couldn’t have contrasted more. The ultimate team player, Russell wound up with 11 championships and less-than-gaudy individual stats, while Chamberlain focused almost exclusively on padding his own numbers. Russell has the rings and the reverence, and Chamberlain has the 100-point game and the preposterous 50-point and 25-rebound averages. Two types of basketball greatness were stylized simultaneously thanks to Russell and Chamberlain.
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird
What began in the 1979 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship would end up lasting a lifetime. Magic’s Michigan State beat Bird’s 33-0 Indiana State squad in one of the NCAA Tournament’s great games, and since then, they’ve been competing for that same top spot. In terms of championship duels and longevity, no other rivalry even comes close.
Magic won five titles to Bird’s three, and they squared off in the Finals three times in four years. Out of their three NBA Finals matchups, Magic’s Lakers won two of them, bringing the Lakers-Celtics rivalry to heights not seen since Bill Russell and James Worthy were in uniform. Larry got Magic back for the 1979 National Championship game by beating him in the 1984 Finals, but Magic won again in 1985, and another time over Bird in 1987.
Off the court, Magic and Larry grew to become genuine friends, a bond that was kick-started by a commercial shoot featuring the two in the middle of the 1985 Finals. From there, competitive spirits turned into compassionate ones. It’s a rivalry-cum-friendship that even Broadway knows well.