New Rivals
The NBA was founded on June 6, 1946, in New York, NY. Over the 75 years the organization has grown to one of the most popular, not only in the United States but internationally. We have gotten many great moments over that time but most of them stemming from rivalries. Some of these moments were Allen Iverson stepping over Tyron Lou after hitting a 3 pointer on him in the 2001 finals or LeBron James blocking Andre Iguodala in the 2016 finals to set up a game winning shot and secure the championship for that year. These are a couple moments I had the luxury of witnessing myself but there are many moments that came before I was even thought of. What exactly makes these moments great is the build up to them. This is one of the recipes for a rivalry.
[click the link for more great moments]
NBA Finals: Top moments in history | NBA.com
Talent is an absolute requirement for a rivalry to fester because there actually has to be competition. if the talent is lopped sided then it won’t gather much attention from spectators and the competitive flame will likely die because it becomes like taken candy from a baby. Why would someone talk trash to a baby they just took candy from, or run around bragging about it? Get the point? So there clearly has to be an equal level of talent on both sides.
Not only is talent a requirement but there has to be some personal distain for the opposition as well. Whether it be constantly meeting and battling each other to exhaustion or something that was done off the court that carries into the matchup; it all adds fuel to the rivalry fire. These ingredients are what lead me to believe we have the next great rivalry on our hands.
I’m convinced that the next great rivalry in basketball is between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklynn Nets. Both teams definitely have the talent to make some really good match ups. Between the players on the two teams there are 7 championships, 54 all-star appearances and a host of other awards [see the chart below].
basketball — NBA championship | Britannica
The talent will play a big role in building the excitement of this rivalry, but the personal grudges will likely be the biggest driving force. To understand why we have to travel back in time to the 2012 season. That year James Harden won 6th man of the year coming off the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder under Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. That year Kevin Durant also won the scoring title and OKC went to the NBA finals but lost to the Miami Heat and a guy named LeBron James, you may have heard of him, if not remember it because it will add to the story later. In 2012 Kyrie Irving won rookie of the year for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets in the following offseason where he would go on to establish himself as a true star winning an MVP award in 2018, three consecutive scoring titles (18,19,20) and being named an all-star every year from that point. Kevin Durant continued success with the OKC thunder by winning the MVP award in 2014 and another scoring title that year as well. However, both KD and Harden didn’t lead those teams to the championship. Meanwhile in Cleveland, Kyrie Irving won the NBA championship for the Cavaliers by hitting the final shot after an epic block by the before mentioned LeBron James to beat the Golden state warriors and secure the first championship in the Cavs history in 2016.
That following offseason Kevin Durant made one of the biggest decisions of his career by joining the Golden State Warriors. They went on to win the next two NBA championships (17, 18) by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in both. Kyrie was only present for one of those losses however, after being traded to the Boston Celtics for the 2018 season. This will be short lived, and he will join the Nets in 2019. This would also turn out to be KD’s last year in Golden State as well, as they advanced to the finals that year, but Kevin suffered a torn Achilles tendon in game 5 as his team lost to the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors were the same team to knock Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and the Sixers out of the playoffs that year with one of the craziest game winners in NBA history. That Raptors team would also include Danny Green, a key piece to this rivalry connection.
The following off season Kevin Durant chose to leave the Warriors and sign with the Brooklynn Nets in a shocking move. The torn Achilles he suffered in the 2019 finals would end up keeping him out the entire 2020 season. That same year James Harden would go on to win his 3rd scoring title. The NBA championship was won by the Los Angeles Lakers led by Lebron James. I keep mentioning his name because of the connections. LeBron went to Cleveland to deliver a championship. After losing to the Golden State Warriors in 2015 he delivered in 2016. The Warriors then added Durant to the team to beat LeBron and Kyrie Irving in the 2017 finals and win the championship, Durant’s First. After that season Kyrie would leave the Cavaliers for the Boston Celtics because he wanted to lead his own team as opposed to being looked at as second to LeBron. I don’t blame him; no man wants to be Robin forever. The whole point of suiting up, is the hope that one day you will be Batman (the hero not the sidekick).
The decision to leave LeBron and the Cavaliers would add an enormous amount of pressure to Kyrie’s shoulders. LeBron when on to lead the Cavaliers to the finals the year Kyrie left but they would again fall short to Kevin Durant and the Warriors. LeBron then went on to lead a third team, the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship in 2020. That team would also include Danny Green.
The 2021 season is where this rivalry really heats up. With Durant back, Kyrie and the Nets became the instant favorite to win the championship, and they did not disappoint. They had one of the best records to begin the year and they looked truly dominant. Despite that, they still added the reigning scoring champ, James Harden, to take them over the top. Many people looked at this as the greatest offense ever assembled and some believed it was unfair to have this much talent on one team. In the meantime, the Sixers traded for Danny Green mid-season. Despite the Nets being so feared the Sixers finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and the Nets a close second. They both went on to win their first-round matchups in 5 games, which is pretty convincingly.
The second round is where they both came up short. The Nets lost in game 7 to the Bucks, the team that would go on to win the Championship that year. They put up a good fight and it is a common joke that they would have won if KD had a smaller foot because his toe barely hit the three-point line that if he was behind it would have been a game winning shot. The Sixers lost in game 7 to what many considered a much inferior opponent in the Atlanta Hawks. In the final moments Ben Simmons passed up a dunk while standing under the hoop out of fear of getting fouled.
His poor shooting and the liability he presented on the offensive side of the game was a point of emphasis the entire season. This wasn’t the first time this was a topic of discussion because after being drafted first overall by the Sixers in 2016 and winning rookie of the year (controversially) in his second year because of injury, there were always questions about his shooting. Many people seen his potential, often comparing him to LeBron James, but the praise came with criticism when there was a lack of improvement in the weak areas of his game. Even with the outside criticism the fans of Philly (which are notorious for being some of the hardest) supported Ben. Even the coach of the Sixers, Doc Rivers, defended his style of play multiple times when asked in interviews.
The dunk he passed up in the final moments of that post season became the straw that broke the camel's back. Coach Doc Rivers, Joel Embiid and a few other players referenced that passed dunk as a pivotal moment in their loss when in the post-game interview. As you can imagine Ben didn’t take too kindly to this and requested a trade before the 2022 season. That trade did not happen in the offseason and the Sixers began their season without one of their main players and no trade offer that would give them a player they considered to be of equal value in return. Despite the locker room distractions and being asked about Ben Simmons in every interview, the Sixers found success. Future star Tyrese Maxey began his ascension and Joel Embiid began his MVP campaign.
Meanwhile the Nets were finding a lot of success too. They had the best record in the east up until KD went down with an injury on January 15th. After that injury the Nets seemed to lose motivation, mainly James Harden who seemed downright uninterested and unengaged. It's no telling what caused it, but it seemed like he was unhappy playing for the Nets and was seeking a trade. This would become a huge story of speculation considering the Sixers were still looking for a high caliber player to trade for Ben Simmons.
The back-and-forth speculation continued for weeks until finally the Sixers traded Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond and Seth Curry to the Nets for James Harden and Paul Millsap on February 10th the trade deadline. Ben Simmons certainly got what he wanted and after an introduction interview, James confirmed that he got what he wanted as well by stating “Philly was my first choice” and that he wanted to be traded there before the Rockets sent him to the Nets. Many suspected this and it isn’t a coincidence that the current president of the Sixers Daryl Morey is also the former GM of the Houston Rockets and the one responsible for bringing Harden to Houston where he really solidified his name. The two of them have a great relationship.
James Harden : “Philly was my first choice, it just didn’t happen” #Shorts — YouTube
This brings us to now. James Harden has fit in well with the Sixers by adding some of his unique talent, while also elevating the play of those around him and not taking away any of the greatness of Embiid. Ben Simmons has yet to play a game for the Nets but Drummond and Seth Curry have been good additions. Simmons is hopeful to join the Nets during their first round matchup against the Boston Celtics and they can certainly use the help as they find themselves down 0–2 in the series of 7 games. The Sixers on the other hand look very in control of their series with a commanding 3–0 lead following an all time great game winning shot from Embiid on the Toronto Raptors. This shot served some poetic justice because it was the same team that hit an amazing game winning shot on Embiid 3 years ago to knock the Sixers out of the playoffs as they went on to beat Durant’s Warriors in the finals and win the championship that year. Danny Green who now plays for the Sixers, was also part of that Raptors championship team.
There is no guarantee that these teams meet up this postseason but as a fan of basketball I am rooting for it. The personal connections are undeniable and both teams have players with a lot to prove. Kyrie and Kevin both have to prove they can be leaders that can carry a team to a championship, after many question whether Kyrie needed Lebron to win a championship and whether KD had to go to an already stacked chip winning team to win some. Joel Embiid and James Harden have questions on whether they can be champions to add to their already impressive careers. And of course, Ben Simmons still has to prove he can shoot.
I asked 20 people at a sports bar and grill whether they thought this would be a rivalry and here are the results:
Rivalry (yes) — 5
No Rivalry — 7
Maybe/I don’t know — 8
Update: Yesterday, the Sixers lost game 4 of their playoff series against the Raptors. The Sixers are up 3–1 currently and game 5 will be on Monday 8pm/EDT on NBATV. The Nets also suffered a loss yesterday to the Celtics. This puts them down 0–3 in the series and makes it very unlikely that they will advance out of the first round. No NBA team has ever won a 7-game series after trailing 0–3. Game 4 will be on Monday 7pm/EDT on TNT.