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NBA Rivalries: Clippers-Warriors and the Top 10 Most Heated Feuds Today

By Maxwell Ogden

Apr 25, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Nene (42) scuffles with Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) in the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Nene received two technical fouls and was ejected. The Bulls won 100-97. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Nene (42) scuffles with Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) in the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Nene received two technical fouls and was ejected. The Bulls won 100-97. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Final. 9. 20. #. 18

Four years really isn’t that long ago. Until Kobe Bryant retires, it’s still a factor.

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have combined to win 33 titles, including the Minneapolis Lakers’ 1949 BAA championship. Tracing the lineage back that far isn’t the reason they’re listed.

Boston and Los Angeles have combined to win three of the past seven titles. They last appeared in the 2010 NBA Finals, which the Lakers won in seven games.

Again, four seasons really isn’t that long ago. It just isn’t recent enough to actually warrant a high ranking.

A down period in 2013-14 hurts, but one season doesn’t dismiss the glorious and heated nature of this rivalry. Even in rebuild mode, the aura that this rivalry creates is closed to unparalleled in the world of sports.

With rosters that are flush with young players who have a point to prove and veterans with a chip on their shoulders, expect the 2014-15 games between Boston and Los Angeles to be amongst the best we see all season.

Especially if these guys are playing:

That’s a compliment in Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo’s world.