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The 30 greatest NBA team rivalries in league history

By Daniel Lubofsky

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks, Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks, Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs. (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /

17. Best NBA rivalries of all-time: Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs

Part of what makes the relationships special between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs is no doubt their proximity to one another. Each would like to assume rightful ownership over the state of Texas, which every game providing the winner a sense of bragging rights, if only for a bit of time.

Should they have been scattered across different states, the rivalry would still hold up. It’s what happens when you face off in six separate postseasons over 14 years with a foundation on each side being held largely intact.

Dallas was never able to figure San Antonio out. The Spurs were champions and understood what that meant, while the Mavericks were still searching for the right recipe to get it done. It’s why across those six playoff matchups, the Mavericks only managed to come out victorious just once back in 2006.

That one win was quite the nail-biter. Not only did it take seven games, but also some truly miraculous luck on the part of Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki got fouled on a made bucket with under 30 seconds remaining to tie the game up. The Mavericks would then go on to win in overtime in a run that wound up leading to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance.

These games weren’t just a matchup between two highly competitive teams, but there was a game within the game between the leaders of each team. Nowitzki and Tim Duncan were arguably the two greatest to ever suit up at the power forward position nestled comfortably in their prime years.

It was a recipe for high-level basketball that played out over and over. In that Game 7 in 2006, Duncan had 41 points and 15 rebounds as the two-way proven champion, while Dirk poured in 37 and 15 with a unique toolbox offensively not many believed could lead a team to the promised land.

They matched up well at times with Tony Parker and Jason Kidd — Steve Nash before him — along with Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili. San Antonio was hard to stop during its numerous runs to the title, but the Mavericks never proved to be an easy out along the way.