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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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Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers, Walt Frazier, New York Knicks
Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers, Walt Frazier, New York Knicks. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images) /

10. Best NBA rivalries of all-time: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks

Despite residing on opposite coasts of the country, the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers will forever be intertwined. One may have a 14 championship edge over the other, but the battle to claim ownership of the biggest market is one that rages on.

These two historic teams go way back, having faced off in consecutive NBA Finals in 1952 and 1953. This was when the Lakers resided near the Great Lakes by Minneapolis, but they still had enough to claim both championships in the early stages of their league-wide dominance.

It would take close to 20 years, but New York would not go silently into the night, fighting back to inflict some payback. The two teams were at it again in the 1970 NBA Finals, where the Knicks looked to be in control before star center Willis Reed went down with a torn muscle in his leg, all but taking the team’s title hopes with it.

As history would show us, that would not be the last time Reed would step foot on an NBA court that season. He limped onto the hardwood for Game 7 in one of the most inspirational moments in league history. After two made buckets he exited the game, but the adrenaline he provided his teammates with was enough to help carry them to their first-ever title.

Following a one-year hiatus, the two sides would face off once again in consecutive NBA Finals, this time splitting the pair. Since then, they’ve never crossed paths in the postseason.

When the Knicks rose to prominence in the 1990s, the Lakers were recovering from Magic Johnson’s sudden retirement. Once Los Angeles began to prosper at the turn of the century, the Knicks began spiraling out of control.

According to Forbes, the Knicks and the Lakers are the two most valuable franchises in the NBA, valued at $4 and $3.7 billion, respectively. By residing in the two biggest U.S. media markets, it’s not much of a surprise. Imagine the type of revenue they’d draw in if their competitive streaks could just cross paths if only for a couple of seasons.