The 30 greatest NBA team rivalries in league history
27. Best NBA rivalries of all-time: Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The rivalry between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder found its origins on the court. Here were two teams built mostly through the draft, each with a legitimate chance to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals during the 2015-16 NBA season.
Their regular-season battles were thrilling, highlighted by a late-February game that had Stephen Curry bomb a 40-foot game-winning three in overtime, tying what was then the single-game 3-point record with 12. As fate would have it, the two squads found each other in the conference finals with far more implications to come than the average series.
Oklahoma City would take a surprising 3-1 series lead only, to sputter out of control and lose the next three. This was thanks in large part to Klay Thompson’s record-breaking 11 3-pointer performance in Game 6 to keep the Warriors’ historic 73-win campaign alive that could only be validated with an NBA championship.
Whatever hard feelings were harbored only grew larger in free agency. Fans of the Thunder would’ve been disappointed to see prodigal son Kevin Durant leave, if that’s what he decided to do, but also understanding and respectful of a guy who gave so much to the organization.
It was because he went and joined the Warriors that set Chesapeake Energy Arena on fire. Golden State had embarrassingly eliminated the Thunder following a historic collapse. To go and join an already historically dominant team, one where his presence did nothing more than to stack the deck in their favor, angered Oklahoma City diehards to the point of no return.
The games that followed were as blatant a showing of hatred as one side could have for another. Durant’s return to Oklahoma City was as hostile an environment as the NBA had seen in recent years, fueled by the fire of one of the best fanbases in the league that felt betrayed by a home-grown superstar.
The tension was not eased by Russell Westbrook, only elevated. He always wears his emotions on his sleeve and wasn’t shy about doing so in front of his former Thunder Buddy. It brought to the light a very public on-court back-and-forth between the two including several verbal altercations that only elevated their level of play.
None of this even mentions the point-guard battle between Westbrook and Curry, or the hard-feelings Steven Adams may have towards Draymond Green for the specific placement of his leg. Most rivalries are born between the lines. While that was the case here originally, it became personal over time, spilling out in very entertaining fashion.