OKC Thunder-Dallas Mavericks is the next great NBA rivalry

Larry vs. Magic. Lakers vs. Celtics. Jordan vs. Bad Boy Pistons. Chris Paul vs. Scott Foster. The NBA’s 78-year history is filled with rivalries.

Is it the next big thing? Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks.

Two teams separated only by a Red River and pure hatred.

After the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, it was on. These two teams have been playing old-school, rock fight, contests ever since. Games that include dust-ups, jaw-jacking, post-game antics and good old-fashioned hate.

It doesn’t just happen on the pitch, where players have to be held back from each other between most whistles. It also rubs off on a few fan bases that are quick to antagonize each other.

From competitive games and series to stories and geography, this is the drama the world’s biggest soap opera is built on. What the NBA has lacked in recent years. And it’s here to stay, with two of the league’s youngest stars — Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — leading their respective squads.

On Friday, the basketball world was treated to its latest edition of this spectacular. A game that featured three skirmishes, five technical fouls and ongoing animosity.

The Mavericks, without Doncic and Dereck Lively II, won the Thunder missing Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren; 106-98.

An American Airlines Center crowd that was in awe of every big play, nervous about the scoring runs the two sides exchanged and energized by every chest-to-chest screamer that took place on the hardwood — shows a regular season game in the middle January, can still matter in Adam Silver’s NBA. Stars or not.

A competition rooted in something deeper than an orange ball and a pair of hoops.

Oklahomans and Texans are, of course, like Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. Attach a root interest in the mix? Braggart? Put the kids to bed.

The best part from an NBA perspective? For all the bad blood between the teams, we’ve yet to see these two teams go toe-to-toe at full strength — and won’t, unless the league gets the ultimate payoff, another playoff matchup.

So if/when these two teams meet in May? You can throw away the record books, but not the ill will. It will feature a technical matchup we haven’t seen before, but a familiar feud that has over a year to go.

Song of the day: Second best American record by Lana Del Rey

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