Which NBA rivalries could shape basketball’s next five years?

25.02.2023 - 13:59 theguardian.com

T he NBA’s ever-changing nature means that rivalries are fickle. When Philadelphia traded picks with Boston to take Markelle Fultz with the No 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, and the Celtics selected Jayson Tatum third, the teams’ proximity and prior history had all the makings of a classic.

But while Tatum is a perennial All-Star, Fultz soon developed the shooting yips and was quickly shipped to the Magic. The modern-day uptick in team-switching has made for less of the classic rivalries that defined previous eras, such as Magic Johnson’s Lakers v Larry Bird’s Celtics and Michael Jordan’s Bulls v the Bad Boys’ Pistons.

But when the stars do align, these marquee matchups make for gripping theater. Here are five rivalries that could shape the next five years.

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