The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers were once in the NBA’s best rivalry, but it is now too one-sided to call it that.
Once upon a time, the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers were both cellar dwellers. They were lowly franchises that couldn’t get out of their own way. Historically speaking, they were both pretty awful.
If you just started watching basketball this decade, though, you wouldn’t know that. Over the last several years, the two teams have reached franchise bests. Both teams have undergone ownerships changes, acquired superstar point guards, and built competitive rosters.
Their rise was nearly simultaneous. They were both fighting to reach the top. The Clippers got up faster and, eventually, the two teams met in the playoffs. Los Angeles defeated Golden State in an incredible seven game series in the opening round of the playoffs.
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The two teams spent years battling in high-intensity affairs. Technical fouls were just as abundant as free throws. Flagrant fouls were the norm. It was the NBA’s best rivalry because the two teams genuinely did not like each other.
Then the Warriors won a championship as the Clippers couldn’t even get out of the second round. The Dubs would follow up their historic season with an even better one. Chris Paul’s team has lost seven times in a row to Golden State.
The rivalry is dead. It was over faster than it started. The Clippers, clearly, still have a lot of animosity towards the Warriors, but Golden State is unbothered. There is no rivalry anymore. Varsity doesn’t care what JV is doing.
The Warriors are in a league of their own. The’ve been to two straight Finals and they look like the favorites to win their second title in three years. They added Kevin Durant to an already-stacked roster with a two-time MVP, a Finals MVP, and two other All-Stars.
The Clippers, on the other hand, have some stars, but they haven’t been able to put it all together. They spend more time complaining to the officials than working on their rotations. They’d rather talk about the Warriors than figure out how to beat them.
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When a team wins the matchup year after year as they are competing for championships, there is no rivalry. The Warriors have embarrassed the Clippers time and time again. Los Angeles needs to win a few or a championship before we can call this a rivalry again.
The Warriors have asserted their dominance over the Clippers, Steph Curry ripped away the league’s best point guard title away from Chris Paul, and Draymond Green is completely in Blake Griffin’s head. Experts wanted to call the Clippers the best team in the league after their hot start. The game was hyped up as LA was supposed to be the one team that can stop Golden State in the West. There was no challenge.
The rivalry is dead.