BleacherReport: Top Rivalries of the decade. LBJ and Warriors; MJ and...John Starks?

[Roundball_Rock]

Paul Pierce being compared to Starks?

LeBron's biggest rivals are Pierce, Durant, Kawhi, George--all HOF SF's.

"Starks was FMVP until Game 7."

Where he went 2 for 18...plus the reason he was FMVP for the Knicks through 6 games is Ewing melted down in his lone finals appearance, shooting a horrendous 39% TS as a center (-16% relative to his prime norm). So per 3ball, MJ's top comp were big chokers.

[dbugz]

Only dumbasses think that stark is his greatest rival, it's like randomly picking Danny Granger as libron greatest rival

MJ is the unanimous GOAT deal with it

[insidious301]

I agree that those players are rivals for LeBron. However, I disagree with Jordan's list. Starks was a "rival" of Jordan's because he played on the Knicks. He just wasn't his BEST one. Ewing anyone? Drexler, Barkley, Ewing and Malone were closer rivals to Jordan. In the 80s, it was Isiah Thomas. Teams were the Pistons, Knicks and maybe the Jazz too.

[deathawaitu]

LeBron getting his ass whooped by everyone is now considered a rivalry?

Snowflake generation I see.

[tpols]

LeBron getting his ass whooped by everyone is now considered a rivalry?

Snowflake generation I see.

they might as well throw duncan and dirk on the list too.

Everybody has gotten a piece of bran.

can't say the same for MJ...

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

ho writes these things?

A ho, that's who. @ Starks being Jordan's greatest rival.

[Roundball_Rock]

I agree that those players are rivals for LeBron. However, I disagree with Jordan's list. Starks was a "rival" of Jordan's because he played on the Knicks. He just wasn't his BEST one. Ewing anyone? Drexler, Barkley, Ewing and Malone were closer rivals to Jordan. In the 80s, it was Isiah Thomas. Teams were the Pistons, Knicks and maybe the Jazz too.

I assume Starks was listed because he was Jordan's direct match up at SG (on the Bulls' top 90's competitor). The only other SG on your list is Drexler and he played MJ only once in the playoffs but Starks played MJ several times.

The best SG's of the 90's were in the WC (Drexler, Richmond). Dumars was much better than Starks and played MJ several times but that rivalry petered out after 91' so isn't a good choice for the 90's.

The real answer is MJ had no real rival, SG or otherwise, but it is MJ and he has to be included in every article like this so they had to grasp for one and came up with Starks.

[insidious301]

I assume Starks was listed because he was Jordan's direct match up at SG (on the Bulls' top 90's competitor). The only other SG on your list is Drexler and he played MJ only once in the playoffs but Starks played MJ several times.

True. Although Curry was also listed and he wasn't a direct matchup for LeBron either. Its an inconsistent list but I would have put Isiah over Starks, easily.

[Indian guy]

Criteria is limiting. They are only trying to list players at your position from teams you consistently faced in the playoffs. The teams MJ consistently faced in the playoffs - Pistons/Cavs/Knicks - lacked all-star level SGs with the exception of Dumars. Going outside that criteria though, MJ's biggest rivals were clearly Detroit (1988-1991), Magic (1988-1991), Drexler (1990-1992), Barkley (1990-1993) and then Malone (1997-1998). And if one doesn't consider those his rivals, that's only because MJ was notably ahead of even his best competition. Thus the GOAT.

[Roundball_Rock]

True. Although Curry was also listed and he wasn't a direct matchup for LeBron either. Its an inconsistent list but I would have put Isiah over Starks, easily.

Got it--I didn't read the actual article as listing Starks destroyed its credibility from the get go.

And if one doesn't consider those his rivals, that's only because MJ was notably ahead of even his best competition. Thus the GOAT.

The latter doesn't necessarily flow from the former. Kareem, LeBron had no real rivals either. All three by definition can't be GOAT...It just means these were GOAT-level players in eras where there was no other such player (unlike the 60's or 80's). Duncan, Kobe had each other on the same level, but a grade below the GOAT-level.

MJ's biggest rivals were clearly Detroit (1988-1991), Magic (1991), Drexler (1992), Barkley (1993) and then Malone (1997-1998)

You can't be a "rival" if you only play once like Magic or Drexler. Barkley played the Bulls as a Sixer too.

Look at the all-time lists. Isiah, Barkley are top 20-25, Malone is top 20, Drexler around 40th. These aren't rivals to a GOAT candidate let alone a player his fans call the clear GOAT. Magic could have been but not when you play only once.

Drexler made all-NBA 1st team once, same as Ewing (Ewing was never a real MVP candidate in his career). Guys with more credentials are dissed as not being good by the very same people who hype these guys as 10 foot tall juggernauts, which is amusing.

Bird is a candidate but since the Bulls were steamrolled(6-0 for the Celtics) it is hard to call those cake walks a "rivalry."

[Indian guy]

You can't be a "rival" if you only play once like Magic or Drexler. Barkley played the Bulls as a Sixer too.

Rivals in the sense where the players involved were fighting for the same thing. In Magic/MJ's case, it was clearly for title of best player in the league. They won all 5 MVPs from 1987-1991. All their RS match-ups + 1991 Finals from 87-91 were a very big deal. If you read any of MJ's books, he definitely considered Magic to be his biggest competition from that time. It's the same way we consider Kobe/LeBron such a huge rivalry in the 00's even though they never even met in the playofffs.

MJ/Drexler were fighting for title of best SG in the league for a 3 year span (even if the answer was obvious). All culminating in that finals match-up.

Barkley/MJ met in the playoffs 3 times between 90-93 and Barkley was a top 3 player in the league during that span. It was most definitely a rivalry.

MJ was ahead of even his best competition though so we don't tend to consider anybody a true rival of his. But the definition of rivalry can't be so limiting.

[Roundball_Rock]

All their RS match-ups + 1991 Finals from 87-91 were a very big deal. If you read any of MJ's books, he definitely considered Magic to be his biggest competition from that time. It's the same way we consider Kobe/LeBron such a huge rivalry in the 00's even though they never even met in the playofffs.

I don't consider LeBron/Kobe to be rivals and find their fans perception of the "rivalry" to be odd.

The definition being used to manufacture rivals for MJ is very loose. Using that logic, almost anyone is a rival--no matter the relative ability of the player or team in question.

MJ/Drexler were fighting for title of best SG in the league for a 3 year span (even if the answer was obvious)

Drexler was all-NBA 1st team and a MVP candidate exactly once--in 1992. He was compared to Jordan that year but that was basically it. People talk about Drexler like he was KD.

Barkley/MJ met in the playoffs 3 times between 90-93 and Barkley was a top 3 player in the league during that span. It was most definitely a rivalry.

The Sixers lost 4-1 each year. Rivalry? Using your definition, sure, but using that basically anything is.

MJ was ahead of even his best competition though so we don't tend to consider anybody a true rival of his. But the definition of rivalry can't be so limiting.

MJ distorts everything but apply the same logic to another context. Imagine Brady being compared to a QB analogous to the players being mentioned here as "rivals." It wouldn't be taken seriously.

In individual sports like golf, tennis, and auto racing, rivals are always equal or near equal (think Tiger/Mickelson). It makes sense. Someone has to be 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. best whether the gap is large or small or it is a team or individual. Who was the 3rd best golfer behind Tiger/Mickleson? No one cares. 3rd best behind Senna/Prost in Formula 1 or Petty/Pearson in NASCAR? No one cares because of the large drop-off to 3rd, 4th, etc. Those guys were good but there are levels to this. Drexler is top 40 all-time and being compared to the near-consensus GOAT, though?

[Shooter]

Only dumbasses think that stark is his greatest rival, it's like randomly picking Danny Granger as libron greatest rival

MJ is the unanimous GOAT deal with it

Your brain is smol

LBJ is a SF. KD, Kawhi, Paul George, Pierce are also SF

MJ is a SG. Starks, Hornacek are also SG.

You good homie?

[Shooter]

I agree that those players are rivals for LeBron. However, I disagree with Jordan's list. Starks was a "rival" of Jordan's because he played on the Knicks. He just wasn't his BEST one. Ewing anyone? Drexler, Barkley, Ewing and Malone were closer rivals to Jordan. In the 80s, it was Isiah Thomas. Teams were the Pistons, Knicks and maybe the Jazz too.

How many of them played SG? And he played Detroit in 80s not 90s. Dont mention MJs 80s, he was like aDeMar to LeBron, getting eliminated 3 straight years by Detroit

[Roundball_Rock]

The original 10 members of the Dream Team were selected in September of 1991--Drexler wasn't one of them. He made it as the last man selected in 1992. This is supposed to be a rival to MJ? On the one hand MJ is the clear GOAT, on the other clearly lesser players were "rivals"?