The famous American sociologist Charles Cooley once said that “the most effective way of utilizing human energy is through an organized rivalry”. And if you ask NBA commissioner David Stern, I’m sure he would agree that great rivalries have made for a very “effective” and successful league.
Arguably, the Lakers have created bigger and more talked about rivalries than any other team in the NBA. After all, you don’t win 16 NBA championships and 31 conference titles without ruffling a few feathers and making a couple of enemies along the way.
Who can forget the hard close line delivered by Kevin McHale to Kurt Rambis during the 1984 Finals? Or Phil Jackson’s “cow-town” comment during an emotional playoff series against the Sacramento Kings? And promises to fans like the one Paul Pierce made during game 2 of this year’s finals, by shouting out to L.A. fans, “we ain’t comin’ back to L.A.”!
Hey Pierce…what a waste of “human energy”!
So who are the top 5 Lakers rivals of all time? Not an easy question to answer, but here now is my take…
Next: Sacramento Kings
