Miami Heat star LeBron James believes there are no longer any real rivalries in the NBA.
The 28-year-old made the comments ahead of the Indiana Pacers clash against the Heat, which had been billed as a chance for the former to avenge last year's Game 7 defeat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, James refused to buy into this narrative, and believes the days of blood-and-thunder rivalries in the NBA are long gone.
“What is a rivalry these days?” he was quoted as saying by The Palm Beach Post. “A rivalry is Celtics-Lakers. They met like four out of five years. Bulls-Pistons. Those are rivalries. We’ve played these guys two years in the playoffs and guys automatically make it a rivalry.
"There’s no real rivalry in the NBA these days. You don’t see the competition enough. These teams are really, really good teams striving to win a championship. But rivalries, man? There are no more rivalries
“It’s the truth. I’ve thought about that. There’s no more rivalries. There isn’t. Cowboys-Redskins is a rivalry. Ohio State and Michigan is a rivalry. Duke and North Carolina is a rivalry. [Dwyane Wade interrupts with, ‘Bears-Packers’] Bears-Packers is a rivalry.”
However, perhaps James should have taken the rivalry narrative a little more seriously, because the Heat ended up losing the match 84-90 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana.
Is LeBron right? Do rivalries no longer exist in the NBA?
Have your say in the comments' section below.
