There are many great rivalries in basketball, but the two teams that continue to feel enmity towards each other are the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
Are the Celtics and Heat the biggest rivalry in the NBA today?
These franchises go back to 2010. There was the Celtics’ Big Three (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen) versus the Heat’s Big Three (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh). When these teams met on the court, there was no love. The hate reached another level when Allen joined the Heat and won a title in 2013.
Today we have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on one side and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on the other. The rivalry is still there and the insults are still there.
The battles between the Celtics and Heat might have been more intense if the NBA had kept the same rules as in the 1980s and 1990s, when physical play was at its peak and body checking was allowed. But today, no one is going to fight. Technical fouls, suspensions and fines have increased dramatically over the years.
The Celtics and Heat have played each other in 136 regular season games, with the Celtics winning 83 and the Heat winning 53.
The Celtics and Heat are arguably one of the greatest rivalries in the NBA, and it’s not going away anytime soon. Highly competitive and skilled basketball players make this rivalry a must-see TV show, and we see that in both teams.
Miguel Mike Medina is a Miami Heat On SI contributor. You can contact him at [email protected]
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