Five great NBA playoff rivalries of all time

5. Los Angeles Lakers v/s the San Antonio Spurs

The first iteration of the rivalry had the Lakers taking on the Spurs in the NBA Western Conference Finals of 1982. The series wasn’t much of a contest with the George Gervin led Spurs being routed by the indomitable Lakers, led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

The indomitable O’Neal locked up against the industrious Duncan.

However, the rivalry reached its peak in the last decade, and witnessed some of the most intensely fought match-ups in NBA history. With galactic superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli lining up for both the franchises, the fans were treated to some of the finest basketball matches of all time.

The most memorable moment in the rivalry happened during the Western Conference Semi-Finals of 2004. With the series tied at 2-2, the Lakers faced the Spurs on the road in game 5 of the series. The Lakers were trailing the Spurs 73-72, with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Come clutch time, the entire arena was expecting Bryant to get the ball. However, the Lakers surprised everyone by handing the ball to Derek Fisher, who made an impossible turn-around 18-foot fade-away to lead the Lakers to an unlikely victory.

The Spurs v/s Lakers match-ups can be summed up as a rivalry between two basketball ideologies. On one end you have the decorated Lakers basking in the glamor and glitz of Los Angeles, while on the other hand the Spurs have built their legacy as a team that believes in playing effective team-basketball while keeping a low profile and letting their game-play do the talking.