Top 10 biggest sports rivalries in the world

#4 Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics (Basketball)

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving

Whenever LA Lakers' and Boston Celtics' players step afoot on the basketball court, we can only expect a lot of drama. There is a lot of history behind the two successful NBA teams.

While the Celtics have a record 17 NBA Championships, the Lakers have claimed 16.

There is a renewed intensity about the rivalry ever since LeBron James signed with the Lakers in 2018.

In their 364 meetings overall, the Celtics have won 203 matches while Lakers triumphed 161 times. They have also met in a record 12 NBA finals - with Celtics winning 9.

A recent battle between the two was on 8th February 2019 with the Lakers winning 129-128. This scoreline itself is proof that there is so little separating the two teams - ensuring nail-biting matches.

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#3 Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees (Baseball)

Red Sox players

The rivalry between the two baseball clubs is over a century old now. Both are a part of North Eastern America division of Major League Baseball. This ensures that there are frequent clashes between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Brawls are a common sight between the fans of the two clubs.

One of the most historic moments in American Baseball history is when, in 1919, Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees by Red Fox owner Harry Frazee.

What followed was an 86-year World Series title drought for Red Fox. They eventually broke the jinx in 2004.

Extensive media coverage is prevalent in all of their games. In the 2,257 meetings overall, the Yankees were the victors 1214 times (1201 in regular season series 12 in the postseason) whereas Red Sox succeeded 1029 times (1018 in the regular season and 11 in the postseason).