By Zach Kram, 2026-09-02 19:00:00
有些体育宿敌是永恒的，源于地理因素或共同的历史。扬基对红袜、陆军对海军、北卡对杜克。
然而，另一些宿敌则随时代背景而兴衰。例如，芝加哥公牛和底特律活塞在联盟最辉煌的时期之一曾拥有堪称NBA最佳的宿敌对决；从1988年到1991年，他们每年都在季后赛中交锋，最后三次相遇均发生在分区决赛。
但芝加哥和底特律在过去35年里仅有一次季后赛交锋，而且自2008-09赛季以来，两队再未同时闯入季后赛。没有季后赛的定期助燃，宿敌关系很难维持其强度。
因此，在这个不断变化的联盟中，值得审视当前的对决格局。在经历了一个让诸多火爆冲突升级的季后赛和休赛期之后，以下是进入2026-27赛季的NBA十大宿敌对决。
10. 达拉斯独行侠 vs. 洛杉矶湖人
我们的榜单以NBA最奇特的宿敌对决开场，因为第一支球队的许多球迷至今仍深爱着第二支球队的最佳球员。但在2025年卢卡·东契奇的重磅交易之后，独行侠和湖人将在这位27岁未来名人堂成员的剩余职业生涯中紧密相连。
自被交易以来，东契奇在对阵独行侠的三场比赛中场均砍下37.7分，而湖人在这些比赛中3胜0负。
再加上库珀·弗拉格——达拉斯的新星——如今身边环绕着众多东契奇的前队友（凯里·欧文、P.J.华盛顿、丹尼尔·加福德等等），在可预见的未来，这两支球队的每一次交锋都将是一场盛宴。
9. 骑士老板丹·吉尔伯特 vs. 太阳老板马特·伊什比亚
克利夫兰骑士和菲尼克斯太阳的老板都经营着总部位于密歇根的抵押贷款公司，而这场商业竞争已经延续到了NBA。董事会投票允许伊什比亚收购太阳时是全票通过，但有一人弃权：吉尔伯特。
“他不喜欢我，我也不喜欢他，”伊什比亚2023年在比尔·西蒙斯的播客中谈到吉尔伯特时如此说道。
无论是否巧合，自从伊什比亚收购太阳以来的三年多时间里，太阳和骑士之间没有达成过任何交易。（根据Basketball Reference的交易追踪，两支球队的最后一笔交易是在2009年将沙奎尔·奥尼尔送到克利夫兰。）
8. 尼古拉·约基奇 vs. 维克托·文班亚马
从纯粹的风格角度来看，这是目前NBA最精彩的个人对决：数十年来最出色的进攻型大个子对阵一位有机会成为史上最佳防守型大个子的球员。
迄今为止，约基奇在多数情况下都压制了文班亚马。他在七次交手中场均轰下惊人的37.3分，其中最近三场每场至少得到40分。但文班亚马比约基奇年轻九岁，因此这种平衡可能很快就会开始向另一方向倾斜。
这两位最佳阵容中锋上赛季唯一一次正面交锋恰恰展示了他们的个人对决为何如此激动人心。在四月的一场加时赛中，文班亚马砍下34分、18个篮板、7次助攻和5次盖帽——但约基奇以40分、13次助攻和3次盖帽更胜一筹，其中包括一记越过对手的华丽“松博尔舞步”，帮助球队锁定胜局。
— KramClips (@KramClips) 2026年8月30日
7. 波士顿凯尔特人 vs. 迈阿密热火
据ESPN Research统计，波士顿和迈阿密是21世纪季后赛交锋次数最多的两支球队——共七次。
这些对决分为两个阶段，相隔十年。凯尔特人和热火在2010、2011和2012年的季后赛中相遇，随后休战一段时间，又在2020、2022、2023和2024年的季后赛中重新点燃战火。其中三个系列赛打满七场，四次发生在分区决赛。
值得注意的是，两队在这七个季后赛系列赛中的总战绩完全持平：波士顿21胜，迈阿密21胜。而随着扬尼斯·安特托昆博如今成为热火的一员——此前他作为密尔沃基雄鹿球员曾三次在季后赛对阵波士顿——这场宿敌对决拥有了更多星光。难怪波士顿和迈阿密被安排在本赛季的圣诞大战中亮相。
6. 勒布朗·詹姆斯 vs. 斯蒂芬·库里
詹姆斯和库里在2015年勇士王朝开启之初开始对决时正值巅峰，但两人如今已不再处于那个水平。詹姆斯将在即将到来的赛季中迎来42岁生日，而库里也将年满39岁。
然而，在他们连续四年总决赛交锋的十年之后，这两位未来名人堂成员的每一次相遇仍然是必看的电视节目。他们依然足够有天赋——两人上赛季都当之无愧地入选了全明星——足以带来精彩表演，而且他们所有的交锋中都蕴含着太多历史。每当詹姆斯召唤库里进行单打，每当库里在詹姆斯伸出的手臂之上干拔三分，都会唤起这个时代两位标志性球员之间无数关键投篮的回忆。
他们的宿敌关系还因多年来已转化为友谊而获得了精神上的加分，巅峰时刻是2024年奥运会上詹姆斯和库里联手夺得金牌。
5. 波士顿凯尔特人 vs. 洛杉矶湖人
这是目前最植根于怀旧情怀的宿敌对决。这两支NBA夺冠次数最多的球队在篮球历史的三个时代中（拉塞尔对韦斯特、伯德对魔术师、皮尔斯对科比）有过12次季后赛交锋，但自1980年代以来仅有两次。
当然，不同分区的球队很难在季后赛中定期相遇——尤其是在当前实力均衡的时代，任何球队想在短时间内多次闯入总决赛都极为罕见。波士顿和洛杉矶在进入2026-27赛季时看起来都只是第二梯队的竞争者，这使得两队短期内很难自2010年以来首次在总决赛中碰面。
这种不稳定意味着凯尔特人对湖人已不再是NBA目前最精彩的宿敌对决。但这场对决的华丽与历史底蕴如此深厚——“击败洛杉矶”的呐喊如此震耳欲聋，转播中那些经典集锦如此振奋人心——它仍然值得在这份榜单上占据一个不错的位置。
4. 印第安纳步行者 vs. 纽约尼克斯
这场宿敌对决始于雷吉·米勒对阵帕特里克·尤因和斯派克·李，从1993年到2000年，步行者和尼克斯在八个季后赛赛季中六次相遇。这段历程产生了无数难忘时刻，从米勒的锁喉手势和九秒八分，到拉里·约翰逊的打四分。
随后这段宿敌关系沉寂了一段时间；在2000年到2024年之间，这两支东部劲敌仅在季后赛中交手一次——2013年步行者淘汰了尼克斯在卡梅罗·安东尼时代最强的那支球队。
但泰瑞斯·哈利伯顿、杰伦·布伦森和他们的队友们重新点燃了一场精彩的对决。步行者在2024年于麦迪逊广场花园的东部半决赛抢七大战中淘汰了尼克斯，随后又在2025年的东部决赛中再次爆冷击败尼克斯闯入总决赛——那个系列赛包含了一次惊天逆转以及哈利伯顿对米勒锁喉手势的致敬。
双方的球迷都可以用伤病来贬低对方的成就。尼克斯球迷可能会说印第安纳2024年能赢只是因为纽约阵容伤病太多；步行者球迷则可能反驳说尼克斯能夺冠是因为哈利伯顿的右脚跟腱撕裂意味着纽约在季后赛中无需担心他们。
这种你来我往的嘴仗进一步加剧了这场宿敌对决，而本赛季随着哈利伯顿恢复健康、两队都志在重返总决赛，这场对决应该会重新点燃。
3. 丹佛掘金 vs. 明尼苏达森林狼
这份榜单上的大多数球队都是NBA历史上最成功的豪门——这很合理，因为数十年来更深入季后赛意味着更多高风险的碰撞，从而积累更多宿怨。
但丹佛和明尼苏达并非如此，这两支球队加起来只有一次总决赛经历。然而，他们通过2023、2024和2026年的季后赛交锋，以及2018年常规赛最后一晚那场实际上决定季后赛名额的加时赛，积累了足够多的近期戏剧性，足以在这份榜单上占据强势位置。
这场宿敌对决几乎拥有一切：从强大的球星力量到引人入胜的个人对位——最著名的是鲁迪·戈贝尔防守约基奇的努力——再到更衣室之间实实在在的互相厌恶。“他们全是糟糕的防守者，”森林狼侧翼杰登·麦克丹尼尔斯在2026年季后赛期间嘲讽道。
森林狼目前占据上风：明尼苏达在2024年淘汰了卫冕冠军掘金，并在2026年尽管多人受伤仍淘汰了对手晋级。但明尼苏达在这个休赛期对阵容进行了大刀阔斧的调整，而两支球队如今都在追赶这份榜单上的前两名，而非彼此。
2. 俄克拉荷马城雷霆 vs. 圣安东尼奥马刺
自从雷霆从西雅图迁来之后，这两支西南部劲旅已在季后赛中四次相遇，而且每一次都充满竞争、令人难忘：
- 2012年分区决赛，马刺以2-0领先——当时他们正处于20连胜之中——随后雷霆连赢四场。
- 2014年分区决赛，马刺通过加时赢下第六场，闯入总决赛。
- 2016年第二轮，雷霆爆冷淘汰了常规赛取得队史纪录67胜的马刺；马刺那个赛季主场战绩为42胜1负，却在圣安东尼奥两次输给雷霆。
- 2026年分区决赛，马刺在俄克拉荷马城的抢七大战中淘汰了卫冕冠军。
最后一个系列赛将这场宿敌对决推向了更高层次，此前在常规赛中，雷霆以24胜1负开局，却在13天内三次输给马刺。两支球队都拥有充满活力的年轻后场，而文班亚马和切特·霍姆格伦自从在国际青年赛场交手以来就一直是激烈的对手。
这场宿敌对决目前完全有理由占据榜首位置，而且由于俄克拉荷马城和圣安东尼奥在未来的多个赛季中预计都将保持在NBA夺冠热门的行列，他们很可能会继续为这份季后赛经典系列赛名单增添新篇章。
不过，他们的下一次交锋将尽快到来——雷霆将在揭幕战之夜造访圣安东尼奥。
1. 波士顿凯尔特人 vs. 费城76人
凯尔特人和76人是NBA历史上季后赛交锋最频繁的宿敌。两支球队在历史上共交手23次季后赛系列赛，远超第二频繁的对决（尼克斯对凯尔特人的15次）。
但近几个赛季，这场宿敌对决似乎因一边倒而逐渐式微：直到今年春天，76人自1982年以来从未在季后赛中淘汰过波士顿。而在另一栏中，凯尔特人在1985、2002、2012、2018、2020和2023年六次淘汰了费城。
然而，这一切在上赛季发生了改变。首先，76人在首轮以1-3落后的情况下逆转，震惊了不仅被看好再次击败费城、而且被看好重返总决赛的凯尔特人。随后，76人交易来了凯尔特人的长期球员、前总决赛MVP杰伦·布朗。最后，他们在自由市场上签下了詹姆斯。
这些操作尤其为一场本已激烈的宿敌对决增添了引人入胜的新看点。可以想见，当两队本赛季相遇时，布朗和杰森·塔图姆这对从队友变为对手的组合将有大量时间互相防守。詹姆斯也融入了他与凯尔特人之间漫长的个人宿怨——他在2008、2010、2011、2012、2015、2017和2018年的季后赛系列赛中都与凯尔特人交手；这位NBA历史得分王在季后赛对阵波士顿的比赛中经历了职业生涯中可以说是最好和最坏的时刻。
终于，NBA最频繁的宿敌对决再次成为最激烈的对决。
由生成式 AI 翻译，翻译内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
查看原文：Ranking the top 10 NBA rivalries to watch in 2026-27 season
Ranking the top 10 NBA rivalries to watch in 2026-27 season
Some sports rivalries are eternal, due to factors of geography or shared history. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Army vs. Navy. North Carolina vs. Duke.
Yet, others wax and wane in context. For instance, the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons had arguably the NBA’s best rivalry during one of the league’s best eras; they battled in the playoffs every year from 1988 through 1991, the last three meetings coming in the conference finals.
But Chicago and Detroit have just one playoff matchup in the past 35 years, and they haven’t both reached the postseason in the same season since 2008-09. It’s difficult for a rivalry to sustain its intensity without regular playoff kindling.
In an ever-changing league, then, it’s worth surveying the current rivalry landscape. After a postseason and offseason that elevated some of the feistiest conflicts around, here are the NBA’s top 10 rivalries entering the 2026-27 season.
10. Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Our list tips off with one of the strangest NBA rivalries, because many of the first team’s fans still adore the second team’s best player. But after the Luka Doncic blockbuster in 2025, the Mavericks and Lakers will be inextricably linked for the rest of the 27-year-old future Hall of Famer’s career.
Doncic has averaged 37.7 points in three games against the Mavericks since they traded him, and the Lakers are 3-0 in those contests.
Add in the presence of Cooper Flagg, Dallas’ new young star, who is now surrounded by so many of Doncic’s former running mates (Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and so on), and every meeting between these two teams will be a spectacle for the foreseeable future.
9. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert vs. Suns owner Mat Ishbia
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ and Phoenix Suns’ owners both run Michigan-based mortgage companies, and that business rivalry has carried over to the NBA. The board of governors’ vote to allow Ishbia to buy the Suns was unanimous, but with one abstention: Gilbert.
“He doesn’t like me and I don’t like him,” Ishbia said about Gilbert on Bill Simmons’ podcast in 2023.
Whether coincidental or not, the Suns and Cavaliers haven’t made a trade in the three-plus years since Ishbia bought the former. (The two franchises’ last deal, according to Basketball Reference’s trade tracker, sent Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland back in 2009.)
8. Nikola Jokic vs. Victor Wembanyama
From a purely stylistic perspective, this is the best individual rivalry in the NBA right now: the best offensive big man in decades versus a player with a chance to become the best defensive big man ever.
For the most part, Jokic has had Wembanyama’s number thus far. He has scored a whopping 37.3 points per game in seven meetings, including at least 40 in each of the past three. But Wembanyama is nine years Jokic’s junior, so that balance could start tilting in the other direction soon.
The two All-NBA centers’ only showdown last season showed precisely why their individual duels are so thrilling. In an overtime contest in April, Wembanyama tallied 34 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks – only for Jokic to one-up him with 40 points, 13 assists and three blocks, including a majestic Sombor shuffle over his rival to help clinch the win.
— KramClips (@KramClips) August 30, 2026
7. Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat
Boston and Miami have the most playoff matchups – seven – between any two teams in the 21st century, according to ESPN Research.
Those battles came in two flurries, a decade apart. The Celtics and Heat met in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 postseasons, then took some time off and reengaged their rivalry in the 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 playoffs. Three of those series went the full seven games, and four came in the conference finals.
Remarkably, the teams’ overall record in those seven playoff series is even: 21 wins for Boston, 21 for Miami. And with Giannis Antetokounmpo now a member of the Heat – after three playoff series of his own as a Milwaukee Buck against Boston – there is even more star power in this rivalry. It’s no wonder that Boston and Miami are slated to play on Christmas afternoon this season.
6. LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry
James and Curry were at the peak of their powers when their rivalry began at the dawn of the Warriors’ dynasty in 2015, but the two are no longer quite at that level. James will celebrate his 42nd birthday during this upcoming season, and Curry will turn 39.
Yet a decade after they dueled in four straight Finals, every matchup between the two future Hall of Famers is still must-see TV. They’re still talented enough – both were deserving All-Stars last season – to entertain, and there’s simply so much history infused in all their meetings. Every time James beckons Curry into an isolation, and every time Curry pulls up for a 3-pointer over James’ outstretched hand, it brings back the memories of so many high-stakes shots between the two defining players of this era.
Their rivalry gains spiritual bonus points because it has transformed into a friendship over the years, peaking with a gold medal as James and Curry teamed up at the 2024 Olympics.
5. Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
This is the active rivalry that is most rooted in nostalgia. The two winningest NBA franchises have 12 playoff meetings across three eras of basketball history (Russell vs. West, Bird vs. Magic, Pierce vs. Kobe), but just two since the 1980s.
It’s difficult, of course, for teams in separate conferences to meet regularly in the playoffs – especially in the current era of parity, where it’s rare for any team to make multiple Finals trips in close succession. Both Boston and Los Angeles look like second-tier contenders entering the 2026-27 season, making it unlikely the two teams will reach the Finals anytime soon and face off for the first time since 2010.
That lack of consistency means Celtics vs. Lakers is no longer the best active rivalry in the NBA. But this rivalry’s pageantry and history are so great – the “Beat L.A.” chants so deafening, the broadcast’s old highlight reels so inspiring – that it still warrants a healthy placement on this list.
4. Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks
This rivalry started with Reggie Miller on one side and Patrick Ewing and Spike Lee on the other, as the Pacers and Knicks met six times in eight postseasons from 1993 through 2000. That run produced a host of memorable moments, from Miller’s choke pantomime and eight points in nine seconds, to Larry Johnson’s four-point play.
Then it hibernated for a while; between 2000 and 2024, the two Eastern foes played only once in the postseason, when the Pacers eliminated the best team of the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony era in 2013.
But Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson and their teammates have rekindled an excellent rivalry. The Pacers eliminated the Knicks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden in 2024, then upset the Knicks again in the conference finals to reach the Finals in 2025 – a series that featured a momentous comeback and Haliburton’s homage to Miller’s choke sign.
Both fanbases can point to injuries to downplay the other’s accomplishments. A Knicks faithful might say that Indiana only won in 2024 because New York’s roster was so injured; Pacers fans might contend that the Knicks’ title run was possible because Haliburton’s right Achilles tear meant New York didn’t have to worry about them in the postseason.
That back-and-forth chatter serves to heighten this rivalry, which should recommence with Haliburton healthy this season and both teams angling to return to the Finals.
3. Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Most of the teams on this list are the NBA’s most historically successful franchises – which makes sense, because more deep playoff runs over decades means more opportunities for high-stakes clashes that stir up bad blood.
That’s not the case for Denver and Minnesota, two franchises with a total of one Finals appearance between them. But they’ve stirred up enough recent drama – via playoff showdowns in 2023, 2024 and 2026, as well as a 2018 de facto playoff tiebreaker that went to overtime on the last night of the regular season – to warrant strong placement on this list nonetheless.
This rivalry has just about everything, from immense star power to compelling individual matchups – most notably Rudy Gobert’s efforts to guard Jokic – to a healthy dislike between locker rooms. “They’re all bad defenders,” Timberwolves wing Jaden McDaniels taunted during the 2026 playoffs.
The Timberwolves have the upper hand for now: Minnesota eliminated the defending champion Nuggets in 2024 and advanced – despite multiple injuries – past their rivals in 2026. But Minnesota made dramatic changes to its roster this offseason, and both teams are now chasing the next two teams on this list rather than each other.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs
These two southwestern giants have met in four playoff series since the Thunder moved from Seattle, and all four were memorably competitive:
- In the 2012 conference finals, the Spurs took a 2-0 lead – as part of a 20-game winning streak – before the Thunder won four games in a row.
- In the 2014 conference finals, the Spurs won Game 6 in overtime to reach the Finals.
- In the 2016 second round, the Thunder upset a Spurs team that had won a franchise-record 67 games in the regular season; the Spurs had a 42-1 record at home that season before losing twice against the Thunder in San Antonio.
- In the 2026 conference finals, the Spurs eliminated the defending champs in Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
That last series propelled this rivalry to an even greater level, after a regular season in which the Thunder started 24-1 only to drop three games to the Spurs in 13 days. Both teams have electric young backcourts, and Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren have been fierce rivals ever since they dueled on the international youth scene.
This rivalry has a strong case for the No. 1 spot right now, and because both Oklahoma City and San Antonio project to remain among the NBA’s title favorites for seasons to come, they’re likely to keep adding to that list of memorable playoff series.
Their next battle, though, comes as soon as possible when the Thunder take a trip to San Antonio on opening night.
1. Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers
The Celtics and 76ers are the most frequent playoff rivals throughout NBA history. The two franchises have met in 23 playoff series all time, which is well ahead of the second-most-frequent matchup (15 meetings between the Knicks and Celtics).
But in recent seasons the rivalry seemed to be fading because it had grown so one-sided: Until this spring, the 76ers hadn’t eliminated Boston since 1982. On the other side of the ledger, the Celtics knocked out Philadelphia in 1985, 2002, 2012, 2018, 2020 and 2023.
That changed this past season, however. First, the 76ers came back from a 3-1 deficit in the first round to stun the Celtics, who were favored not only to beat Philadelphia again, but to return to the Finals. Then, the 76ers traded for longtime Celtic Jaylen Brown, a former Finals MVP for Boston. And finally, they signed James in free agency.
Those transactions in particular add fascinating wrinkles to an already heated rivalry. Presumably, when the two teams meet this season, Brown and Jayson Tatum will spend plenty of time guarding each other as teammates turned rivals. James also folds in his own lengthy individual rivalry with the Celtics, whom he faced in playoff series in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2018; the NBA’s all-time scoring leader experienced arguably the best and worst moments of his career against Boston in the playoffs.
At long last, the NBA’s most frequent rivalry is once again its fiercest, as well.
By Zach Kram, via ESPN