The best rivalries are not current ones, but ones that have had decades of history piled up behind them. While the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets have hated each other, competing as in-division rivals across multiple playoff series over the last five years, they have only this era to point to as evidence of their shared fierce animosity.
All of these modern rivalries, from the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks as play-in buddies to the hatred Victor Wembanyama clearly has for the Portland Trail Blazers, fail to stack up to the history of two teams, toxically intertwined.
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have been the blueprint for this, but have failed to maintain their franchise's hatred on the court as their fans have off of it. Neither is good enough going into the 2025-26 season for it to matter much anyway.
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks do not have this problem, however.
The New York Knicks are coming off their first title since 1973, when they won the NBA championship behind a core of Walt Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed. You know who else won a title in 1973? The Indiana Pacers of the ABA.
Decades have passed, and eras have filled them, and the Pacers and Knicks have always met in the depths of the Eastern Conference playoffs, like Sisyphus and their own personal boulders.
When the Knicks made the Finals in 1999, they did so by going through the Pacers in six games in the Conference Finals. When the Pacers pulled off the same feat a year later, they went through their rival in New York.
Neither team won rings, but the series across the years led to many iconic moments. Remember Reggie Miller's choking celebration, guess who it came against?
This year's iteration is no different. After the Knicks' title run, the Pacers surely want to prove they are still the roadblock New York can't overcome. Knicks fans can claim they aren't worried, but the truth remains that the New York faithful has a losing record against Indiana in the playoffs.
Rivalry understates just how badly these teams want to demolish each other. They'll be fighting for both playoff seeding and pride.
There's no shortage of things to watch
Up front and center of the Pacers - Knicks comparison is the competition between Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton. Ever since the slow decline of Stephen Curry, those two players have been earmarked as the next "best point guard in the NBA". Some may still claim Luka Dončić has the crown, but he is more of a supersized initiator than classical point guard.
Brunson has largely claimed the title, especially after winning Finals MVP, but it's worth noting that Haliburton would likely have the same hardware if not for his Achilles injury in Game 7 of the 2024-25 Finals.
Behind the two of them, you have OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, two of the most impressive developmental stories of the 2010s, both grown by the Toronto Raptors, and both deeply underappreciated.
The list goes on. Who is Jose Alvarado if not a Puerto Rican TJ McConnell – fiery, defense-minded, and undersized?
These teams hate each other, which is already a good enough start for a rivalry, but they are also foils to eachother.
When you hold up a mirror to an enemy, and they say you, you know they're a real hater.
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