'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Three-time NBA champion Byron Scott explained the difference between rivalries today and back in his day. Scott played for the LA Lakers from 1983 to 1993. He was part of the "Showtime" Lakers that battled the Boston Celtics throughout the 1980s.
On a recent episode of "The Byron Scott Podcast," the former Coach of the Year discussed the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. Scott revealed that they legitimately hated the Celtics players. He explained that it was totally different from today's NBA, wherein players from rival teams workout together in the offseason.
"One thing everybody has to understand is it was a true rivalry," Scott said. "It's not like today. You don't have the true rivalries in the NBA like you did back in those days. We didn't play with those guys in the summer. We didn't play high school ball with them.
"We didn't grow up playing AAU ball with those guys. Those guys hated us, we hated them. They had a totally different style of basketball than we did."
Despite not being friends with any Celtics player during his playing career, Scott did acknowledge that he got to know his rivals after retiring. It was all about mutual respect and having the pride to play for two of the greatest teams.
"The greatest thing about that rivalry is that at the end of the day when it was all said and done, we all retired. We got to know each other off the court," Scott said. "We found out why we hated each other so much. It was because we had the same mentality. We wanted to win championships.
"We didn't care about the name on the back of the jersey. We cared about the name on the front. The Celtic pride and the Laker pride."
What are the greatest rivalries in NBA history?
The LA Lakers and Boston Celtics have one of the greatest rivalries in all sports. They have won a combined 34 championships, which is 45% of the titles won in the NBA. But what are the other popular rivalries in the league?
The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are among the most recent rivalries. The two teams met in the finals between 2015 and 2018, with the Warriors winning three times. However, the Cavaliers got the biggest win of the rivalry in 2016, coming back from a 3-1 disadvantage.
In the 2000s, the San Antonio Spurs had a handful of rivals, including the LA Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns. Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls slugged it out against the Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s. The Bulls also had to battle the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks during their '90s dominance.
Meanwhile, the Lakers and LA Clippers are starting to become a really interesting matchup. The Lakers have always dominated the rivalry until Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers. Ballmer has turned the Clippers into contenders, with plans to move to a new arena in a few years.
