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ESPN analyst Marc J Spears believes the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies have the best rivalry in the NBA. The Grizzlies pushed this rivalry recently when they quoted Draymond Green in their weight room.
During a recent appearance on JJ Redick's 'Old Man & The Three' podcast, Green said Memphis would get a reality check next season as their opponents will come swinging at them. The two teams have been going at it all offseason after their thrilling second-round contest in the 2022 playoffs.
Marc J Spears thinks the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies should face off on marquee dates next campaign due to their budding rivalry. Here's what he said on ESPN's NBA Today Show:
"It's the best rivalry, hands down. Look, opening night, they need to come to San Francisco, Christmas, Grizzlies need to come to San Francisco, MLK, the Warriors need to go to Memphis and on the Saturday on the NBA countdown game, let's make this the marquee matchup.
"It's the best rivalry. Stop playing Adam Silver I know the schedule comes out next week, we need some big moments with Memphis vs. Golden State."
Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies players have mercilessly mocked each other during the offseason
The start of the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies rivalry dates back to the 2021 NBA Play-in tournament, which the Dubs lost. The Warriors made a strong comeback the following season and won the title.
The Grizzlies were one of their most hard-nosed opponents. The two teams met in the playoffs to set up an exciting Conference semis clash earlier this year. The Warriors emerged victorious in six games during the controversial series.
Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks were ejected on separate occasions. The former also showed the finger to Memphis fans on his way out, while the latter was suspended for his flagrant foul, which led to Gary Payton II fracturing his elbow.
It was a hard-fought physical matchup, where several verbal jabs on and off the court were aimed at each other. The Memphis Grizzlies didn't hesitate to engage in trash talks with their veteran counterparts but had to pay the price for it after the Golden State Warriors entered the offseason as champions.
Klay Thompson mentioned one of Jaren Jackson Jr.s tweets in his first press conference after winning the NBA Finals. Jackson took a swipe at the Dubs after the Grizzlies beat them by a significant margin during a regular-season game in March.
Thompson said he would retweet that and called Jackson a 'bum' while talking about his comments. Grizzlies talisman Ja Morant retaliated by mentioning that his team lives 'rent-free' in the Warriors' heads, which sparked a hilarious exchange between him and Draymond Green.
With the Grizzlies quoting Green in their weight room, this sure seems to be one of the NBA's biggest rivalries for now. Memphis will be back with a vengeance, while the Warriors will want to prove again that it isn't the brightest idea to pick on them.
Guess the Lakers players!
