Larry vs. Magic. Lakers vs. Celtics. Jordan vs. the Bad Boy Pistons. Chris Paul vs. Scott Foster. The NBA’s 78-year history is littered with rivalries. 

It’s next great one? The Oklahoma City Thunder vs. The Dallas Mavericks. 

Two teams only separated by a Red River and pure hatred. 

After the Dallas Mavericks bested the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games during the 2024 NBA playoffs, it was on. These two teams have played old-school, rock fight, contests since. Games that include dust-ups, jaw-jacking, post-game antics and good ol’ fashion hate. 

It doesn’t just happen on the court where players have to be restrained from each other between most whistles. It spills over off of it too, with a couple of fanbases that are quick to antagonize one another. 

From competitive games and series to storylines and geography, this is the drama the world’s greatest soap opera is built on. What the NBA has been lacking in recent years. And it’s here to stay, with two of the league’s youngest stars – Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – at the head of the table for their respective squads. 

On Friday, the basketball world was treated to its latest edition of this spectacular. A game that included three skirmishes, five technical fouls and lingering animosity. 

The Mavericks, without Doncic and Dereck Lively II, bested the Thunder missing Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren; 106-98. 

A crowd in the American Airlines Center that was awed with each big play, nervous with the scoring runs the two sides exchanged and energized by every chest-to-chest screaming match that occurred on the hardwood – showing a regular season game, in the middle of January, can still mean something in Adam Silver’s NBA. Stars or not. 

A contest rooted in something deeper than an orange ball and a couple of hoops. 

Oklahomans and Texans are naturally like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. Attach a rooting interesting in the mix? Bragging rights? Put the kids to bed. 

The best part from an NBA perspective? For all the bad blood between the squads, We have yet to see these two teams go toe-to-toe at full strength – and won’t unless the league gets the ultimate payoff, another playoff matchup. 

So if/when these two teams get together in May? You can throw out the record books, but not the bad will. It will present a technical matchup that we haven’t seen before but a familiar feud that has over a year to fester. 

Song of the Day: Next Best American Record by Lana Del Rey

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