NBA's Greatest Rivalries Revisited: From Russell vs. West to Shaq vs. Bibby

According to the article, few NBA rivalries can match the intensity of the Boston Celtics' Bill Russell against the Los Angeles Lakers' Jerry West. Despite West's dominance, he went 0-6 against Russell in the Finals. Another legendary rivalry was the one between Larry Bird's Celtics and Magic Johnson's Lakers, with the two teams meeting three times in the Finals in four years, with Magic holding a 2-1 edge.

The article then delves into the fierce Eastern Conference battles between the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, where Isiah Thomas knocked out Michael Jordan three straight seasons before MJ finally got his revenge with a sweep in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals. The dominance then shifted to the Western Conference, with Shaquille O'Neal's Lakers and Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs engaging in a series of great battles, though those matchups happened in the first round.

Shaquille O'Neal himself highlights the rivalry between his Lakers and the Sacramento Kings in the early 2000s, with the Serbian duo of Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic leading the Kings. The teams met in the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, with the Kings shocking the Lakers as the 8th seed in one series and the Lakers edging them in the 2002 Western Conference Finals.

The article suggests that while there have been other great rivalries, they are now rare in the current era of parity in the NBA, with seven different champions in the last seven seasons.