The NBA Is About to Lose a Generation of Rivalries—Here’s How the Next Generation Can Replace Them

LeBron James and Stephen Curry have defined a generation of basketball with huge games against each other. Which rivalries will define the next generation?

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry talk after the game at Chase Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Thursday night was supposed to be a special one, at least as far as regular-season nights in the NBA go. With the Warriors hosting the Lakers, fans were set to see LeBron James and Stephen Curry face off once again, renewing the player vs. player rivalry that has defined the past two decades of basketball.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Curry, still working his way back from injury, was unable to play. LeBron held up his end of the bargain, putting up 26 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists while leading the Lakers to victory, but the impressive stat line didn’t shine as brightly as it would have had Curry been suiting up on the other side of the court.

It’s not the first time the two stars have missed each other this year. Due to injuries on both sides of the equation, the superstar duo has not faced off head-to-head on the court this season, making it the first since 2020, when Curry played in just five games, that they have missed each other.

“We never know,” James told Melissa Rohlin of the California Post after Thursday’s game. “We don’t know what the future holds. We don’t know when we’ll get the opportunity to play against each other, or how many more times we’ll get to play against each other. It’s always a pleasure and always an honor to be on the floor with him.”

Indeed, we don’t know what the future holds. While the current tea leaves appear to be signalling that James will be back for at least one more season, he is 41 and Curry is 38. While we’ll hopefully get at least one more showdown between the two, it’s clear that after 55 head-to-head matchups through the regular season and postseason, we’ve only got a few left between these two.

James and Curry are far from the only superstars nearing the end of their careers. A generation of stars is set to hang it up over the next few seasons, and it will be up to the next one to pick up where they left off. What rivalries are we set to lose? And which young players could step up to take their place? We investigate below.

Old Guard: LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry defends against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Regular season: LeBron leads, 14–13
Playoffs: Curry leads, 17–11

We didn’t know at the time just how blessed we were to see this rivalry with everything on the line. For four straight years, Curry and LeBron, either arguably or obviously the best players in their respective conferences, faced off in the NBA Finals.

Curry might have gotten the better of the series, lifting three titles against LeBron’s one over that stretch, but James left with the most iconic moment of the run. “Blocked by James!” is to LeBron’s career what Jordan’s game-winner against the Jazz was to him.

Given the level of this rivalry, it’s tough to match, but history has often brought two of the best basketball players in the world toe-to-toe with each other—Bird and Magic, Wilt and Russell—the basketball Gods have deemed fit to put league-defining players in opposing conferences and have them meet in the NBA Finals time and time again. So, which players of this generation could add to that legacy?

Next Gen: Jayson Tatum vs. Luka Dončić

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum goes against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic in the 2024 NBA Finals. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Regular season: Tatum leads, 7–5
Playoffs: Tatum leads, 4–1

There’s a lot to like about this potential matchup. While it’s always going to take a bit of luck to see two players meet several times in the Finals, the seeds for the rivalry are already there from the Celtics’ win over the Mavericks in the 2024 Finals.

With Luka now in Los Angeles, it would be even more fitting to see the two ascend to this status. The duo was drafted a year apart from each other, and currently stand as the best player on their respective teams (though both are dealing with injuries this year) that are in play for a run to the Finals.

Old Guard: LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant

Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant dribbles the ball as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Regular season: LeBron leads, 21–11
Playoffs: Durant leads, 9–5

While the rivalry between Curry and James is one of two team leaders going against each other with drastically different styles of taking over a game, the battles between James and Durant were special in part because of their similar skillsets. Both are among the smartest players in basketball and elite one-on-one scorers.

James’s ascendance preceded Durant’s by a few years, but the two have both traded turns as the most dominant overall player in the league. 

Next Gen: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Anthony Edwards

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Regular season: Edwards leads, 11–9
Playoffs: SGA leads, 4–1

Finding a comp for LeBron and Durant is no easy task, but when you expand the range outside of the forward position, things can get interesting. Both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards are ball-first guards who can do anything on the court and lead contenders in the West.

SGA has the early lead with a title and MVP already under his belt, but Edwards is a threat to go off on any given night, and his swaggering attitude has him at least on par with Gilgeous-Alexander in many “future face of the league” debates.

Next Gen: Victor Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Regular season: Tied, 4–4
Playoffs: Tied, 0–0

Here’s where things get really good. What’s better than a rivalry between forwards that can play like guards? A rivalry between centers that can play as guards. Wembanyama belongs in any and every conversation about “what basketball things we’re going to care about over the next decade,” and Holmgren provides a perfect foil.

The differences between the two are clear—Wemby is the better all-around player and the centerpiece of his team, while Chet is a massive part of the Thunder supporting staff behind SGA. Given how much the two players are set to be matched up against each other in the coming years if the Spurs and Thunder prove to be the teams they have the potential to be, it’s easy to see how they could soon find themselves as the opposite faces headlining a WrestleMania-esque poster.

Hopefully, we get our first taste of playoff Wemby vs. Chet this year.

Old Guard: Kevin Durant vs. Russell Westbrook

Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant controls the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Regular season: Westbrook leads, 12–8
Playoffs: Durant leads, 4–1

Durant and Westbrook have both donned plenty of jerseys in their NBA careers, meaning the two have met as opponents in games between the Lakers and Nets, Clippers and Suns, Nuggets and Suns, and Kings and Rockets. Former teammates on a promising young core that was broken up, their NBA paths parted greatly, only to intersect later on opposite sides of the court. It’s a tough one to find a comp for, but there are some options.

Next Gen: Trae Young vs. Jalen Johnson

Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and guard Trae Young against the Philadelphia 76ers. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Regular season: Tied, 0–0
Playoffs: Tied, 0–0

It’s tough to call a rivalry between a single game played between two players, but it’s easy to imagine this one getting really interesting, really fast. This year, the Hawks made the decision to move on from Young and invest in their younger core around Johnson.

The move looks to have been the right one, with Atlanta looking much friskier this year in its Johnson-led iteration. It might be asking a lot of the Wizards to make this rivalry a real thing, but as divisional foes, the two sides will meet plenty of times in the coming years. If the Washington rebuild works out, this could be an absolutely electric first-round playoff series a few years from now. 

Next Gen: Cooper Flagg vs. Luka Dončić

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic moves the ball to the basket past Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Regular season: Doncic leads, 2–0
Playoffs: Tied, 0–0

Flagg and Dončić were never teammates, but the two are inextricably linked by Flagg’s miraculous arrival in the wake of Dončić’s shocking departure from Dallas. This rivalry would be a different one from the Westbrook-Durant one in that the two sides are of different generations, but there’s going to be compelling drama between them, especially when they eventually meet in the postseason with real stakes.

Old Guard: Draymond Green vs. the World

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green gestures toward the Sacramento Kings bench. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Regular season: World leads (record undisclosed)
Playoffs: Green leads (record undisclosed)

Oh Draymond. One of the most singular players of this generation. A beast of a defender, a habitual line-stepper, and a podcaster to boot. Green is an interesting case, as ball-knowers can easily point out that his impact on games goes far beyond the box score.

While Green’s antics would sometimes catch up with him to the tune of fouls, fines and suspensions, his physicality helped anchor the defense of the Warriors dynasty. We may never see a player quite like Green again, but we can come close.

Next Gen: Lu Dort vs. the World

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort stands during Los Angeles Lakers free throws. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Regular season: Too close to call
Playoffs: Dort leads (record undisclosed)

Okay, hear me out. While Dort does not have the highest reputation as an agitator yet in his career, his recent dust-up with Nikola Jokić definitely puts him in “Draymond watch” territory. Beyond that, his status matches up well with Green’s on the budding Thunder dynasty.

While he is far from the most talented player on the OKC roster, he is an anchor on defense and can bring huge swings of momentum from hustle plays alone. I am not aware of his current status as a podcaster, but it’s 2026—if he doesn’t have one yet, he will soon.

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