4 Biggest Potential Rivalries for the New Orleans Pelicans

Rivalries need to return to the modern NBA. Here are four teams that could be heated rivals of the New Orleans Pelicans in the future.

If “The Last Dance” has taught us anything, it’s that rivalries used to be a lot more heated. The Bulls hated the Pistons, Knicks and Pacers and the feeling was mutual, which is why that era was so entertaining and competitive. The New Orleans Pelicans need some rivals.

Rivalries used to be the life blood of the NBA, but they have largely disappeared for a number of reasons.

One is that players now know each other for most of their lives because of AAU basketball. Zion Williamson and Ja Morant played on the same AAU team, are close friends and are very far from hating each other the way that Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas did.

The second reason is that players switch teams so often that they rarely have a chance to build a rivalry. In the Jordan era, teams had the same guys forever, so we got to see Jordan battle it out year after year against the same competition, which made things a lot more heated.

The final reason is that the game isn’t as physical. It’s hard not to get angry when you have Bill Laimbeer knocking you down ten times a game and not even getting called for it. Physical play led to a lot of fights, which just fanned the flames.

Players these days are besties with their “rivals,” play video games together online and hang out on banana boats in the offseason.

The only ones keeping rivalries alive are the fans, who are the one constant amid all the player movement and Instagram vacations.

I’ve had more beef with the Grizzlies FanSided page than the teams have had on the court, which is something that needs to change if the NBA wants to improve its ratings.

https://twitter.com/BealeStBearsFS/status/1255605396162646017

The New Orleans Pelicans don’t have any real rivalries yet, but there are four teams that might get there.