What was the best NBA player rivalry of the 2010s?

Four straight Finals, a superteam defection, a buzzer-beater wave and plenty of big-man trash talk. The decade's feuds came in every size, and some never cooled off.

1. 1
   LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry

   The faces of four straight Finals meetings from 2015 to 2018, capped by Cleveland's 3-1 comeback in 2016.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Stephen Curry vs. James Harden

   Warriors-Rockets playoff wars in 2015, 2018 and 2019 between the era's two most dangerous shooters.
   485pts
3. 3
   LeBron James vs. Kawhi Leonard

   Spurs-Heat Finals in 2013 and 2014, then Kawhi's Raptors run ended LeBron's Eastern reign.
   485pts
4. 4
   Kevin Durant vs. Russell Westbrook

   Former Thunder teammates whose 2016 split turned into one of the decade's iciest feuds.
   362pts
5. 5
   Damian Lillard vs. Russell Westbrook

   Years of trash talk that peaked with Lillard's series-ending buzzer-beater and wave in 2019.
   362pts
6. 6
   Joel Embiid vs. Andre Drummond

   Big-man trash talk and social-media jabs between the 76ers and Pistons centers in the late 2010s.
   362pts
7. 7
   Kobe Bryant vs. Dwight Howard

   A bitter split after Howard's single Lakers season, remembered for Kobe's 'Try me' on-court exchange.
   285pts
8. 8
   LeBron James vs. Paul George

   The Heat-Pacers Eastern Conference battles of 2013 and 2014 pitted LeBron against Indiana's rising wing.
   285pts
9. 9
   LeBron James vs. Paul Pierce

   A long-running Heat-Celtics grudge that peaked in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals Game 7.
   195pts
10. 10
    LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant

    Two of the decade's best scorers who met in the 2012, 2017 and 2018 Finals.
    0pts

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