2022-23 NBA Schedule: Examining League's New "Rivals Week" Matchups

According to the league, NBA Rivals Week will feature 11 nationally televised games on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV over five days from Tuesday, January 24, 2023 through Saturday, January 28, 2023.

From older, historic rivalries to new, recent rivalries that are forming, the league has 11 very intriguing matchups already lined up.

Let’s break down each of these matchups, examining the rivalry presented and each team’s recent history heading into the 2022-23 season.

Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat

Obviously the Miami Heat are not as big of rivals to the Boston Celtics as the Los Angeles Lakers are, but the Heat have become a regular foe of the Celtics in the playoffs in recent years.

They not only faced off in two of the last three Eastern Conference Finals, with each team picking up a series victory over each other, but they met in the postseason three straight years in 2010, 2011 and 2012. During this era is when this rivalry really began, as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat beat Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics en route to a title in 2012.

Playing a total of 30 playoff games against one another since the 2010 playoffs, the Heat own a slim 16-14 edge over the Celtics, making this overall series much closer than many would think. Two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this upcoming year, Boston will play Miami during Rivalry Week in what could very well be yet another tune-up for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Many teams tend to have rivals in different states and cities around the nation. The rivalry between the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers though means a little bit more to everyone though for obvious reasons.

The “Battle for L.A.” has always seemed to be dominated by the Lakers, as they own a 150-81 record all-time against the Clippers, but the Lakers have not beaten the Clippers since July 30, 2020.

Now a matchup of All-Stars, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, John Wall and the Clippers will face LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook four times this upcoming year, once during the NBA’s Rivalry Week.

The stars in Los Angeles will surely show out for this game and Crypto.com Arena will be sold out with two home crowds, as there is no love lost and no home court advantage in this matchup!

Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia and New York have always been rivals of one another in just about every single sport, as these two cities’ fanbases just straight up hate one another. Now though, with James Harden going from the Brooklyn Nets to the Philadelphia 76ers this past year and these two teams playing very physically against one another, this Nets-76ers rivalry suddenly has a lot of build up.

The Nets have won four of the last seven meetings between these two teams and assuming both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are on Brooklyn’s roster for the 2022-23 season, this matchup has a chance to feel like an Eastern Conference Finals Game 7, regardless of who travels just under 100 miles on I-95 to be the visiting team.

A newer rivalry in the NBA, this Nets-76ers game featuring James Harden, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was one of the most watched and loudest games during the 2021-22 season. Add Ben Simmons to the mix now for Brooklyn and things are going to get very out of hand, especially if this game is in Philadelphia!

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors

Another newer rivalry being cast into the spotlight, the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors played an extremely physical and tough Western Conference Semifinals matchup this past May. Everyone knows that the Warriors went on to win the NBA Finals, claiming their fourth title in the last eight seasons, but if there is one team that is not scared of them, it is the Grizzlies and they proved this in their six game series.

From Draymond Green getting ejected in Game 1 of this series for a hard foul on Brandon Clarke to Dillon Brooks being ejected in Game 2 due to a hard foul on Gary Payton II that resulted in him suffering a fracture in his left elbow to these two teams continuing to fire back-and-forth with one another in the offseason, who doesn’t want to see these two teams play again?

Stephen Curry is must-see-TV every time he takes the court given that he is the best shooter in NBA history and Ja Morant is sensational given his athletic abilities and the fact that he makes everyone’s jaws drop every single night.

Playing one another in the 2021 Play-In Tournament and then facing off this past year in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Memphis and Golden State are two of the better teams in the Western Conference once again.

Chicago Bulls vs. Charlotte Hornets

Out of all the matchups during the NBA’s Rivalry Week, this is probably the one game that has people scratching their heads because the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets are not really rivals with one another.

Michael Jordan’s Bulls had two showdowns with the Hornets in the 1995 and 1998 playoffs, but Chicago and Charlotte really do not have much of a history against each other, especially given that the Bulls are 76-45 (62.8%) all-time against the Hornets.

However, Lonzo Ball plays for Chicago and LaMelo Ball plays for Charlotte, which I guess makes this a rivalry matchup! The Hornets are expected to regress this upcoming season given that they made no major additions in the offseason and with the Bulls emerging as a threat in the Eastern Conference, it would be surprising to see them drop this game, regardless of where it is played.

Anything can happen though, especially on the injury side of things. The NBA is just hoping that both Ball brothers will be healthy for this matchup, as they are the most marketable brothers in the league right now.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns

When one team beats another by a combined 60 points to close out a playoff series, as well as when the league sees these two teams going back-and-forth verbally on the court with one another, you might as well pencil them in for Rivalry Week!

This is exactly what happened with the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, as the Mavs beat the Suns in seven games this past year to advance to the Western Conference Finals, where they fell in five games to the Golden State Warriors.

Phoenix-Dallas is not a rivalry by any means, but the NBA seems to be comfortable pushing the narrative of pitting these two teams up against one another, especially since tensions are high between them right now.

Hey, we get to see Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Luka Doncic play against each other again ahead of the playoffs, so I guess we can’t be too mad right?

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

“Minnesota, this is for you!”

I’m not sure if those were Patrick Beverley’s actual words after the Minnesota Timberwolves punched their ticket to the playoffs to take on the Memphis Grizzlies, but Minnesota sure did celebrate their Play-In Tournament victory like they had won a championship.

We might as well rename this “rivalry” to the “Patrick Beverley Rivalry” because he is the reason these two teams find themselves facing each other during Rivalry Week. Beverley was dealt from Memphis to Minnesota ahead of the 2021-22 season and now, he is not on either team, so is this even a rivalry?

Two younger teams on the rise in the Western Conference, they will likely face off against one another in the postseason to draw a matchup with either the Golden State Warriors or Phoenix Suns in the later round, so we might as well get a jump-start on this whole “rivalry” thing between them.

Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors

A rematch of the 2019 NBA Finals, the Toronto Raptors taking on the Golden State Warriors has silently been one of the league’s better rivalries.

This NBA Finals series was terrific and while it was overshadowed by injuries to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, these two teams' fan bases still ended up making this series a new-aged rivalry.

The only problem here in this so-called “rivalry” is that not many from this 2019 series remain on either team’s rosters. In fact, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam are the only players still on the Raptors’ roster from this series. For the Warriors, only Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney remain, possibly Andre Iguodala if he does not retire.

Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Two teams on the complete opposite side of the country, the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers have nothing in common with each other other than the fact that they have the two best centers in the NBA and two players who have battled with one another for the rights to the MVP award.

Nikola Jokic versus Joel Embiid is what this rivalry really is, as Jokic has won the last two MVP awards for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Could the 2022-23 season belong with Embiid and the Sixers?

Possibly, but this matchup between two of the better teams in each conference could very well sway the minds of some MVP voters in favor of either Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic.

New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets

“Bing Bong” versus “Brrrrooooooklyn!”

You can’t go wrong with a classic New York Knicks versus Brooklyn Nets rivalry game and much like the “Battle for Los Angeles,” fans for both teams always pack Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center for this matchup.

A battle for the city of New York, this has been nothing more than a battle for bragging rights the last couple of decades, as neither team has been successful in recent memory.

Neither team has advanced past the Eastern Conference Semifinals since the Nets did so in 2003, losing in the NBA Finals that year, and both teams rank in the bottom-six in terms of win percentage since 2000. Nonetheless though, you cannot have a “Rivalry Week” without having these two teams play one another.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics

Of course, you cannot hold a Rivalry Week in the NBA without having the green and white matchup with the purple and gold!

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics is one of the longest rivalries in NBA history and to say that these two organizations hate each other is a major understatement. Currently tied for the most championships in NBA history at 17 overall titles each, the Lakers and Celtics are the league’s two most winningest franchises in league history and both of them have high title aspirations once again heading into the 2022-23 season.

To add a little bit more salt in the wound of this rivalry, the Celtics are the only team in NBA history to have a winning record against the Lakers. Peaking in the 80’s with the matchups of Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers against Larry Bird and his Celtics teams, this rivalry is starting to gain more traction again with the sudden rise of Boston. Not to mention, Boston’s “love” for LeBron James over the years has absolutely added more fuel to the fire here between these two teams.

You can never go wrong with having the Lakers take on the Celtics in a prime-time slot, making this one of the better games to watch during the NBA’s Rivalry Week!