Best Sportsbook Canada : Golden State and Cleveland

Cavaliers Vs. Warriors: The new Lakers vs. Celtics

The Warriors and the Cavaliers meeting for the third time in a row sparks comparisons to the decades-long rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Everybody predicted the 2017 NBA Finals, but that doesn't diminish the greatness of these franchises. After all, there's a reasonable chance that the Dub and Cavs will meet again in the finals for another year or two before other squads bridge the disparity gap.

There’s no denying the history of the Lakers and Celtics, but in terms of peak intensity, the Cavaliers and Warriors rivalry could become the new gold standard.

Biggest all-star chapter in NBA history

The most distinctive aspect of the Lakers and Celtics rivalry was the quantity of all-star players competing for both teams; Russel, West, Baylor, Magic, Abdul-Jabbar, Bird, Havlicek, Cousy and others throughout the 1950s to the 1990s.

Their lineups have featured at least six out of ten of the best players in history, depending on your point of view. Together, they write the biggest chapter in the NBA history books, winning 31 championships and 49 conference championships. Put simply, there's no disputing its status as the premiere rivalry in the NBA.



Despite their dominance over the association, the Lakers and Celtics never met each other three times in a row. In the world of major pro sports, this occurrence is as rare as the Warriors losing a playoff game. The Cavaliers and Warriors could eventually usurp Boston and Los Angeles as the best rivalry in the NBA.

In terms of all-star presence, Cleveland features at least three hall-of-fame candidates, while the Warriors have at least four potential entrants into the Naismith Memorial – arguably more, depending on how the next few years play out. Free agency could inflate this number, especially if veterans continue to take discounts to chase a ring.

If – and this is a big if – the Dubs and the Cavs dominate the West and East for another few years, the history books might have to reconsider the top rivalry in the NBA. Five, even six years in a row would set a new mark for dominant franchises owning an entire league. Given the modern age of parity and analytics in North America, this might be the last time in a while we witness such an extreme concentration of winning.

Even as these two juggernauts get set to battle in the NBA Finals, the best sportsbooks in Canada peg the Warriors as massive favourites.

LeBron vs. Curry: The new Magic vs. Bird?

With all due respect to Draymond Green and Kevin Durant – the latter one of the best pure scorers ever - the Golden State Warriors look to Stephen Curry to break the game wide open with long threes, slick handles, and lights-out shooting. Similar to Larry Bird, Steph is a member of the 50-40-90 club, an exclusive list of the finest shooters.

Sure, Curry doesn't possess the same physicality as Bird, but Larry didn’t have Steph’s range and speed. Curry’s not going to throw an elbow or smack a fool like Bird, but Steph’s confidence and cockiness reveals a similar competitive fire.

LeBron and Magic become the appropriate parallel in this comparison. Both legends excel at all positions on the court with triple-double play due to their supremely rare mixture of skill, size and strength.

The narrative of LeBron James versus Steph Curry provides a side story in the spirit of Magic versus Bird, linking the two historic rivalries. There's nothing wrong with the idea of parity, but there's something to be said about the excitement of watching a pair of dynasties dismantle the competition for half a decade.