New NBA Rivalry Cooking in the Western Conference

Those who play sports at the professional level have reached great heights that only a few people in the world are able to scale to. Some athletes reach this level and fade away due to more supreme competition. Some athletes reach a place where their effort has brought them and they get respect from their peers because they have become winners in the regular season. Other athletes desire one thing, championships.

In the NBA this season, a debate has been brewing about the legitimacy of the entertaining feud between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies. Golden State is a team that has been NBA Finals Champions four times over the last eight seasons. Memphis is a resurgent team since their stylish exit in the 2022 NBA postseason.

The Memphis Grizzlies, this season, has been a team that is high on young talent but lacks bragging rights. That hasn’t stopped them from making notable quotes in the media, and Memphis forward Dillon Brooks is the latest player with something to say about the Grizzlies western conference competition.

During the Warriors and Grizzlies latest match-up, a play got heated between Brooks and Warriors forward Draymond Green. After the game when Brooks was asked about his verbal exchange with Green, he said he told Green “you’re better at the mic than hooping.”

Green was also addressed postgame and asked why he doesn’t consider this a rivalry. Green responded; “One team has to win, and then the other team has to win, that’s what creates a rivalry. Clearly, we won (the NBA Finals) four times, and I think their organization has zero championships so I can’t consider that a rivalry. Anybody can win in March!”

The Grizzlies are just the latest team to challenge the toughness of the defending champions. The Suns did this earlier in the season; it was good to see that teams were not laying down for the Warriors even if they were defending champions.

Ja Morant made one of the famous quotes of the season back as 2022 was ending. He said; “We alright in the west.” Since then Kevin Durant joined the Suns, Kyrie joined the Mavericks, and Morant has been sentenced to a suspension for off-court conduct.

The Warriors may very well have the ability to be champions again, it’s all about how badly they want to work to upset those that will give anything to take their spot.