Spurs historic rivalries ranked from least to most impactful

4. Memphis Grizzlies:

Foes in the NBA's southwest division, San Antonio and the Memphis Grizzlies, have had some experiences in the playoffs and countless great battles in the regular season. However, the animosity level between these two teams is far less than in other rivalries, but their history alone is worth mentioning.

Despite a rather one-sided rivalry in which the Spurs lead 75-39, the competition that has brewed between these two teams has been evident enough. Not to mention, the two have shared the southwest division since 1995.

Before this season, the Grizzlies had controlled this rivalry since the arrival of star point guard Ja Morant. Morant and his counterparts make a case for one of the most dangerous teams in the league when healthy. Before Morant was deemed out for the season after an early leg injury last season, the Spurs were seemingly always on the receiving end of a dominant performance at the hands of the Murray State star.

In fact, just two seasons ago, Morant set his career-high in points in a game with 52 against San Antonio in Memphis. The Spurs have had no luck slowing the speedster down. In the postseason, however, San Antonio has room to gloat.

They have controlled this head-to-head series 4-1, with three out of the four wins for the Spurs being clean sweeps. The one series that Memphis took away from San Antonio was their 2011 upset win over the then-one-seeded Spurs. That 2011 team featured Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol, who took their 8th-seeded team a game away from the conference finals.

The two teams have enjoyed postseason contests in three other seasons, but nothing tops the 2011 series. In the future, we should expect to see an exciting but ever-growing rivalry. Unless a drastic conference re-order happens, these two will likely stay in the same division, guaranteeing four games against one another every year. With the Grizzlies likely going into next season fully healthy, they will cause Wembanyama and company problems for years to come.