Spurs historic rivalries ranked from least to most impactful

The San Antonio Spurs have been a prestigious franchise over the last three decades. They have had many triumphs and all-time classic games, and as a team, they have molded players into hall-of-famers. Aside from the recent year's struggles, as a franchise, San Antonio is up there with some of the best in all of professional sports.

During this period of success, they have developed some rivalries and created some memories that will go down in history forever.

Here, we are going to shed light on their top five current rivalries, mentioning the history between them and what the future holds. Buckle up; this is going to be exciting.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder:

When the Oklahoma City Thunder first started hitting their stride, the first real hurdle they needed to get through was the already-established San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio was the model franchise, and the up-and-coming Thunder needed to be tested. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka went full-force at the veteran Spurs, giving them all they could handle for years.

The young Thunder were dynamic and had the veteran San Antonio team with their backs against the wall every night. These two teams met in the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016, with the first two matchups being in the conference finals.

In 2012, Oklahoma City was able to get past San Antonio and march to the NBA Finals, only to put up a losing effort against the Miami Heat. Still, Oklahoma City was in the hunt for years afterward, and seemingly, the Spurs were always standing in their way. The Spurs lead the head-to-head series, 101-87.

In the playoffs, the Thunder have won two of the three matchups in this rivalry. While they have not met in the post-season as much as other teams on this list, what is most intriguing here is the future between the two. In modern-day, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeious-Alexander and Chet Holmgren are showing signs of being able to guide a franchise. The brewing Holmgren-Victor Wembanyama rivalry seems like it will be a must-watch TV for years to come.

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.

3. Houston Rockets

In-state rivalries tend to mean more than other rivalries, which could be proven by the San Antonio and Houston Rockets rivalry. The two played a lot of great basketball against each other, with San Antonio leading the head-to-head series 118-97, while just 3-1 in the playoffs.

It seems like every time they play, it is on a similar playground. For the last few seasons, these two teams have battled it out with young talent. Decades ago, each had a similar core, with Duncan and company matching up with the Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady duo. Further, in the 1990s, both teams were built around their star centers. No matter what time of the year, these two teams seem to always catch each other on a level playing field.

While the Spurs have the edge in wins and championships, the Rockets still make things tough. Houston has always shown up against San Antonio, and they have had some all-time great moments. For example, Hakeem Olajuwon's clinic on David Robinson in the 1995 Western Conference finals and Tracy McGrady's 13 points in 33 seconds in the mid-2000s.

Looking ahead, Houston will seemingly keep trying to build through the NBA draft and around their younger talent, just as San Antonio will. Even if San Antonio becomes a powerhouse once again before Houston does, matchups between these two teams will never be easy.

2. Dallas Mavericks:

San Antonio and the Dallas Mavericks have one of the best "in-state" rivalries in the league. Each team followed the idea of fundamentals and great ball movement and had similar consistency within their strong front offices, leading to success.

San Antonio and Dallas have had some memorable matchups over the last two decades, and it all started between two great big men. The Duncan-Dirk Nowitzki showdowns were some of the league's best, with both players always trying to show dominance.

From a skill-set perspective, Duncan prided himself on his array of post moves and rim protection, while Nowitzki was a wizard on offense with his unorthodox moves and elite shooting touch. Ultimately, the two made each other better over the course of their careers and had mutual respect through it all.

By the numbers, San Antonio holds the all-time head-to-head series record, 115 to 84, and most notably, a 4 to 2 playoff series lead against Dallas. Most of their memorable games happened in the playoffs, where the two teams took their best games to the next level. In the 2001, 2003 and 2006 seasons, these battles all came in the semi-final round or higher, while the 2009, 2010 and 2014 series were all in the first round.

Duncan and Nowitzki led this rivalry for the last two decades, but for the next two, it will likely be battles between Wembanyama and Luka Doncic. Since Doncic has been in the league, Dallas has dominated San Antonio winning 15 of the last 23 games. These numbers can take a turn with an improvement of Wembanyama and the young team around him. Overall, this rivalry is one of the league's best.

1. Los Angeles Lakers

Postseason heroics, superstars and legendary coaches explain what the Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers rivalry was. While it has been a quiet rivalry over the last five years, the history and greatness of this matchup were at an all-time high from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s.

It all started in the late 1990s, when the late Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were developing steam as a duo, trying to reignite the Lakers dynasty. Meanwhile, in San Antonio, the "Twin Towers" of Duncan and David Robinson were in full effect. At the start of this bitter rivalry, you could make the case that each team had some of the top players in the entire sport, only amplifying the competition.

At its peak, it was the Twin Towers against O'Neal and Bryant, with the Lakers getting the best of the Spurs for the first few post-season meetings. Then, in 2001, after each team had recently won a title, this rivalry intensified.

After joining the team, names like Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker began making waves for the Spurs, bringing reinforcements against a team with Derek Fisher and Rick Fox benefiting the Lakers. From 1999 to 2005, these two teams met in the playoffs four times, each winning two rounds.

From a gameplay standpoint, these matchups were top-tier, displaying Duncan's fundamentals and O'Neal's brute physicality. During this era, Bryant's superstardom began to show, and he made things much harder for San Antonio as they did everything they could to slow Bryant down. For the Spurs, Ginobili, Parker, and other role players started to flourish, giving San Antonio the edge in this matchup for years.

Furthermore, during all of this, each team was individually dominant, and the best two teams in the league. In fact, from 1999 to 2010, either Los Angeles or the Spurs were in the NBA Finals, except for one season (2006), when the Mavericks lost to the Dwyane Wade-led Miami Heat.

These battles would continue through Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom's time with the Lakers, with each game being just as competitive as they once were. By the numbers, the Lakers lead the all-time regular season head-to-head series narrowly, 95 to 93, while holding an 8-4 lead in the playoffs.

While this rivalry has been dead for quite some time, San Antonio's future and Los Angeles's status as a big-market franchise ensures that it's destined to get competitive again. Regardless of how long that takes, you must always respect the glory days of the Spurs and Lakers rivalry. It made an enormous impact on the NBA and thus deserved the top spot on this list.