Denver Nuggets: Who Are Their Biggest Out-of-Division Rival?
Mar 25, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) dribbles the ball as Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) defends in the first quarter of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Rivalries come and go over time, sometimes. The Denver Nuggets have several current rivals, but who is the biggest out-of-division rival?
They form from heated playoff series, players having beef with each other, and sometimes a scuffle that arises out of frustration during a blowout.
Over the years the Nuggets have had an array of different rivalries. We all know about our battles with our division foes, but what about the other teams in the West? In 2009 it was the Lakers, one could make a case for the Spurs or Clippers at times, and of course there is the recent history with the Golden State Warriors.
But which one of these teams is the Denver Nuggets biggest enemy outside of the division right now?
Jan 13, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) greets Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone after the game at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets defeated the Warriors 112-110. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors are two teams that have had quite the recent history, but are the Warriors the biggest rivals to Denver?
Right now Denver’s biggest rival is Golden State. Given the recent history, I am looking forward to some jawing and jabbing during our match-ups this year. What exactly spurred this hatred for the Warriors was the first round defeat at the hands of Mark Jackson the last time the Nuggets tasted the playoffs.
Golden State was a 6 seed and Denver was considered by some to be a dark horse to get to the conference finals as a 3 seed. A flurry of Curry, three pointers throughout the series ousted that hope. Oh, and who can forget Bogut, who had a very solid series!
Throughout the series there was plenty of drama however, and it was just the beginning of a rivalry in the making.
At one point during the series, Steph Curry didn’t take too kindly to a fan’s heckling and got into a minor altercation. Then, there was rumors of Andre Igoudala going to church with the Warriors players and even going as far as revealing our game plan against them.
The fire was just getting ignited however. In free agency, Igoudala bolted from Denver to (yep, you guessed it) the Golden State Warriors. Let’s just say Carmelo Anthony is no longer the most hated player in Nuggets nation.
Unfortunately, this was a turning point for both franchises, Denver was forced to rebuild, while Golden State was now no longer a secret.
The Recent History
The Warriors have pretty much had Denver’s number since the playoff series. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t some animosity whenever these two teams square off. This past year, the Warriors broke the media with a quest to break the all-time regular season wins record which they successfully did.
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There were only nine teams that defeated them in the regular season, and luckily, Denver happened to be one of them. Golden State may have won the season series, but the Nuggets made it clear they weren’t going to let the Warriors take them lightly in the foreseeable future.
The Nuggets came back from a huge deficit to force overtime in Oakland one game and they managed to beat Golden State in the final game between them last year getting some type of revenge for the past few years. Just when you thought this was as big as the rivalry was going to get, some guy named Draymond Green entered the equation.
Draymond Green towards the end of the season made an asinine statement about how Golden State didn’t actually lose to Denver because they were missing a key player. News flash, Draymond, the scoreboard doesn’t lie.
Jan 13, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Of course, Nuggets faithful didn’t take too kindly to this and rightly so. Now, especially after his antics in the playoffs especially, you can expect a myriad of boo’s fill Pepsi Center next season when they announce Green’s name. A big reason that Denver has a seething eye on Golden State is that they possess not 1, not 2, but 3 players Nuggets fans have an extreme disdain for on their team.
I already went over Igoudala and Green, but now Kevin Durant, a player most Nuggets fans have been frustrated with playing with the Thunder over the years, has now joined the team many of us fans dislike the most right now. Granted, Durant became public enemy #1 in most of the NBA’s eyes, but with the Nuggets, you can expect some extracurricular activity when these two teams do battle.
I understand Denver has many other rivals, but right now, the Warriors are first on Denver’s hit list.
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