The Most Bitter Team Rivalries Ever Recorded in NBA history

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Heated brawls, PJ.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:01)
Brown throws Charlie Warren, watch out.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:04)
Rivalries that lasted for over decades, and getting authorities involved is only some of the most heated rivalries in the NBA. Because the rivalry between the Heat and the Celtics goes way past a few playoff battles. Back in 2004, rookie of the year LeBron James himself stole the spotlight from Paul Pierce. In the next season in a preseason game, Pierce was fixing to light up LeBron and show him he can't just walk on the court doing whatever he wants.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:27)
He's talking big noise to the Cavs bench. Hall actually hits over there at the bench.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:33)
The beef was officially on. Fast forward to 2010, Boston ruled the East, and Dwayne Wade's Heat wasn't ready for what was coming to them. But even though Wade didn't have the help he needed just yet, Miami was still built tough. But toughness alone wouldn't get them through the series. And with the clock winding down in game three, Paul Pierce had ice in his veins. One game later, and Miami was swept right out of the series. And with that, Boston set their sights on their next victim, LeBron James. And they gave the hometown hero one final L before he left Cleveland crushed.
LeBron knew he couldn't take on the big three on his own, but he also knew he needed revenge. So he took his talents to South Beach to join Bosch and Wade. It was time for them to make their own big three.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:23)
But we also know you three kings came down here to win championships. Not one.

**SPEAKER_5** (1:29)
Not two. Not three.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:31)
Not four. Not five.

**SPEAKER_7** (1:33)
Not six. Not seven.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:35)
You gotta have some big balls to claim you're gonna win seven titles on national TV. And with that balls, he claimed, the Heedles were born. Their mission? De-throne Boston. Thing is, the Celtics were not scared. Anything but scared, actually. Because in the 2011 regular season, Pierce and Wade got straight to the smoke.

**SPEAKER_6** (1:52)
James head down, and runs right into O'Neal, and then a technical foul.

**SPEAKER_8** (1:58)
And it's the right call.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:59)
Technical foul on LeBron James. Throwing the ball to the body of Jermaine O'Neal, not liking the contact.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:04)
Pierce and Wade pushing and shoving each other.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:07)
That was just a warm-up round for years of playoff scuffles, where LeBron was starving for his first title while Boston's big three were at the end of their primes. So in the first game in the 2011 playoffs, Pierce was still on the prowl.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:18)
Pierce subjects. Oh, did he headbutt?
It looked like Pierce may have hit.

**SPEAKER_9** (2:25)
Well, that's a flagrant foul right there. I think Pierce has just been tried.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:38)
Paul didn't like anything about the heat, but they were next to take over the lead, so the war rooms were about to get twisted. And in game three, Wade slammed Rondo into a whore scene.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:48)
And then Wade pulls down Rondo. It was almost like he was trying to box him out.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:52)
My man's arm was bent like a pretzel, and he still came back in the same game. Clearly, playing after an injury like that is not the move, because LeBron took over game five and became the new king of the East.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:03)
First of all, I want to give a lot of thanks to the Boston Celtics. Coach Rivers, that coach has to have them players.
They make you fight for everything. You can never take your foot off the gas. You can never take a second off against that team. So a lot of respect to that team.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:20)
The titles were shifting, but the subjects were on another crash course with Miami in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals with Legacies on the line, because this was their final chance at a championship trophy. And if Miami lost, their Big Three would be a failed experiment, while the real Big Three reigned supreme. So with the series tied 2-2, Paul Pierce stared down Braun one-on-one and took control.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:41)
Pierce for three. It's going, Paul Pierce from way downtown, and Boston leads by four.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:48)
Boston started feeling confident about stopping the heat in their tracks, but LeBron couldn't take another season of talking about him choking. So in game six, he hit a cold-blooded death stare that made the greatest performance of his career.

**SPEAKER_9** (4:00)
Around Pierce, all the way to the rim, and a tomahawk right hand slam.

**SPEAKER_6** (4:05)
The adrenaline right now just must be flying through.