Anthony GharibESPN5 minute read
From Opponents to Teammates: The Best of CP3 vs. Steph
Check out some of the best moments Chris Paul and Steph Curry competed against before they became teammates.
Some of the NBA’s biggest rivals became the most successful partners when they became teammates.
Chris Paul’s move to the Golden State Warriors is the latest pair of rivals to now be on the same side. Warriors forward Draymond Green hasn’t been shy about expressing his dislike for Paul, and their past backs it up.
The Warriors faced Paul three times in the playoffs, most notably in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, which Golden State won in seven games, and the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals, which Golden State won in six games.
When Green was asked during the offseason how much he previously despised Paul on a scale of one to ten, he yelled, “Eleven!” He admitted that he even “hated” the point guard.
Paul and the Golden State Warriors hope to turn that hatred into success. The Warriors are 7-8 so far this season, with a game scheduled against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET).
Here are some notable rivals who have recently become teammates in professional sports.
N.B.A
Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley (2022–2023)
These two guards had a tumultuous relationship before becoming teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022.
In the first round of the 2013 Western Conference playoffs, Westbrook collided with Beverley before a timeout and suffered a mild meniscus tear, sidelining him until February 2014. Every matchup after that brought some heat, but Westbrook upped the ante in 2019.
After James Harden scored 47 points against Beverley and the Clippers, Westbrook told reporters after the game that Beverley had “outwitted them all” and that he wasn’t playing defense but was “just running around doing nothing.”
Beverley claimed that Westbrook’s comments actually hurt his career. However, when the two became teammates on the Lakers, Beverley called Westbrook his best friend.
Their partnership in Los Angeles wasn’t as eventful as the back and forth over the years. Both were traded as teammates in February 2023 after less than a year.
Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond (2021)
There was plenty to talk about between Embiid and Drummond.
After Embiid scored 30 points and nine rebounds against Drummond in 2017, he said the then-Detroit Pistons center didn’t play defense. Just a year later, after dropping 33 points and 11 rebounds in a loss to Drummond, Embiid said after the game that he had “a lot of room” in the Pistons center’s head.
Two weeks after that loss, Embiid scored 39 points and 17 rebounds in a win against Drummond, taking his trolling to a new level.
They became teammates in 2021 and Drummond downplayed the rivalry. However, the pairing did not last, with Drummond only playing 49 games before being substituted.
Kobe Bryant and Matt Barnes (2010–2012)
A game between the Orlando Magic and the Lakers in March 2010 produced one of the most viral videos in NBA history.
Bryant and Barnes got into each other several times, resulting in a physical play and a double technical. Elbows were thrown, both players got in each other’s faces and the situation almost came to a head several times.
But the most notable moment came with 8:29 left in the third quarter when Barnes faked a pass into Bryant’s face — and Bryant didn’t even bat an eyelid.
The next offseason, Barnes signed with the Lakers and became teammates with Bryant. They spent two seasons as teammates and developed a close relationship.
MLB
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez (2004–2014)
According to the New York Post, Jeter and Rodriguez appeared together on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1997 and were so close that they slept over at each other’s houses during games against each other, according to the New York Post.
Things changed when Rodriguez was traded to the Texas Rangers in December 2000.
His 10-year, $252 million contract was the largest at the time and reporters asked him who he thought would surpass him. Rodriguez pointed out that it would be difficult for Jeter because Jeter “just doesn’t put up the power numbers and doesn’t do all those things defensively.”
In March 2001, Jeter said he didn’t care about the record and Rodriguez dismissed any argument between the two.
However, a month later, Rodriguez weighed in on Jeter in an interview with Esquire, saying the New York Yankees star was “blessed” with great talent around him and would never have to take the lead. He also added that when you go to New York, “you never say, ‘Don’t let Derek beat you.'” He’s never your worry.
They became teammates in February 2004 and Rodriguez admitted in 2007 that their relationship was not the same. They won their first and only World Series together in 2009.
NFL
Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders (1994)
Two players who are among the best in their respective positions fought heated battles on the field. At one point, Rice and Sanders admitted that they hated each other.
“We didn’t get along,” Rice said of his career on NFL Films’ “A Football Life” episode. “If Deion was on the other side, things would go downhill the next day.”
Sanders signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1994 and played there for only one season. Rice and Sanders still didn’t get along when they played together. They were even upset with each other the night before Super Bowl XXIX, a game they won 49-26, according to A Football Life.
After the season, Sanders joined the Dallas Cowboys, one of the 49ers’ biggest rivals in the 1990s, continuing the bad blood.
Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders spent one season as teammates before Sanders signed with the Dallas Cowboys the next offseason. (` Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Josh Allen and Rasul Douglas (2023)
A little over a year after Allen trash-talked Douglas, the two became members of the same locker room.
When the Buffalo Bills played the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 season, Allen had choice words for Douglas.
The Bills then traded for Douglas this year, bolstering a cornerback room, weeks after Tre’Davious White suffered a season-ending injury.
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