Rivals week is proof that rivalries don’t really exist.

For the past 3 years the NBA drops “Rivals Week,” and each year it becomes clearer the league doesn’t have any rivalries.

The only matchup that appears in all 3 years is Lakers/Clippers and that’s not even a rivalry. They just shared a building. Everyone else is a random mix every year of which stars they feel are marketable.

If the league actually cared about rivalries, we’d get Lakers–Celtics, the biggest one in basketball. But we won’t see it — because Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles, and without him, the Celtics aren’t marketable enough for primetime.

Instead, the NBA went with matchups like Lakers–Mavs, because of Luka returning to Dallas. That’s what Rivalry Week is now — not history, not hate, just highlight potential.(Thanks Adam Silver.)

You can see it everywhere. Cavs–Hornets are somehow in Rivalry Week despite never meeting in the playoffs or sharing any bad blood. The only reason? The Ball brothers are facing each other — and Lonzo isn’t even a Cavs starter !!

Players move too often, fanbases don’t have consistent enemies, and every “rivalry” resets every season.

Bring back divisions that actually matter — make winning one mean a playoff spot again. Bring back the hate.