What Are the Biggest Rivalries in American Sports History?

Eddie Griffin

Written by: Eddie Griffin

Last Updated:

Read Time: 6 minutes

BIggest Rivalries in American Sports cover Larry Bird Magic Johnson Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers NBA

No matter the level or location, rivalries are a large part of the appeal of sports. In the major American sports, there are many intense rivalries. Some of the biggest rivalries in American sports are based on location, others are based on division, conference, or league affiliation, and others are based on history and/or repeated meetings recently and/or in the postseason.

There are some iconic rivalries that almost every sports fan can name, but there are several more that fly under the radar. For example, the NFL rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers is considered by many to be one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports, but the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders also have an intense rivalry that doesn’t get the same attention or interest nationally.

Rivalries play a large role in sports betting, but picking the correct winner in a rivalry game is a tricky proposition. Anything can happen in a rivalry matchup, even if one team has a much better record than the other.

On this page, you can find information about some of the biggest NFL, NBA, MLB, and college football rivalries. We hope that the historical information and betting insights provided here will help with wagering on upcoming matchups in these rivalries.

Biggest Rivalries in the NFL

Many of the biggest rivalries in the NFL are based on the current divisions and conferences. Some of these rivalries have been in place for much of the NFL’s existence or at least since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, but some of them are more recent.

There are a number of contenders for the biggest rivalry in the NFL, but there are a few matchups that are widely thought to be the best of the best.

Included in that group are the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers rivalry, the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry, and the Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles rivalry.

Below, learn about each of those rivalries as well as many other top NFL rivalries.

AFC

NFC

Biggest Rivalries in the NBA

There are a lot of notable conference and divisional rivalries in the NBA, but the NBA’s biggest historical rivalry is between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Celtics and Lakers are the two most successful franchises in NBA history. The Lakers have appeared in the NBA Finals a record 32 times, but Boston owns the most NBA championship, having broken a tie with Los Angeles this past season by winning their 18th title.

Most recently, the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals in 2010. That year, Los Angeles bested Boston in a seven-game series behind an NBA Finals MVP performance by the late Kobe Bryant.

Biggest Rivalries in MLB

The most famous rivalry in Major League Baseball—and arguably the biggest rivalry in American sports—is the rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

The Yankees are the most successful MLB franchise of all time, having won the World Series 27 times. However, the Red Sox have been more successful in recent times. Boston broke an 86-year championship drought in 2004 and has since added titles in 2007, 2013, and 2018.

Some of the other most notable rivalries include Braves-Mets, Cardinals-Cubs, and Dodgers-Giants. All of those rivalries are between teams that play in the National League.

College Football Rivalries

Tips for Betting on Rivalry Games

When betting on rivalry games, take a look at recent results more than overall historical numbers. This may apply more in professional sports than collegiate sports, as some recent historical numbers may not mean as much for some due to the significant turnover that can often now in college football and college basketball.

Also, when it comes to rivalry games, records can sometimes go out the window, especially if the underdog is playing at home.

Other Sports Betting Information

Did you pick up some valuable information from our breakdown of the biggest rivalries in sports and feel more equipped to bet on an upcoming rivalry matchup?

Along with the daily expert picks and other betting information we provide, we also have a bevy of betting guides that cover many of the basics of sports betting, including types of bets, betting strategies, and how to bet on various sports, leagues, and events.

Here are some of the other sports betting guides you can find at Betting News:

We are gradually adding more betting guides, so bookmark our guides page and the site to make sure you don’t miss anything we add.

Also, we are very active on multiple social media outlets, where you can find more betting insight and information from the Betting News team every day.

Follow Betting News on Social Media

That includes our daily Twitch streams, where we discuss the day’s top matchups and much more.