The Official 2025/2026 NBA Season - The New York Knicks Are The 2026 NBA CHAMPIONS!!!

They did you proud tonight. :lol:

Now I'm wondering what are the greatest white vs white duels in NBA history.

I asked ChatGPT (limiting the field to American whites) for the top five and it only gave me 3. :lol:

I think tonight was arguably #2!!!

3) Golden State Warriors 108, Utah Jazz 103 — December 3, 1991​


Why this one: a modern-era stylistic clash — Chris Mullin (GSW) vs John Stockton (UTA) — that reads like an old textbook matchup: a pure shooter/wing vs. the league’s prototypical floor-general. Both are white Americans and both were at or near their primes.
  • Chris Mullin: 34 points, 10 rebounds (14-25 FG — huge scoring, efficient volume night).
  • John Stockton: 15 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals (a full-court, two-way stat line — he was the engine for Utah even while Mullin got his scoring night).
Why it qualifies as a “great battle”: Mullin’s 34/10 was the on-court scoring dagger for Golden State, but Stockton’s 12 assists plus a 5-steal showing show how he impacted every phase of the game beyond scoring. The matchup is instructive: Mullin imposing his shooting-driven scoring while Stockton controlled tempo, created for teammates and made high-impact defensive plays — a one-game duel showing two different superstar skillsets.

2) Los Angeles Lakers 116, Atlanta Hawks 105 — November 17, 1970​


Why this one: a gorgeous old-school scoring duel between Jerry West (LAL) and Pete “Pistol Pete” Maravich (ATL). It’s a clean single-game duel where both of the white-American backcourt stars clearly carried their teams’ offensive loads.
  • Jerry West: 34 points, 10 assists (played 48 minutes and was the game’s leading scorer).
  • Pete Maravich: 28 points for the Hawks (Maravich was the primary scorer and playmaker for Atlanta that night).
Why it qualifies as a “great battle”: West and Maravich were stylistically different — West the clutch, efficient two-way guard; Maravich the ball-handling, creative scorer — and this game is a clean example of an era matchup where both guys put up high end, head-to-head numbers in the same contest. The stat lines show both were highly involved: West finished as the game leader in points and assists; Maravich put up an eye-catching scoring night.

1) Game 7 — Boston Celtics 108, Los Angeles Lakers 106 — May 5, 1969​


Why this one: a Finals Game-7 is the ultimate stage and this one turned into an all-time individual duel between Jerry West (LAL) and John Havlicek (BOS). Both were the headline protagonists for their teams in the deciding game.
  • Jerry West: 42 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists (a triple-double in the deciding game; his series scoring was off the charts).
  • John Havlicek: 26 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists (Havlicek paced the Celtics on the stat sheet and made the plays that sealed the title).
Why it qualifies as a “great battle”: West’s 42/13/12 is a legendary, almost mythic Finals performance on the losing side (he still won the Finals MVP). Havlicek’s 26/11/6 wasn’t just numbers — those were clutch plays in critical moments (including the possessions leading to Don Nelson’s go-ahead bucket). The context (Game 7 of the Finals, classic rivalry) plus the top-tier stat lines on both sides make this the #1 pick.
 
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