Here are the biggest athlete rivalries in sports history

The Kendrick Lamar and Drake rap feud has been going on for weeks, but there seems to be a new rivalry brewing in sports between two former athletes turned TV analysts. 

Hall of Fame basketball player Shaquille O’Neal released a diss track Friday aimed at Shannon Sharpe over the NFL Hall of Fame tight end’s comments. 

During his podcast, Sharpe called out Shaq by suggesting the Lakers great is jealous of Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and other modern centers in the NBA because he thinks O'Neal is worried they'll take away from his legacy as an NBA legend.

It’s hard to say if this feud is getting settled anytime soon, but here’s a look back at some of the notable athlete rivalries.

Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas 

The rivalry between basketball greats Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas goes back years and started in 1985. Thomas and other NBA players reportedly froze out Jordan at the 1985 All-Star Game, something that angered the Chicago Bulls legend. 

Jordan blames Thomas for what happened and it was rumored that MJ made sure the Detroit Pistons superstar was kept off the 1992 Dream Team. When Jordan and the Bulls beat the Pistons in the 1991 NBA playoffs, Thomas and his teammates walked off the court and refused to shake Jordan's hand and congratulate the Bulls when the game ended. 

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Thomas has recently gone on record saying that basketball superstar LeBron James is a better athlete than Jordan, but MJ fired back criticizing Thomas on the docuseries "The Last Dance."

Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan

The rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan took an ugly turn on Jan. 6, 1994, in one of the most infamous scandals in sports history. 

While preparing to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked and struck in the knee with a baton, rendering her unable to participate in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. 

It later came out that the attack was planned by several men, a few connected to Harding. 

RELATED: Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan: A look back at the infamous 1994 attack

Harding later plead guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution, meaning she knew who committed the crime but didn’t tell police. The skater was sentenced to three years of probation and 500 hours of community service. She also had to pay a fine of $160,000 and was banned from the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal won three championships together with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s and many thought that had they remained teammates they could have racked up more. 

But the relationship started to go downhill with multiple clashes which ended with Shaq demanding a trade from the Lakers in 2004 and eventually signing with the Miami Heat. 

The two stars continued criticizing each other, with Bryant notably questioning Shaq’s conditioning and training habits when he played. Years later, the two did reconcile their differences after retiring from the NBA. 

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier

Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest fighters ever but also the best at trash talk. 

Ali knew how to get under an opponent's skin and did it mercilessly with boxer Joe Frazier ahead of their first fight in 1971.

Ali made negative remarks about Frazier’s physical appearance, among other things. Frazier beat Ali in the first fight, but Ali won the rematch in 1974.  The two boxers fought again with Ali winning the bout. Frazier and Ali never got along after that. 

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

Two of the biggest names in golf had their rivalry back in the day. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were highly competitive in the late 1990s through the mid-2000s. 

Woods rarely socialized with other golfers which in part created a tension between him and Mickelson. 

In a 2003 Golf Magazine interview, Mickelson mocked Woods’ golf clubs, which the 15-time golfing champion had helped design, as "inferior." Mickelson then gave Woods a back-handed compliment, saying he was the only player good enough to "overcome the equipment he’s stuck with," the New York Post noted. 

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Mickelson struggled to win majors while Woods racked them up in bunches, and it wasn’t until now that they are both well past their primes that they have any kind of public relationship.

Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers 

Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have had a strange relationship since the Green Packers drafted Rodgers in 2005. 

Favre was the franchise quarterback and a Packers legend, but Rodgers was considered his successor. During his rookie season, Favre made it clear it wasn’t his job to mentor Rodgers, who he knew would one day supplant him as QB. 

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For the next few years, Favre would be noncommittal about playing for Green Bay while mulling retirement until the team granted the Super Bowl champion's release from the team in 2007. 

Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb

The Philadelphia Eagles thought they had the perfect duo with Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb, but things got worse after the team lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2005. Owens played in that game after relentlessly rehabbing from a leg injury. 

During the offseason in 2005, Owens wanted a new contract from the Eagles but got upset with McNabb for not speaking up and advocating for him to get a new deal. 

McNabb stayed silent and backed Eagles management, which incensed Owens, who publicly criticized the quarterback for it. 

This story was reported from Washington, D.C. 

 

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