Mavericks-Suns heated rivalry will explode with Klay Thompson in Dallas

One of the best parts about the NBA is rivalries and everything that comes along with them.

Rivalry games are the ones that fans circle on their calendar, as there is always more at stake when playing in games against your rival.

While rivalries in the NBA aren't as intense as they once were, the Dallas Mavericks have a few rivalries that often go overlooked. While the Mavericks' biggest rival is likely the San Antonio Spurs, they've also formed rivalries with the LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns over the last few years.

The Suns are undoubtedly one of the Mavs' biggest rivals, and most of their rivalry was fueled during the second round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Dallas battled back from being down 0-2 in this series and won in seven games, and Devin Booker became the villain for Mavs fans.

Klay Thompson adds juicy new layer to Mavericks-Suns rivalry

Booker made fun of Luka Doncic after laying on the floor after a foul call and calling it the "Luka special" and there have been several scuffles between the Mavs and Suns over the years since this heated playoff series. These altercations often revolve around Booker, and now that Klay Thompson is a Maverick, this rivalry is only going to intensify.

Booker has already said that he is excited to play against Thompson now that he is on the Mavs, and the two of them already have a bit of an individual rivalry that dates back to the beginning of the 2022-23 season.

On October 25, 2022, Thompson was ejected from a game for the first time in his career after jawing with Booker continuously during the second half. This chatter revolved around Thompson letting Booker know that he has four rings repeatedly, and although Thompson later seemed to regret this decision, it was still one of the most heated moments of his career.

Thompson has only been ejected twice in his career, and it's not often that he gets as heated as he did in that game.

Thompson and Booker both hold a mutual respect for each other and everyone gets a little out of control at times, and their altercation from a couple of years ago is only going to make Dallas' rivalry with the Suns even more fiery if some of this trash talk ends up boiling over to Dallas.

The Mavs' team chemistry was at an all-time high last season, and these Mavericks-Suns matchups bring the best out of everyone. Even Kyrie Irving was spotted trash talking with the Suns during Dallas' matchup with them at the end of the 2022-23 season, and every player on both teams knows how much these games mean.

Although most of Dallas and Phoenix's rosters are almost completely different from the teams that matched up in 2022, there is still always tension when these two teams play. In two of the three games that Dallas played the Suns last year, there were altercations between the players and even an ejection.

Booker was involved in one of these scuffles and even called out former Maverick Grant Williams for his "nonsense tactics" from the January 24 matchup.

These moments only added fuel to the fire, but there's no individual rivalry like Booker and Doncic's. During their final matchup against each other in the 2022-23 season, Doncic and Booker went nose to nose and had to be separated by their teammates after the two were jawing at each other.

Most of the chatter between Booker and Doncic is just competitiveness from both sides, but this rivalry between the two teams will only intensify with Thompson in the picture. He isn't afraid of anyone, and at times, he can be a big trash talker.

Doncic is also fearless, and he always seems to play his best when he is playing against Booker and the Suns. Nothing gets Doncic going like some good old-fashioned trash talk, and Booker is widely known as one of the biggest trash talkers in the league.

Booker and Doncic always seem to be going at it, and Thompson being in the picture will add to the competitive vibes between Dallas and Phoenix, but also with Booker individually.

Thomspon is ecstatic to be getting a fresh start in Dallas, and if next year goes according to plan, maybe Thompson will be able to throw up five fingers at Booker instead of four.