5 Biggest Rivalries in Las Vegas Sports
Come one, come all. These five Las Vegas sports rivalries will get your blood boiling!
[caption id="attachment_73641" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Kyle Busch and Dale Jr got into it one wild night at Richmond[/caption]
Kyle Busch versus Dale Earnahrdt Jr. was bound to happen. It was the only appropriate solution when you take a villain like Las Vegas native Kyle Buch and put him against NASCAR’s golden boy. Their paths finally collided one wild night in Richmond, Virginia.
Dale Jr. tried to keep the lead after a caution and hold the bottom. Busch responded with a few well-timed corners that pushed Earnhardt into the upper grove. The two fought vigorously for several more corners before Busch accidentally hit Jr.’s quarter panel entering a turn.
NASCAR fans then watched in rage as their favorite driver was unceremoniously dumped into the wall. Earnhardt Jr. even admitted during a post-race interview that Busch would probably need security if he wanted to leave without getting attacked.
Like it or not, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson is the face of the WNBA. The former South Carolina Gamecock has changed the game and put all eyes on her.
Then there's Caitlin Clark. The Iowa State basketball star that rocked the college basketball world in 2023. Clark even made it to the championship game and was ultimately drafted by the Indiana Fever as a cornerstone of their organization. All the hype creates the illusion that Clark should be the WNBA's poster girl instead of Wilson.
Wilson's critics say she's not as marketable as Clark. But marketability isn’t everything. A lot of what makes a player a superstar is their talent on the court, and Clark just hasn’t proven that yet.
The Las Vegas Raiders versus the Kansas City Chiefs might seem one-sided, but that's changed a bit lately. Despite the Kansas City Chiefs winning two Super Bowls, they have struggled against their Raider Nation nemesis.
Take the Raiders' 19-17 loss to the Chiefs on Black Friday in 2024. That was a game that came down to the closing minutes. Another matchup in 2024 had the Chiefs with a 27-20 victory that came very close at one point. No matter who wins, it's always intense between these two.
This rivalry puts the Raiders against one of the best teams in the NFL and lets them prove just how good they can be.
[caption id="attachment_74055" align="alignnone" width="601"]
The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars have quite the history.[/caption]
Everyone knows why the Las Vegas Aces versus New York Liberty rivalry is on this list. We all remember what they did to our Aces in the semi-finals of 2024’s playoff, how they tossed them out like yesterday's trash. The Aces did hang on for a 95-81 win in game three of the series but lost a few nights later. This eliminated them from the playoffs and ruined their chances of competing for a third straight championship. All while the Liberty went to win it all.
What makes this worse and creates the rivalry is that the Aces destroyed the New York Liberty in the 2023 playoffs. Instead of the semi-finals, it was the WNBA Finals, and the Aces rocked them 3-1. This resulted in the Aces winning two straight titles and becoming a basketball dynasty.
The rivalry between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars runs deep. Keep in mind that this is the same team that knocked Las Vegas out of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs in a fiery first-round series. They are also the team we brutalized out of the semi-finals in 2022 to go on to capture our first Stanley Cup.
Dallas dug the knife in deeper by hiring head coach Peter Debeor after we fired him following a bad season. There's no telling the lengths these two teams will go to get one over on each other.
The Golden Knights have a 12-4-4 all-time series record against the Dallas Stars. That, unfortunately, becomes a 9-10 record when it comes to the playoffs.
[caption id="attachment_73641" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Kyle Busch and Dale Jr got into it one wild night at Richmond[/caption]#5 Kyle Busch vs. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kyle Busch versus Dale Earnahrdt Jr. was bound to happen. It was the only appropriate solution when you take a villain like Las Vegas native Kyle Buch and put him against NASCAR’s golden boy. Their paths finally collided one wild night in Richmond, Virginia.
Dale Jr. tried to keep the lead after a caution and hold the bottom. Busch responded with a few well-timed corners that pushed Earnhardt into the upper grove. The two fought vigorously for several more corners before Busch accidentally hit Jr.’s quarter panel entering a turn.
NASCAR fans then watched in rage as their favorite driver was unceremoniously dumped into the wall. Earnhardt Jr. even admitted during a post-race interview that Busch would probably need security if he wanted to leave without getting attacked.
#4 A’ja Wilson vs. Caitlin Clark
Like it or not, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson is the face of the WNBA. The former South Carolina Gamecock has changed the game and put all eyes on her.
Then there's Caitlin Clark. The Iowa State basketball star that rocked the college basketball world in 2023. Clark even made it to the championship game and was ultimately drafted by the Indiana Fever as a cornerstone of their organization. All the hype creates the illusion that Clark should be the WNBA's poster girl instead of Wilson.
Wilson's critics say she's not as marketable as Clark. But marketability isn’t everything. A lot of what makes a player a superstar is their talent on the court, and Clark just hasn’t proven that yet.
#3 Las Vegas Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs
The Las Vegas Raiders versus the Kansas City Chiefs might seem one-sided, but that's changed a bit lately. Despite the Kansas City Chiefs winning two Super Bowls, they have struggled against their Raider Nation nemesis.
Take the Raiders' 19-17 loss to the Chiefs on Black Friday in 2024. That was a game that came down to the closing minutes. Another matchup in 2024 had the Chiefs with a 27-20 victory that came very close at one point. No matter who wins, it's always intense between these two.
This rivalry puts the Raiders against one of the best teams in the NFL and lets them prove just how good they can be.
[caption id="attachment_74055" align="alignnone" width="601"]
The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars have quite the history.[/caption]#2 Las Vegas Aces vs New York Liberty
Everyone knows why the Las Vegas Aces versus New York Liberty rivalry is on this list. We all remember what they did to our Aces in the semi-finals of 2024’s playoff, how they tossed them out like yesterday's trash. The Aces did hang on for a 95-81 win in game three of the series but lost a few nights later. This eliminated them from the playoffs and ruined their chances of competing for a third straight championship. All while the Liberty went to win it all.
What makes this worse and creates the rivalry is that the Aces destroyed the New York Liberty in the 2023 playoffs. Instead of the semi-finals, it was the WNBA Finals, and the Aces rocked them 3-1. This resulted in the Aces winning two straight titles and becoming a basketball dynasty.
#1 Las Vegas Golden Knights vs Dallas Stars
The rivalry between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars runs deep. Keep in mind that this is the same team that knocked Las Vegas out of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs in a fiery first-round series. They are also the team we brutalized out of the semi-finals in 2022 to go on to capture our first Stanley Cup.
Dallas dug the knife in deeper by hiring head coach Peter Debeor after we fired him following a bad season. There's no telling the lengths these two teams will go to get one over on each other.
The Golden Knights have a 12-4-4 all-time series record against the Dallas Stars. That, unfortunately, becomes a 9-10 record when it comes to the playoffs.