Is Rubio vs. Jennings the next Isiah vs. Stockton? | MAD BALLIN'

courtesy of SLAM

No doubt, both Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings have a loooong way to go before they can reach the heights set by Isiah Thomas and John Stockton back in the 1980's and 90's, but the potential for their rivalry to become an Isiah-Stock Part II is there.

Forget about their head-to-head Euroleague matchup late last year. At this point, what happened in that game doesn't mean anything, because the battle really started when Jennings called Rubio "all hype".

I'm not going to take sides here. Both point guard prodigies are still teenagers, and it's waaaay too early to project too deep into the future. For all I know, an injury here and there combined with bad coaching/managerial situations, and both could end up being busts. Just look at Penny Hardaway.

I love the way both of these guys play. Brandon Jennings likes to work off the dribble, while Ricky Rubio likes to anticipate the flow of the game. Jennings reminds me of a bigger, more aggressive version of Kenny Anderson, while Rubio reminds me of a funkier version of John Stockton, sort of like a Larry Bird inside a point guard's body, a precocious defender, but without the refined jumpshot.

And besides the trash talk, there's the whole question of race (black vs. white) and nation (United States vs. Spain). This could be the first basketball rivalry representing the globalization of the game, with style and flava transcending nationality and culture.

Due to Jennings' barbs at Rubio, people will be tuning in to see where each of these point guards go in the draft, and if the American can back up his talk by torching the Spaniard, like Zeke did Stock.

Although David Stern may have preferred a more Magic-Bird-like start to the dawn of a potentially big rivalry, a little controversy never hurts in bringing in the eyes and ears. Besides, a point guard rivalry in the feel-good mold already exists in Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams.

In the end, it'll all come down to who helps his team win, but until then, I hope both of these youngsters become the best players they can be.