Through 16 seasons in the NBA together, most with Joe Johnson considered one of the league's top offensive players at small forward and Trevor Ariza thought of as one of the top defenders at the position, Johnson and Ariza had battled often. Their history goes back even more.
Ariza was in 10th grade in Los Angeles when he began joining the summer pickup games at UCLA. Johnson, in town to see his friend and former Arkansas teammate, Jannero Pargo, was starting his NBA career. They have gone against each other, either in the summer or in the season, ever since.