When sports analysts talk about playoff patterns in the FBA, most conversations turn toward the Newark Pride and their heart-breaking losses in the Eastern Conference Championship-- five years in a row. But worthy of equal attention is the winners of the Western Conference Championships. Over the same period, it's only been either the Dakota Bikers of the Stanislaus Thrust.

Given that, it's easy to see where the rivalry between Buck Hopper and Ryan Malone was forged. The two superstars led their teams night after night in scoring, and when they faced each other, they weren't shy about getting in each others' muzzle, particularly in the playoffs when they regularly saw the other as the biggest obstacle to the Finals. Some of the most incredible games were played between the Bikers and the Thrust, with the best plays almost always ending with one of them having his ankles shattered or his ears dunked on.

And adding to that was how different the pair were as personalities. Where Buck was a casual, extroverted team captain, leading both by example and by generosity with a reputation for hosting some of the wildest parties in the league, Ryan was a rigid, relentless disciplinarian, constantly demanding more of himself, fueled by regimentation. You couldn't ask for more opposite players.

But in 2012, when the Thrust announced a three-way trade that put Buck Hopper in a black jersey, FBA fans were stunned. How could these two play together? Everyone could remember all the times the two sneered at each other on the court, went toe-to-toe, how often it looked like the rabbit and the kangaroo would settle their differences without the ball. And considering how unlike each other they were, it was impossible to see how any kind of teamwork could be established between a limelight-loving bunny and a strict disciplinarian kangaroo.

And yet, after a shaky regular season, with the Bikers once more charing into the playoffs, the two have found a way.

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Artwork by one of my very favorite artists out there,  asterionblazing! After all the commissions I've gotten from here, can you believe that this is her first Furballer cover??

This image is supposed to be a photograph (from Susan Egret, of course) taken during Game 7 of the Bikers / Voyageurs playoffs series, when the Bikers came back from 1-3 to win three games in a row and defeat the #1 team in the West. Buck had an especially phenomenal game that night, including a simply brutal dunk that put the dagger in the match. I envisioned after that play, Buck roaring at the crowd and Ryan Malone wrapping him up from behind, as if restraining the bunny after so he'd made so many buckets.