The 15 Best Revenge Games Across Sports Ahead of Micah Parsons' Return to Dallas

Once the initial shock of the Dallas Cowboys trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers wore off, another fun storyline emerged.

Parsons would take on the Cowboys in Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season.

As that moment nears for Parsons, the "revenge game" narrative has bounced around our brains. We've watched a number of players—some who requested trades or left in free agency, and others who had no choice—put together a tremendous day against their former teams.

The choices, all of which happened since 2000, are subjective but are largely based on each player's individual production.

Met with a persistent chorus of boos from Toronto Raptors fans, Vince Carter dazzled in the building he previously called home.

Vinsanity straight-up stuffed the box score.

Leading the then-New Jersey Nets to a 101-90 win, he netted 39 points with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Carter, who requested a trade earlier in the season after six-plus years on the Raps, had only one turnover in the game.

"When [the fans] go home tonight, they have something to think about," Carter told reporters in response to the boos.

Carter has since become an appreciated figure in Toronto. He was the first player in franchise history to have his jersey retired.

Want to make a statement? Catch a touchdown right away.

Terrell Owens did exactly that in 2005 as the Philadelphia Eagles welcomed the San Francisco 49ers to town.

Granted, he needed to wait for this opportunity. He'd played eight seasons for the Niners, but a deteriorating relationship led to his exit in 2004. The teams did not play during his first year in Philly.

But in Week 2 of the 2025 season, T.O. wrecked the Niners with five catches for 143 yards and two trips to the end zone. Owens caught a 68-yard score on the third snap of the game and added a 42-yard touchdown in the second quarter to spearhead the 42-3 rout.

Although big drama soon awaited Owens and Philly, this particular moment hardly could have gone any better.

When the San Diego Chargers acquired Philip Rivers in the 2004 NFL draft, it became clear that Drew Brees' tenure was likely coming to an end soon. He started two more seasons for the Chargers before departing in free agency.

And then, the wait began.

Not until his third year on the New Orleans Saints did Brees have an opportunity to meet the Chargers—albeit in London rather than San Diego.

Brees sliced apart the Chargers, completing 30-of-41 passes for 339 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He outdueled his replacement and propelled the Saints to a 37-32 victory.

This result kickstarted a trend for Brees, who went a perfect 4-0 against the Chargers with triumphs in 2012, 2016 and 2020 as well.

Moving on from a franchise icon is never painless, but it was time for the Green Bay Packers. They'd drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005, and retirement rumors lingered around Brett Favre for a few seasons until he called it quits in 2008.

That is, until he reversed course and spent one year on the New York Jets. Then, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency.

That leads us to 2009, when Favre played against his longtime team.

Although he later admitted a great deal of nerves, Favre looked poised and put together a terrific game in a 30-23 victory. He completed 24-of-31 passes for 271 yards and three scores with no turnovers.

For good measure, he threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions in a win at Lambeau Field one month later.

In fairness to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it's not like they actively shipped out LeBron James. He technically went to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade, but the King had decided he was going to leave Cleveland in free agency.

In other words, this is not a classic revenge game.

Nevertheless, the Cavs could not stop their former—and, little did they know, future—superstar on this December night.

Miami cruised to a 118-90 rout in Cleveland behind a 38-point effort from James, who converted on 15-of-25 attempts from the floor. He added eight assists and five rebounds while committing zero turnovers.

The most impressive part is that LeBron didn't even play in the fourth quarter.

Steve Smith was a fixture of the Carolina Panthers' receiving corps. He played 13 years for the franchise and reached 800-plus yards in nine seasons.

However, then-new general manager Dave Gettleman tried to trade Smith before ultimately releasing him in 2014. The decision led to a strong warning from Smith during a subsequent radio interview.

If his future team would be playing Carolina, "Put your goggles on because there's going to be blood and guts everywhere."

Graphic, for sure. But metaphorically, he was correct.

Smith joined the Baltimore Ravens, who hosted the Panthers in Week 4. He hauled in seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-10 blowout.

Good luck finding more satisfying revenge.

Selected in the first round of the 2008 draft, Serge Ibaka made his Oklahoma City Thunder debut in 2009. He played seven seasons in OKC, becoming a premier shot-blocker and earning All-Defensive Team recognition three times.

But as the post-Kevin Durant era began, the Thunder began revamping their roster and shipped Ibaka to the Orlando Magic.

During the 10th game of the 2016-17 season, he lit them up.

Ibaka poured in a career-best 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting with nine rebounds and four blocks. Most memorably, he drained a nine-foot jumper with 0.4 seconds left in regulation to give the Magic a 119-117 victory.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it feels good," Ibaka said afterward.

Sure, the Toronto Raptors would get the last laugh. Kawhi Leonard propelled them to an NBA championship this season.

In this moment, however, DeMar DeRozan had a cathartic night.

Traded to the San Antonio Spurs that prior offseason, he picked a perfect time for a unique accomplishment. In a 125-107 win, DeRozan notched his first career triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.

"To get it versus [the Raptors] is kinda cool," an understated DeRozan told reporters in his postgame interview.

Exactly nine days later, Blake Griffin had a similar experience.

The first overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, Griffin spent nearly a decade on the Los Angeles Clippers. However, they dealt the four-time All-NBA forward to the Detroit Pistons as an inevitable retooling loomed.

Griffin made his return to Los Angeles the next season in January, and he gave the Staples Center crowd one final show.

While leading the Pistons to a 109-104 triumph, he buried five threes and netted 44 points—one of the five highest totals in his entire career. Griffin added eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block.

Griffin brushed off the excitement of his performance after the game, but those numbers did plenty of talking for him.

Bryce Harper made a business decision in 2019, leaving the Washington Nationals for a $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

He also decided to become a heel.

The second series of the regular season sent Harper back to Washington. Much to the delight of the boo-filled Nationals Park, Harper struck out in his first two at-bats against Max Scherzer.

But then, he hit a double in the fifth inning, laced an RBI single in the sixth and uncorked a two-run, 458-foot homer in the eighth.

Harper launched a bat flip toward the Washington dugout, trotted around the bases and punctuated the 8-2 victory in style.

James Harden began his career in Oklahoma City, but a cap crunch sent him to the Houston Rockets in 2012. "The Beard" rose to prominence in Houston, becoming a prolific scorer and annual MVP candidate.

The relationship between Harden and the Rockets deteriorated in 2020, and he forced his way out to the Brooklyn Nets.

About two months later, he returned to Houston with a flourish.

Harden recorded a 29-point triple-double, dishing 14 assists and nabbing 10 rebounds. He led Brooklyn to a 132-114 victory as a severely short-handed Houston team had only eight healthy players.

There probably wasn't much bitterness for Harden, given that Houston's ownership said one day before the game that it plans to retire his No. 13.

If you don't believe a chip on your shoulder is all that effective, I'd like to introduce you to D'Onta Foreman.

A third-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2017, he struggled to find his NFL footing for a few years. Houston waived him 2019, as did the Indianapolis Colts after an injury. He spent the 2020 campaign as a backup on the Tennessee Titans and then joined the Atlanta Falcons during the 2021 preseason.

Foreman didn't make it through final roster cuts, but the Falcons signed him to their practice squad. However, they released him two days later.

All of that brings us to 2022 on the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina had just traded Christian McCaffrey, and Foreman dazzled in his first start for the team. Even though the Panthers lost 37-34 in overtime, he rushed for a cathartic 118 yards and three touchdowns.

"I feel like when I was in Atlanta, I was disappointed they let me go," he told reporters. "I feel like I was the better guy than everybody there at the time. And they let me go. So I was out for blood at that time."

Right or wrong, the New York Giants made a choice. They decided that paying big money to a running back wasn't worth the risk.

Saquon Barkley wasted no time in making that decision look foolish.

Early in the second quarter in his return to the Meadowlands, he popped off a 55-yard scamper that set up his short touchdown. Barkley also gashed the Giants for 38- and 41-yard gains on drives that ended in Jalen Hurts' two rushing scores.

Barkley took a seat early in the fourth quarter with 17 carries for 176 yards, and the Eagles flew to a 28-3 victory at his former home.

Adding to their hurt, the Giants later watched Barkley play a pivotal role in Philly's run to a 14-3 regular-season record and Super Bowl LIX crown.

Since it hasn't even been a year (as of this writing) since the bewildering Luka Dončić trade, this may be a bit overdramatic.

However, that night of Feb. 1 feels like a "where were you" kind of moment in NBA history. Surely that report was fake, right? There was no chance the Dallas Mavericks actually made that trade...right?

But it was very real—and very, very painful for Mavs fans.

To make matters worse, Dončić registered a triple-double in his first matchup with Dallas. In a 107-99 triumph, he netted 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists while adding five combined steals and blocks.

Six weeks later, Dončić returned to his beloved crowd in Dallas and proceeded to drop 45 points on the Mavs in a 112-97 victory for L.A.

Facing a looming cap crunch, the Colorado Avalanche needed to determine the path forward with or without Mikko Rantanen.

They chose the latter option, sending him to the Carolina Hurricanes in a January trade. What the Avs could not foresee, though, was Carolina turning around and dealing Rantanen to the Dallas Stars six weeks later.

And, boy, did Colorado feel the pain directly.

During the opening round of the playoffs, the series between the Avalanche and Stars went to a Game 7. Colorado took an early 2-0 lead in the third period, but Rantanen took control of the ice from there.

Rantanen scored once at even strength, once on the power play, assisted Matt Duchene's go-ahead goal and sealed the 4-2 win with an empty-netter.

No player tallied more points in the seven-game series than Rantanen, who posted five goals and seven assists to eliminate the Avs.