There's Hatfields and McCoys. There's cats and dog. Then there's Lakers and Celtics.
The NBA's most-often renewed feud stands arguably as the most enduring rivalry in all of American sports. In the 66 seasons that the league has contested its championship, 33 times the winner was either the Celtics or Lakers.
The rivalry dates back to 1959 when the Lakers still called Minneapolis home. At that time, the Lakers were the league's behemoth, having won championships in five of the NBA's first six seasons. But the Celtics were starting to emerge as a dynasty of their own, thanks in part to head coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach and a pair of future Hall of Famers – guard Bob Cousy and center Bill Russell.
By 1959, the C's were playing in their third straight championship series and Cousy made a bold prediction, saying his team would sweep the Lakers. That was no small feat, considering the Lakers boasted 1958-59 rookie of the year Elgin Baylor. But the guard was true to his word – Boston won four straight games to win their second title in three seasons.
Two seasons later, the Lakers had moved to Los Angeles, but very little else had changed between the teams. Boston and L.A. met in the NBA Finals in 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1968. Each time, it ended with the Celtics as champions.
They met again in 1969. Los Angeles had added Wilt Chamberlain to play alongside the team's current stars, Baylor and Jerry West and jumped out to a 2-0 series lead. But the Celtics – led by player-coach Russell – stormed back to force a Game 7 in Los Angeles.
Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke confidently predicted his team's success, even having “World Champion Lakers” balloons printed in advance. Los Angeles made a furious rally late in the game without Chamberlain, who was sidelined with foul trouble and an injured knee, but it wasn't enough. The Celtics hung on for the victory, capping a string of 11 championships in 13 seasons.
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| Kevin Garnett shoots over Pau Gasol |
The teams wouldn't meet again in the Finals until 1984, but both franchises had their future destinies shaped five years earlier. In 1979, a gregarious kid from Michigan named Earvin Johnson led Michigan State to a national championship over Indiana State and an unassuming Indiana farm boy named Larry Bird. It was the start of a personal rivalry that would be played out on professional basketball's biggest stage.
The '84 Finals featured a Lakers team with Johnson, James Worthy and an aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Celtics countered with an All-Star front line of Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. It was a physical series, highlighted by McHale's clothesline of Laker forward Kurt Rambis in Game 4. The series would be stretched to seven games and once again, the Cetlics would prove victorious. Boston won on the series, with Bird earning Finals MVP.
In 1985, the Lakers finally vanquished its longtime rival, winning in six games. L.A. would repeat the feat in 1987, again dispatching the Celtics in six. It would be some time before the two sides met again in the Finals.
By 1999, Michael Jordan had retired for a second time and coach Phil Jackson had moved on to Los Angeles to join Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. While the Lakers won three straight titles from 2000-02, the Celtics were trying to rebuild from a disastrous stretch under coach Rick Pitino. That rebuilding was completed in 2007 when Boston acquired guard Ray Allen and forward Kevin Garnett in draft day trades.
Paired with All-Star Paul Pierce, the new-look Celtics won 66 regular season games and met a retooled Laker team in the 2008 Finals. Boston would win the series in six games, highlighted by its rally from a 24-point deficit in Game 4. The Lakers would get payback in 2010, defeating Boston in seven games to win their second consecutive title.
With the recent rise of the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder, it appears that the Lakers-Celtics rivalry may be temporarily on hold. But if history has shown nothing else, it's that these two league titans are rarely held down for long.
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