Celtics Vs. Lakers

Celtics Vs. Lakers Game is almost here and it's a legendary rivalry.If I must say so myself.It Use to be Bird Vs. Johnson and now it's going to be Bryant Vs. Garnett.Anybody wanna bet money?

Sum History.


The Lakers-Celtics Rivalry or Celtics-Lakers Rivalry is a rivalry between two of the most storied basketball franchises in National Basketball Association history, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. The rivalry has been less intense since the retirements of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the early 1990s. The Celtics currently lead in total championships with 16 to the Lakers' 14.The first NBA Finals match-up between the two teams was in 1959 when the Boston Celtics swept the then Minneapolis Lakers for their first of 8 straight titles. However the rivalry truly originated in the 1960s, when the Celtics defeated the Lakers six times in eight years (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969) to claim the championship, and featured greats such as Bill Russell and Bob Cousy for Boston and Elgin Baylor and Jerry West for Los Angeles. In three of those NBA Finals ('62, '66, and '69), the series went to seven games, with the Celtics winning each time.

The rivalry continued with renewed fervor in the 1980s when both teams were strong, and was personified as Larry Bird (Boston) vs. Magic Johnson (Los Angeles). During this period, this rivalry took on many dimensions, such as East Coast vs. West Coast, working class grit vs. Hollywood glitz, power and strength vs. speed and finesse, old tradition vs. air-conditioned luxury, and some believe white vs. black (the Celtics teams of the 1980s were predominantly composed of Caucasian players, while those of Los Angeles were mostly African American). Additionally, prior to the 1980s, the NBA had been struggling financially, with low attendance and television ratings. The battles between the two teams contributed mightily to the success of the league. Coupled with the emergence of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan in the following years, the NBA became a media juggernaut and one of the dominant sports leagues of the United States as well as the rest of the world. The effect the rivalry had on the league is remarkable, since the two teams only met in an 80's Finals three times (1984, 1985, and 1987) and only played each other twice each season.

The rivalry died down after Johnson's and Bird's retirements and the rise of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s. Both teams suffered setbacks in the subsequent fifteen years, with the Lakers finally returning to prominence with three championships in the 2000s but then failing to advance in the playoffs for several years after trading Shaquille O'Neal. The Celtics had only advanced past the conference semifinals twice between 1988 and 2007. In the early 2000s, the Sacramento Kings replaced Boston as the team Lakers fans love to hate
However, for the 2007-2008 season, talk of the rivalry has returned with both teams posting the best regular season records for their respective conferences and will meet in the NBA finals for the 11th time.

One of the lasting effects on the Lakers-Celtics rivalry was the usage of the famous "Beat L.A.!!!" chant, sung by fans in opposing arenas whenever a Los Angeles-based team plays in their home venue. Celtics fans sang the slogan in the 1960s at Boston Garden, and again in the 1980s in the Johnson-Bird rivalry. Perhaps its most famous usage was during Game 7 the 1982 Eastern Conference Championships when the Boston fans urged the victorious Sixers to "Beat LA". It has kept on with every Los Angeles sports franchise since then.