The Lakers-Celtics Rivalry or Celtics-Lakers Rivalry is a rivalry between two of the most storied basketball franchises in National Basketball Association (NBA)  history, the Los Angeles Laker and the Boston Celtics. This year, in 2008, the teams will meet for the 11th time in the finals.

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 Lakers and the Celtics have met a total of 10 times in the NBA finals, with Boston winning the first eight meetings, and Los Angeles the last two.  This time the Lakers also have the NBA MVP Kobe Bryant who is sure to make a slam-dunk difference.

The past has obviously made an impression on the current players as well. Paul Pierce grew up in Inglewood known at the time as the "City of Champions." It is most certain that he carries precious memories of the Fabulous Forum where the Lakers played impressive NBA games. Pierce attended Inglewood High and of course was a star high school basketball player and avid Lakers fan. Now the tables have turned as he will try to win his first NBA title as a member of the Boston Celtics.  Television clips show Pierce leading the chants of "Beat L.A." in the Boston locker room after the Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons to advance to the finals.

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 (see Lakers-Kings rivalry).

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

There was also a Lakers versus Celtics was a video game released first in 1989 for MS-DOS-compatible PCs and later adapted for consoles in 1990 for the Sega Mega Drive/

Sega Genesis. The game was highly successful; it was the first game endorsed by the NBA and was the first to contain multiple NBA stars and teams in one game.

Thursday night worldwide millions will be focused on one of the most anticipated NBA finals. GO LAKERS!!!