LA Lakers-Boston Celtics rivalry set the foundation for modern NBA

In U.S. sports, nothing arguably comes close to the rivalry between the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics. They’ve faced each other a record 12 times in the past 60 years in the NBA Finals.

It’s not too much to say that some things just stop at a standstill when these two historic franchises play for all the marbles in the NBA. It happened in 1959, the first time they battled for the championship and was replicated in 2010, the last time they competed for the title.

In 1959, the Lakers were still based in Minneapolis. The electric Elgin Baylor, who averaged 22.8 PPG and 11.8 RPG, was still a rookie when the two teams first met. Boston had the makings of a dynasty behind Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Frank Ramsay and the legendary Bill Russell, who averaged 29.5 RPG.

Baylor had a stronger team in 1962, when the Lakers had already moved to LA, as he was joined by a great shooter named Jerry West. The LA Lakers were no longer pushovers as they pushed Russell’s Celtics to a do-or-die Game 7. “The Big Hurt” averaged a mind-boggling 40.6 PPG and 17.9 RPG. Russell countered with 22.9 RPG, 27.0 RPG and 5.7 APG.

From 1959 to 1984, the Boston Celtics blanked the LA Lakers 8-0 every time they met in the NBA Finals. Jerry West and Elgin Baylor would have had far more glittering resumes had they not played in the same era as Bill Russell.

Their hotly-contested battles on the NBA’s grandest stage set the stage for more salivating matchups in the '80s. The gripping saga of Boston and LA facing each other, regardless of the month, probably saved the league from disbanding.

It also set the foundation for what the NBA would become and desired itself to be.

Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson’s LA Lakers laid the foundation of the NBA

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson took the NBA to unprecedented heights. [photo: NBA.com]

Issues involving alleged drug abuse and franchises struggling to operate due to a dwindling fan base threatened to disband the NBA. Jerry West, who was long-retired by then, quipped that “the league was in trouble.”

There are several reasons why the NBA found its bearings in the '80s, but none bigger than the enmity between the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were the faces of perhaps the most iconic rivalry in sports history.

Their made-for-TV antagonism drew people, including non-basketball fans, to the NBA. They hated each other and made no secret of it. The Forum and the Garden were filled to the rafters every time they battled each other on the court.

It was an epic rivalry between the East and the West. The NBA found its manna and strove harder than ever to keep it growing. Pro basketball was never the same again after Bird and Magic pushed the league to a global audience.

The Boston Celtics met the LA Lakers three more times in the ‘80s, with LA winning in ‘85 and ‘87. Before Magic Johnson arrived, the Lakers had never beaten the Celtics in a championship series.

Bird won three championships while Johnson had five. The iconic names of the ‘80s had six MVP trophies between themselves and the adoration of millions of fans.

The Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers had a lull in their rivalry in the Michael Jordan-dominated '90s and the early 2000s. They met each other again in 2008, 21 years after their last title match.

Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen gave the Boston Celtics banner #17. Two seasons later, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol handed the Celtics their last loss in the rivalry.

After LeBron James and Anthony Davis carried the Tinseltown squad to the 2020 title, Boston and LA are tied with 17 championships each.

Competition, excellence and the unending quest to be better is what the NBA is all about today. The LA Lakers and Boston Celtics had an immeasurable impact on how the league and basketball fans have become.

Today’s NBA probably wouldn’t have the same appeal and attraction had it not been for the Lakers and Celtics.

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