Red Auerbach hated the smell of champagne. Or maybe he just hated the idea of it being sprayed in the wrong locker room. Back in the 60s, the Boston Celtics patriarch famously lit a victory cigar before the final whistle even blew, a cloud of smoke drifting toward a frustrated Los Angeles Lakers bench. It wasn't just a game. It was a message.
Fast forward to today. The jerseys have changed. The shorts are longer. The three-point line exists. Yet, the Lakers and Boston Celtics remain the gravitational center of the basketball universe. If you don't get why people still lose their minds over a regular-season game in January between these two, you’re missing the point of NBA history.
The 18-17 Problem
Eighteen. That’s the magic number in Boston right now. After the Celtics secured the 2024 NBA Championship, they finally nudged ahead of Los Angeles in the all-time title count. For years, they were tied at 17. Lakers fans will quickly remind you that five of those Minneapolis titles "kinda" count differently, while Celtics fans will point out that half of the Lakers' rings came against a league with only eight teams.
Arguments like this are the lifeblood of the sport. Honestly, the NBA would be significantly less interesting if these two franchises didn't despise each other. It’s a coastal war. Hollywood glamour versus New England grit. Magic’s smile versus Bird’s trash talk.
Magic, Larry, and the Save of a Lifetime
In 1979, the NBA was bleeding. Tape-delayed Finals games. Drug rumors. Low ratings. Then came the 1979 NCAA Championship game, which was basically the pilot episode for the greatest show in sports. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird brought their college beef to the pros and transformed the Lakers and Boston Celtics into a global brand.
Magic was the fast break. He was "Showtime." He made passing look cooler than scoring. Bird was the "Hick from French Lick," a guy who looked like he just finished mowing a lawn but would drop 40 points on your head while telling you exactly how he was going to do it.
They met in the Finals three times in the 80s (1984, 1985, 1987). It was brutal. In '84, Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis, a move that would probably get a player arrested today but back then was just "good defense." The Lakers eventually broke the "Celtics Mystique" in 1985, winning on the parquet floor in Boston. That changed everything. It proved the purple and gold could actually survive the Garden.
The Kobe and KG Era: A Grudge Match Reborn
The rivalry went dormant for a bit in the 90s. The Bulls happened. Then the Lakers 3-peated with Shaq and Kobe. But the fire reignited in 2008. Danny Ainge, a former Celtic, pulled off a heist to get Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Suddenly, the Big Three were back in green.
I remember the 2008 Finals vividly. The Celtics blew the Lakers out in Game 6 by 39 points. 39. Kobe Bryant reportedly sat in his hotel room and listened to "Don't Stop Believin'" on repeat just to fuel his anger. It worked. In 2010, they met again. Game 7 was ugly. It was a rock fight. Nobody could shoot. Pau Gasol played like a man possessed, and Kobe grabbed 15 rebounds despite shooting 6-of-24.
The Lakers won that one. It was the peak of 21st-century basketball drama.
Why Modern Fans Should Actually Care
Some people say the rivalry is dead because players are friends now. They work out together in the offseason. They swap jerseys.
That's nonsense.
Look at Jayson Tatum. He grew up a Kobe superfan. He wears the purple and gold gear in private, but he knows he can't be seen with it in Boston. Then you have LeBron James, who has his own personal rivalry with the Celtics dating back to his first stint in Cleveland. When LeBron put on a Lakers jersey, it added a whole new layer of complexity. The greatest player of this generation leading the most famous franchise against their oldest foe? That’s high-stakes theater.
The Lakers and Boston Celtics rivalry isn't just about the past. It's about the standard. Most teams celebrate "making the playoffs." These two franchises consider anything less than a parade to be a catastrophic failure. That shared arrogance is what makes the games so tense.
The Misconception of the "Balanced" Rivalry
People think it's always been back and forth. It hasn't.
- The Celtics dominated the 60s, winning seven straight Finals matchups against the Lakers.
- The Lakers owned the 80s in terms of cultural impact.
- Boston has historically been better at rebuilding quickly (the Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatum era is proof).
- Los Angeles has historically been better at attracting superstars via free agency (LeBron, AD, Shaq).
The Front Office Cold War
The competition isn't just on the hardwood. It’s in the front office. When the Celtics traded for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, the pressure shifted immediately to Rob Pelinka in L.A. How do you respond to your rival getting better?
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In 2024, the Celtics' dominance forced the Lakers' hand. They had to look at their roster and realize that "good enough" wasn't going to cut it when the team in green was raising another banner. This "arms race" keeps the league healthy. It drives trade rumors. It keeps the cap specialists awake at night.
What to Watch For Next
The next chapter of the Lakers and Boston Celtics saga is written in the draft picks and the health of aging stars. Anthony Davis is the key for L.A. When he’s healthy, he’s a nightmare. For Boston, it’s about whether Tatum and Brown can stay hungry after finally getting their ring.
If you're looking to really understand the depth of this, don't just watch the highlights. Watch the crowd. Watch the way the fans in TD Garden react when a Laker fan shows up in a Magic Johnson jersey. It’s visceral. It’s real.
How to Follow the Rivalry Like a Pro
If you want to keep up with the latest shifts in this historic feud, there are a few things you should be doing instead of just checking the box score:
- Monitor the Banner Count: This is the ultimate scoreboard. With Boston at 18 and L.A. at 17, every post-season is a battle for historical supremacy.
- Watch the Head-to-Head Stats: Since the NBA is so star-driven, look at how individual matchups—like Anthony Davis versus Kristaps Porzingis—dictate the pace.
- Check the Betting Lines: Oddsmakers usually price these games differently because of the "big game" factor. The atmosphere often leads to higher intensity and lower-scoring, defensive grinds.
- Listen to Local Media: To get the real flavor, listen to Boston sports radio or L.A. podcasts. The bias is the point. It’s where you find the spicy takes that fuel the fire.
The NBA is a league of stars, but the Lakers and Boston Celtics are the sun and the moon. Everything else just revolves around them. Whether you bleed green or live for the purple and gold, acknowledge the greatness. We're lucky to watch it happen.