As the league's preeminent franchise, the Boston Celtics have enjoyed and endured numerous playoff rivalries throughout the years.
The following is a recounting and ranking of their best championship series rivalries over their seven decades of excellent existence.
Championship series rivalries
Ranking, teams, years played, series score
#5) Boston vs. Houston (1981/86, 2-0)
In 1981, Larry Bird's second season, the Celtics faced an underdog Rockets team led by rugged rebounding center Moses Malone.
Bird's 18-21-9 Game One effort led Boston to a comeback win in Game One. Late in the contest, Bird authored perhaps his most famous move when he followed his own missed 19-footer, caught the rebound in midair as he floated out of bounds on the left baseline, and tossed in a soft 9-footer with his LEFT HAND.
CBS analyst Bill Russell said "you will not ever see many if any moves better than that."
With Boston up one in the final minute, Bird rebounded a Parish miss under the hoop. He was fouled by Malone as he went up and missed a layin, but no call was forthcoming. A determined Larry stayed with it, corralled his own miss, gave a head fake in a crowd to freeze the defense, then took a dribble to the other side of the basket and banked in a left-handed reverse layup to give Boston a 98-95 win.
In Game Six at Houston with the Celtics up 3-2, Bird again came up huge. Suffering through a shooting slump in the middle of the series, he broke out with 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead Boston to its 14th banner, and his first championship of any kind.
Boston led 86-67 when Houston reeled off 16 straight points to rock the Summit, many with Bird resting on the bench in the fourth period.
Larry came back in and immediately silenced the roaring crowd by hitting three straight jump shots. He then stole the ball, took a charge, and added a dagger corner three to give Boston a 102-91 lead.
His defensive rebound of a missed triple in the final minute clinched the crown in a surprisingly hard-fought, slowdown series against the 40-42 Rockets.
In 1986, Boston faced off against the young twin towers of Ralph Sampson and Hakeen Olajuwon. The Celtics led 3-1 before a Game 5 loss at Houston marred by a wild brawl where the 7-4 Sampson hit 6-1 Jerry Sichting.
Unstoppable Kevin McHale destroyed Sampson, leading both teams in scoring at 25.8 ppg on 58 percent shooting in the series. Bird averaged nearly a triple-double for the FInals at 24-9-8.
In Game Six at Boston, the Celtics led by as many as 28 before winning by 17. Bird painted "the ultimate Larry Bird masterpiece" as Bob Ryan put it—with a 29-11-12 triple-double.
Bird was named series MVP and Olajuwon called him the best all-around player he had ever seen.
#4) Boston vs LA Lakers (2008/10, 1-1)
The third installment of the Celtics/Lakers Finals rivalry was not quite as compelling or numerous as the 1980s or 1960s versions, but had its moments nonetheless.
Boston won its first title in 22 years in 2008 with a 4-2 win over LA, capped by a record 39-point walloping of the Lakers in Game 6 at Boston. Fittingly, long-time Celtic Paul Pierce shook off a knee injury and led balanced Boston with 21.8 ppg to earn the Finals MVP award after 10 mostly losing years in Boston.
Kevin Garnett contributed 26 points, 14 rebounds and smothering defense, and Ray Allen scored 26 as well in the 131-92 clincher.
Celtic coach Doc Rivers came up with a clever ruse to hide some money in the ceiling of the visitors locker room in the Staples Center, telling his team they would get it back when they returned to LA for the Finals.
After a 50-32 season on the heels of 66- and 62-win campaigns, Boston upset Cleveland and Orlando to get back to LA as Rivers had hoped.
Two years later a banged-up Celtic squad took a 3-2 lead to LA, even though Kobe Bryant (or perhaps because of it) scored 23 points in a row himself in a Game 5 loss.
But the Lakers won Game 6 as hard-hat center Kendrick Perkins injured his knee severely and sat out the decider. Without their enforcer and dirty work big man, Boston was short-handed and outmanned on the glass.
In Game 7, LA rallied from a 13-point second half deficit on the strength of 23 offensive rebounds, Celtic fatigue and a huge 37-17 free throw attempts edge to overcome terrible shooting.
Bryant shot just 6 of 24 but grabbed 15 boards, and Pau Gasol out-rebounded KG 18-3. In an incredibly intense final game, the Lakers pulled out an 83-79 win with the aid of a late three-pointer by Ron Artest for just their third series win in 12 championship tries against the Celtics.
#3) Boston vs. St. Louis (1957-61, 3-1)
The Boston/St. Louis rivalry was a great one, headlined by the Russell vs. Bob Pettit Hall of Fame matchup. Over a five-year span from 1957 through 1961, the rivals met four times in the championship series, with Boston winning three out of four.
In 1957, the Celts narrowly won game seven in double OT 125-123 for their first title in the rookie campaign of Russell and Heinsohn. On the final play of the series, the Hawks attempted a fullcourt in-bounds pass intentionally thrown off the backboard to Pettit for a stickback at the buzzer. But his shot rolled off the rim and the ingenious play barely came up short.
The next year in 1958, Pettit and company got their revenge as they won the first and only championship in Hawk history. In game six at St. Louis, Pettit (aka Big Blue) scored 19 of the last 21 Hawk points in a 110-109 victory as the hosts won 4-2 with Russ hampered by an ankle injury.
A motivated Pettit, rebounding driving and shooting like a man possessed (a la Dave Cowens), scored 50 points in the clincher.
After a two-year hiatus, in 1960 Boston got its revenge in a seven-game Finals. The Celtics took games one, three, five and seven to claim their fourth championship. In a strange series where the average margin of victory was just under 15 ppg, only one game (six, won by the Hawks 105-102) was decided by less than 10 points.
The Celtics won again in 1961 by a 4-1 count in the final edition of the Boston/St. Louis championship series rivalry, as the Hawks began to be supplanted as best of the west by the Lakers.
Heinsohn scored 22 points a game, Russell grabbed 28.8 rebounds per outing and Cousy dished out 10.6 assists a game to lead the victors. Pettit (28.4 ppg, 16.4 rebounds) and former Celtic draft pick Cliff Hagan (29.4 ppg) paced the Hawks.
Hagan, ironically, had been one of the players Boston traded to the Hawks in order to acquire the 1956 rights to draft Russell. Hagan, sixth man Frank Ramsey's teammate at the University of Kentucky, had never played a game for Boston due to a two-year military hitch, and became an All-Star with the Hawks.
At the time Russell called Pettit "the greatest" because he was a great individual player who also helped his teammates become better.
#2) Boston vs LA Lakers (1984-87, 1-2)
The trio of NBA Finals showdowns between Boston and the Lakers revitalized the league and was the defining rivalry of the golden 1980s era in pro sports.
And of course, the matchups of Bird vs. Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar vs. Parish, McHale vs. Worthy, east vs. west, Showtime vs. Celtic pride only made their 19 Finals games that much more enticing.
In the first and only series where both teams were equally healthy in 1984, Boston won an epic thrilling seven-game series in the first meeting between the rivals in the FInals since 1969.
It was the eighth time in as many tries that Boston had beaten the Lakers, and the fifth time in seven games. Spectacular Celtic overtime wins in games two and four headlined the series, as did Bird's 15 for 20, 34-point, 17-rebound epic in the game 5 sauna battle in the heat that gave Boston a 3-2 lead.
Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game to take series MVP honors. He scored 20 points with 12 rebounds in the game-seven clincher, including the final four at the foul line, to cap his greatest triumph.
The year 1985 marked the Laker breakthrough as they finally beat the Celtics behind series MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 4-2. Boston bombed LA 148-114 in Game 1, called the Memorial Day Massacre, as seventh man Scott Wedman shot a perfect 11-11 from the field, including four treys, to score 26 points.
But a humbled Abdul-Jabbar led a Laker comeback as they won the next two. DJ's 20-footer at the buzzer in game 4 gave Boston a thrilling 107-105 victory and evened the series 2-2 out in LA.
But under the new 2-3-2 format, the Lakers had game five at home and won, then came to Boston and upset the Celtics on the Garden floor to finally break their 26-year championship series jinx vs. Boston.
Laker GM Jerry West, traumatized by so many close losses to Boston as a player, was so nervous he could not even attend or watch the sixth game.
In 1987, a hobbled and worn out Celtic team heroically reached the Finals after consecutive seven-game epic wins over Milwaukee and rugged Detroit in a 26-day span. Meanwhile, the Lakers cruised to the Finals with an 11-1 record against two sub-.500 teams out West, and a 42-40 Warrior squad.
Against a rested, healthy Laker squad before a rabid and jeering Forum crowd, the battered Celtics were beaten badly in games one and two. Laker fans classlessly jeered McHale as he limped off the court with a broken foot and sprained ankle in game 2.
Boston took game 3 at home behind an unexpected effort by third string center Greg Kite and 30 points from Bird, and Celtic pride appeared headed to a series tie in game 4 after building a 16-point third period lead.
However, fatigue and several obviously bad calls helped LA rally and win an epic thriller 107-106 for an insurmountable 3-1 lead. Bird gave Boston a 106-104 lead in the final seconds with a clutch left corner triple, but a free throw and a running hook by Johnson gave LA the win after Bird's long, rushed corner shot barely missed at the buzzer.
LA went on to close out Boston in Game 6 with a 30-12 third period run, 106-93. McHale valiantly played the entire playoffs with a broken foot, Parish had multiple sprained ankles, Ainge sprained his knee and missed several games, top reserves Bill Walton and Scott Wedman were out with foot injuries, and Bird played a playoff record 1,015 minutes over 23 grueling playoff games.
After the crushing defeat, Russell told Bird that "how you conducted yourself in that series made me proud to be a Celtic."
Larry called it "the best team effort" of his career to get as far as they did. if not for some bad officiating, they might have pulled off the greatest and guttiest championship in Celtic history, along with the 1969 win.
#1) Boston vs LA Lakers (1962-69, 6-0)
The epic 1960s rivalry between Boston and the Lakers featured six showdowns, all won by Boston, three times in seven thrilling games.
Perhaps the best series was in 1962, when Laker guard Frank Selvy (who once scored 100 points in a college game for Furman) missed an open jumper in the final seconds of game seven with the score tied. Russell rebounded and Boston won in OT 110-107 to set the tone for their epic rivalry.
In 1963, Boston clinched the crown in game six at the LA Sports Arena in veteran playmaker Bob Cousy's swansong. Hobbled by a sprained ankle in the second half, Cousy guttily returned to play and helped the Celtics hold off LA, 112-109. A steal off a Jerry West cross court pass and layup by Tom Heinsohn, who led Boston with 22 points, was a key to the victory.
Cooz tossed the ball high into the air after dribbling out the clock on LA and his career. In gentler times during this blood feud rivalry, he was cheered by the Laker crowd after the victory in his finale, where he scored 18 points.
In 1965, Boston beat LA in five as Sam Jones scored 27.8 ppg and Russell pulled down 25 rebounds per outing. This time it was Heinsohn's turn to go out on top.
The year 1966 was Auerbach's last season as coach, and Red almost lit up his victory cigar too soon in game 7 at the Garden. West scored 36 and led a furious 33-19 fourth quarter Laker rally that came up just short again, 95-93. Jerry averaged 34 ppg in the sseries but Rusell tallied 24 ppg with 24 boards.
In 1968, the Celtics handled the bridesmaid Lakers again, this time in six games under second-year player-coach Bill Russell.
Realizing they needed a quality big man to neutralize Russell, the Lakers made a blockbuster trade for long-time Russ rival, 7-1 behemoth Wilt Chamberlain.
LA now boasted the original Big 3 of superstars in Elgin Baylor, West and Wilt. After posting the league's best record in 1968-69, the Lakers finally had homecourt for the first time and appeared ready to unseat an older Boston once and for all.
The aging Celtics, in the last season for mid-30s veterans Russell and Sam Jones, limped into the playoffs fourth in the East with just a 48-34 record. But the Celtics knocked off the 76ers and the up-and-coming Knicks to reach the Finals for the 12th time in 13 years.
Fittingly, they would face their other big rival among the big three of New York, Philly and LA, in a Finals for the ages.
The hungry Lakers took a 2-0 lead as West bombed Boston for 53 and 45 points early in the series. Boston took game three and then evened it on an improbable finish at the Garden.
With time running out and Boston down 88-87, a Celtic shot missed and was tipped toward the sideline. Laker great Elgin Baylor stepped on the sideline trying to save it in, giving Boston one last chance with just three seconds left.
Sam Jones caught an in-bounds pass behind a triple-screen near the top of the key, shot one-legged off the wrong fooot and bounced in an 18-footer at the buzzer to give the Celts a thrilling 89-88 victory.
Instead of being down 3-1, the series was tied 2-2 and it was destined to go the obligatory distance one last time. Each team held serve at home to force the ultimate showdown, winner take all contest.
Out in the new Fabulous Forum in LA for Game Seven, LA owner Jack Kent Cooke placed celebratroy balloons in the ceiling netting, to be released after the Laker victory.
Led by John Havlicek, the insulted and proud Celtics ran out to a 91-76 lead over the shocked and tight Lakers. West led a heroic comeback, with 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Wilt Chamberlain took himself out of the game late with a jammed knee as he and Russell, dueling for the very last time, each had five fouls.
LA rallied with Wilt on the bench and got within one point twice behind series MVP West (37 ppg), but when Chamberlain asked back in, coach Butch van Breda Kolff refused to put his enigmatic star big man back in.
The Lakers had three chances to tie or lead but each time Boston came up with a big play as over-anxious LA did not know how to seal the deal - a steal by Havlicek, another swipe by Larry Siegfried who also canned two clutch foul shots, and a huge block by Russell of a reverse layin try by ex-Celtic center Mel Counts.
A fortunate high bouncing basket on a foul line jumper in the final minute by Celtic reserve Don Nelson, a former LA castoff, clinched a thrilling 108-106 win. Russell and the clutch Sam Jones went out a perfect 9-0 in seventh games over their incredible careers.
Along with the Yankee/Dodger World Series enmity of the 1947-56 era, where the eastern half of the rivalry dominated the westward expanding LA counterpart in numerous agonizingly close contests, the 1960s Celtic vs. Laker championship rivalry helped define pro team sports.
Just for fun, for the few players who have worn both Celtic green and Laker purple and gold...
The all-time arch-rival CELTICS/LAKERS team
Head coach: Bill Sharman Assistant: K.C. Jones
1st team
C-Bob McAdoo
F-Don Nelson
F-Rick Fox
G-Don Chaney
G-Brian Shaw
6th man-Mel Counts
2nd team
C-Clyde Lovellette
F-Frank Brickowski
F-Kermit Washington
G-Charlie Scott
G-Gary Payton
6th-Jim Barnes
3rd team
C-Shaquille O’Neal
F/C-Travis Knight
F-Brandon Bass
G-Chucky Atkins
G-Ernie DiGregorio
6th-C. Mihm/T.Murphy
Tomorrow, part 2: Recounting and ranking the 15 greatest Celtic Eastern Conference playoff rivalries
If you wish to contact the author directly, you can email Cort Reynolds at cdrada2433@yahoo.com.