1986 Playoffs Bird 60 Points vs Bucks

Lore & Background

The teams have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, with their first such meeting being in 1959. They would both go on to dominate the league in the 1960s and 1980s, facing each other in the Finals six times in the 1960s (with the Celtics winning all six), three times in the 1980s (with the Lakers winning two out of three), and, more recently, in 2008 (Celtics victory) and 2010 (Lakers victory). The teams also won 3 of the ten titles of the 1970s (the Lakers in 1972, the Celtics in 1974 and 1976), but they did not face each other in the NBA Finals during that decade.

In Their Own Story

The lights hummed over the Boston Garden hardwood, casting long shadows across the court. Sweat dripped from Larry Bird’s brow as he wiped it with a towel during a timeout, the scoreboard glowing red in the background. The crowd was on its feet, a sea of green and white jerseys chanting his name. He received the inbound pass near mid-court, eyes locked on the rim. With one defender closing out, he rose smoothly, releasing a jump shot that seemed to hang in time before swishing through the net. Sixty points were no longer just a number; they were a reality being written live.

Reader's Guide

The rivalry became slightly less intense when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson both retired in the early 1990s. However, the intensity picked up again in 2008, when the two teams met in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987, with the Celtics winning the series 4–2. They met again in the 2010 NBA Finals, which the Lakers won in 7 games. Although the rivalry is primarily known for the Finals meetings of the past, the two teams remain strong rivals to this day.

Did You Know?

• The Celtics and Lakers have won the two highest numbers of championships in the NBA: the Celtics have won 18, and the Lakers have won 17 (12 in Los Angeles and 5 in Minneapolis).
• Together, they account for 35 of the 78 championships (or 45%) in NBA history.
• As of the end of the 2023–24 season, Boston is the only team with a winning overall record against the Lakers.