Boston Celtics Rivalry
The greatest rivalry in NBA history, spanning decades and 12 Finals meetings.
The Celtics–Lakers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics and the Lakers are the two most storied franchises in the NBA, and the rivalry has been called the greatest in the league. The teams have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, with their first such meeting being in 1959—when the Lakers were still based in Minneapolis. 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 10 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. The two teams 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, and were tied for the most titles with 17 apiece from 2020 until 2024. As of the 2023 offseason, the Celtics and Lakers have a .5918 and .5915 all-time winning records respectively. As of the end of the 2023–24 season, Boston is the only team with a winning overall record against the Lakers.
- Total Finals Meetings
- 12
- Lakers Championships vs Celtics
- 9
- Celtics Championships vs Lakers
- 7
- First Finals Meeting
- 1959 (Minneapolis Lakers)
- Most Recent Finals Meeting
- 2010
- Defining Eras
- 1960s, 1980s, 2000s-2010
Lore & Background
The rivalry predates the Lakers' relocation to Los Angeles, with the first Finals clash occurring in 1959 when the Minneapolis Lakers faced the Celtics. After the Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960, the two teams emerged as the strongest in the NBA, featuring greats such as Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, John Havlicek, Sam Jones and head coach Red Auerbach for Boston and Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and coach/GM Fred Schaus for Los Angeles. The Celtics won the finals every year in the 1960s except for 1967. The Lakers were the Celtics opponent in six of those series: 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969. The Celtics won all of those match-ups. 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.
In Their Own Story
The air inside the arena was thick with history, a heavy silence hanging over the hardwood before the tip-off. On one side, the sea of green roared for the ghosts of Russell and Bird; on the other, purple and gold surged for Johnson and Baylor's legacy. A veteran player from Los Angeles looked across at his counterpart in Boston, feeling the weight of twelve previous Finals meetings pressing down on the present moment. There were no words exchanged, only a shared understanding that tonight was not just another game, but the latest battle in a war fought over decades.
Reader's Guide
The Celtics and Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals. Their first Finals meeting was in 1959, when the Boston Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers 4–0. In the 1960s, the Celtics won all six Finals matchups against the Lakers. In the 1980s, the Lakers won two out of three Finals meetings. In 2008, the Celtics won; in 2010, the Lakers won. The teams did not meet in the Finals in the 1970s, though both won championships in that decade.
Did You Know?
- The Celtics and Lakers have won 35 of the 78 championships in NBA history, accounting for 45% of all titles.
- The Celtics have won 18 championships, and the Lakers have won 17 (12 in Los Angeles and 5 in Minneapolis).
- The first NBA Finals sweep in history was the Celtics' 4–0 victory over the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959.
- The Celtics' win over the Lakers in 1966 marked an unprecedented eight consecutive championships, the longest streak of any North American professional sports team.
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