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 best in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first Finals meeting in. They would both go on to dominate the league in the 1960s and 1980s, facing each other six times in the 1960s, three times in the 1980s, and two times in 2008 and 2010.
The rivalry had been less intense since the retirements of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1990s, but in it was renewed as the Celtics, led by the big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and the Lakers, led by NBA MVP Kobe Bryant met in the Finals for the first time since, with the Celtics winning the series 4–2.
They met again in the 2010 NBA Finals, which the Lakers won in 7 games. The two teams have won the two highest numbers of championships, the Celtics 17, the Lakers 16 (11 as the L.A. Lakers and 5 as the Minneapolis Lakers); together, they account for 33 of the 72 championships in NBA history.
The rivalry was renewed again on July 1, 2018 when LeBron James signed with the Lakers and when his former teammate Kyrie Irving was traded to the Celtics the previous year. The two played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017 and won the Cavs their first championship title in 2016.
