Tonight or if you are reading this later, Thursday June 5th 2008 is the start of the long anticipated renewing of the L.A Lakers and the Boston Celtics N.B.A. Championship rivalry.
The Lakers and the Celtics have met a total of 10 times in the NBA finals, with Boston winning the first eight meetings, and Los Angeles the last two. But it has been along 21 years since they both met each other in the finals and 22 years since the Celtics last won a championship. The Lakers last won in 2001 it was the last title of the Shaq lead three in a row championship.
As for me, I will be glued to the TV watching as much of the series as I can. The only difference with most people in the Boston area is that I will be cheering on my favorite team the L.A. Lakers. It seems weird to a lot of people around here that I would choose to root for the opposing team but the Lakers have been my favorite team ever since my Uncle who lived in L.A. brought me to my first Lakers game at the famous Los Angles "Fabulous" Forum. The team was lead by my favorite Player of all-time Kareem Abdul -Jabbar. I remember being strictly amazed how graceful and dominating he was that night and how he had the most unusual and unstoppable shot in all of basketball, The Sky-hook. I remember returning home and practicing my own sky hook and shouting "Kareem each time I managed to get one in the basket. Back then no one seemed to mind that I was a Lakers fan. Most people around here could care less about basketball. The Bruins were the number one team followed closely by the Red Sox. After winning a title in1976 the Celtics became a last place team and seemed to be going nowhere. The Lakers were a playoff team but even with 
Kareem they couldn't win a championship.
The whole thing started to change in 1979 when the Celtics signed Larry Bird who they had drafted a year earlier as a college Jr. and the Lakers drafting of Magic Johnson. The Celtics quickly turned things going from last place to first but they couldn't beat a more experience Dr J lead Philadelphia 76'ers team in the playoffs. The Lakers with Kareem and Magic leading the way won the Championship over the 76'ers. The next year the Celtics won it all but the Lakers fell in the first round to Rockets 2 games to 1 ( yes they had only three game series back then ) The next year the Lakers won against the 76's The Following year it was the 76'ers beating the Lakers in the final. Then finally in 1984The Lakers and The Celtics met in the finals. By this time everyone had jump on the bandwagon and became a Celtics fan. I liked the Celtics but I wasn't going to change my favorite team just because it was the easiest thing to do. I took a lot of flak from my Celtics friends who a few years ago could of cared less about Basketball. I vividly remember being invited over a friend's house to watch the Lakers- Celtics championship games with a bunch of other friend and as soon as the game started they switched off the sound of the TV and made me listen to the Obnoxious Celtics announcer Johnny Most on the radio. I had to endure his one sided view of the game as the Celtics could do no wrong and the Lakers were vicious beasts who seemed to foul the poor harmless Celtics on every single play. He had a stupid nick-name for every Laker and his hate filled venom would turn my friends into a wild frenzy against the Lakers.
I was just trying to focus on watching the game and I appreciate the great play and the unbroken intensity both teams seemed to bring out best in one another. . It was basketball at its best. Two great teams giving everything they had in them trying to do everything they could do to win. The Celtics ended up winning that series 4 games to three. It was the eighth straight and last time that they would be the Lakers. All my friends had a field day for the next year gloating in the fact that my team lost. All I heard for the whole year was the Lakers stink and they never will beat the Celtics. Well the very next year the same teams met in the finals. The Lakers were blown out in the first game but they came back to win the next game and took the series in six games behind the great play of Kareem and to the disbelief of a stunned Boston Garden crowd and all my Celtics friends. I was finally able to celebrate a win over the Celtics.
The next year the Lakers would lose again to the Rockets and the Celtics would win another title. That brings us to the last time the two teams would meet in the finals 1987. The Lakers again beat the Celtics in six games. Again that made me a very happy fan. The Lakers would win again the next year but lose to the Pistons the following year. After that Kareem retired after 22 years. With Magic leading them they made it back to the finals a couple years later but by then the Bulls where on top led by some guy named Michael Jordan and coached by someone by the name of Phil Jackson. The Celtics never made it back to the finals. Larry Bird came up with a lot of injuries over the next four years and was unable to play to his previous high level. The death of Len Bias before he even had a chance to play for the Celtics seemed to doom the Celtics over the next couple of decades. This year the Celtics made it back by getting All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allan in separate trades teaming them up with Paul Pierce for a new big three. They went from 24 wins to 66 in one year.
The Lakers were lead by MVP Kobe Bryant, playing the best Basketball of his career. And until his season was cut short by a freakish knee injury in late January 20 year old center Andrew Bynum looked like a superstar in the Making thanks to the help of assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Lakers looked to be in trouble without their big man but they were able to trade for another big man Pau Gasol in a trade deadline deal with Memphis. With Kobe and Pau leading the way they have made it to the finals for first time since losing to the Pistons in 2004.
I look forward to a great series. As always I will be rooting for the Lakers to win and I think that they will. Again many people have jumped back on the Celtics band wagon and they have taken up the Beat L.A and Lakers stink from their past. Thank God Johnny Most isn't around anymore. I will finish with a simple Go Lakers!
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