Celtics–Lakers rivalry Celtics–Lakers rivalry 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
2010–11 Boston Celtics season Conference standings during the All-Star break. However, after center Kendrick Perkins, who was working his way back from a torn ACL in last year's Finals, was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder mid-season, the Celtics then started to play mediocre basketball after the trade, winning just 15 of their final 27 games. Still, they managed a 56–26 record and enter the playoffs as the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. They swept the New York Knicks, in four games in the first round to advance to the Conference Semifinals where they faced the Miami Heat, the team the Celtics defeated