Lebron Brings The Celtics Lakers Rivalry Back With A Vengeance

Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry relevant again, thanks to Lebron and Kyrie.

It was a tweet.

Casual fans might not have recognized the name ‘Klutch Sports Group,’ but fans who follow the league more closely would immediately recognize the agency representing their game’s brightest star. NBA fans around the world, with hearts racing, simultaneously read the tweet which reads as follows:

"For Immediate ReleaseLebron James, four time NBA MVP, three time NBA finals MVP, fourteen time NBA All Star, and two time Olympic gold medalist has agreed to a four year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers."

The NBA world was rocked. Lebron’s Google searches increased twentyfold (I actually looked up the statistic) in an hour. (Interestingly, there were twice as many searches in Ohio as there were in California). Every sports news platform exploded with coverage examining every angle, from questions of his legacy to questions about how competitive LA will truly be. Now, we must ask the most important question, the one that nobody has been man enough to ask:

When is the Space Jam 2 trailer finally going to drop?

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In actuality, we have bigger fish to fry. There are endless angles here, but one should stick out to Celtics fans. With Lebron James’s move out west, basketball’s all-time greatest rivalry, the Boston Celtics vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, is primed to be resurrected.

Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers

Bob Cousy. Elgin Baylor. Bill Russell. Wilt Chamberlain. Larry Bird. Magic Johnson. Kevin Mchale. Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Paul Pierce. Kobe Bryant.

…Kyrie Irving? Lebron James?

It is impossible to overstate the significance of this rivalry in the history of the game. Exactly twenty percent of the NBA Finals that have taken place since 1959 have been between the Lakers and the Celtics. That’s one in five. The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs have histories of excellence going back for twenty years or so; the Celtics and Lakers have histories of excellence dating to the beginning of the league. There’s something inherently different about playing for or rooting for these two teams, and it’s that different quality that has propped up this rivalry over the decades.

The rivalry took a hiatus in the years following Kobe and Pierce. For several years, neither team was truly relevant. The Celtics were plucky and interesting. The Lakers were a dumpster fire.

Now, everything has changed.

You know Boston’s story. They are replete with young, exciting talent. Jayson Tatum looks like he’s going to be a bonafide star, and Jaylen Brown has been excellent. They made it to game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. With Lebron out of the conference, they are the clear favorites to win the East.

The Lakers, meanwhile, are replete with castoffs from the island of misfit toys: huddle-crashing Rajon Rondo, Lonzo Ball and his family circus, Mr. Shaqtin a Fool Javale McGee, and in a hilarious twist, the ear-blower himself, Lance Stephenson. It’s really weird. But it’s certainly the best team LA has fielded in a while, and they’re probably not done making moves. The sense around the league is that LA is looking for a sidekick for Lebron, perhaps Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard or maybe even Jimmy Butler, who is reportedly growing fed-up with his teammates.

It’s tough to imagine any move that gets them past the Warriors, especially after they went out and got Demarcus Cousins for the midlevel exception (which is nuts). But the NBA season isn’t scripted. Locker rooms have problems, people get hurt, people have off years, etc. Westgate sports book has the Celtics and the Lakers as second and third most likely to win the championship, respectively. Before the Demarcus Cousins move, they were tied for second. If Golden State isn’t as transcendent as we’re all accustomed to, a Lakers-Celtics matchup in the Finals seems very possible. Even if they don’t match up in the Finals, the regular season games are going to be must-see affairs.

The personal drama, meanwhile, could be the best we’ve seen since Magic-Bird. Nobody but Irving knows why he left Cleveland, but there’s a strong feeling among people covering the league that it was at least in part an effort to get away from LeBron. The internet is littered with snippets suggesting that their relationship was at least somewhat strained, and it always seemed like LeBron was closer to other teammates.

It’s really all speculation based off of six second Youtube clips and vague tweets, but that’s the narrative, and narrative matters. In an era where retired players scold this generation for being too friendly to each other in games, fans could be treated to a Finals matchup featuring two superstars who (we assume) genuinely don’t like each other.

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Celtics-Lakers. Kyrie-LeBron. NBA marketing executives are licking their lips thinking about the potential. Maybe none of it materializes; maybe things don’t gel in Los Angeles and LeBron rides out his career with first-round playoff exits. Maybe Golden State is just so dominant that nothing else seems relevant. But for now, things are exciting in Staples Center again, and the best team on the other side is finally, after years of waiting, their old rivals. Grab your popcorn, NBA fans. This is gonna be a good one.