Who’s better: the 2008 Boston Celtics or the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers?

Bill Simmons started the debate when he mentioned it on his Ringer podcast. Are the 2019-20 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers better than the last Boston Celtics title-winners in 2008?

The debate has been started, and the Houdini can’t help but chime in. Bill Simmons declared on the Ringer podcast that the recently crowned NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers–led by two of the top five players in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis–would beat the last title-winning Boston Celtics team in 2008.

Regarding a hypothetical game, there is no need to pick a winner. It’s too silly of an exercise considering the vast differences in the way the game is played now and even 12 years ago. Also, if Kevin Garnett is to be believed, the players of that era wouldn’t be able to behave in the bubble.

We’re going to just move right along past that mess.

Instead, we can now look back in history–whether it be a day or a decade-plus–and break down which areas the teams are superior to one another. Clarity on Simmons’ topic of which champion (good foresight on his part since his comments were made Friday) is superior is the goal.

Here’s how the two teams stack up:

Star power – 2008 Boston Celtics advantage

It sounds crazy to say a team led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis isn’t superior to star power, but in this case, quantity beats quality. Basketball is a team sport after all.

James might easily be the best player on either team, and Davis has a case to be second. He and Kevin Garnett’s place in history will be dictated by how the rest of “the Brow’s” career shakes out now that he has a ring.

That said, the Cs boasted a star quartet that included Rajon Rondo in his third season setting up future hall-of-fame teammates like Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. The Lakers version of Rondo was clutch in the playoffs but had ups and downs. 2008 Rondo was more athletic, more active on the defensive end, and more integral to the functions of the team.

Bench – 2020 Los Angeles Lakers advantage

The 2008 Cs bench featured well-established veterans like Sam Cassell, James Posey, and P.J. Brown, but they were nowhere near as deep as the current Lakers second unit.

Kyle Kuzma, who averaged 17 points per game as a starter his first two seasons, is the first forward off the bench to spell the James-Davis pair. Rondo is the team’s primary backup, and Alex Caruso can also capably handle facilitating duties.

JaVale McGee, J.R. Smith, and Dion Waiters comprise the “goon squad” of the reserves, and Jared Dudley and Alex Antetokounmpo offer varying degrees of perks off the hardwood. The Lakers had a fun title-winning group.

Coaching – 2008 Boston Celtics advantage

Frank Vogel and his star-studded coaching staff headlined by top assistant Jason Kidd did a great job managing the egos of two of the league’s most headline-driven personalities in James and Davis this season. It isn’t easy to produce a championship out of a star duo playing together through a several-month season suspension and a global pandemic in their first season together.

That said, Doc Rivers was able to also rally his men and produce the league’s best record in his first season coaching the “Big 3”. While James likely called many shots this season in Tinseltown, Rivers very likely had more control over his team than Vogel did, given all the chefs in the kitchen.

Intangibles – 2020 Los Angeles Lakers advantage

The 2008 Cs were able to win Game 7’s against the Atlanta Hawks and LeBron James’ Cleveland, Cavaliers to open up the playoffs before handling the long-time contending Detroit Pistons and Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in six games to claim a hard-fought title.

That said, the collective grief fans have had to deal with regarding the deaths of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and the seven other victims on his helicopter, coupled with the difficulties of playing so many months isolated from the world in the Lake Buena Vista bubble makes this Laker team a special kind of strong.

Verdict – 2008 Boston Celtics are historically better

The Lakers did not receive strong play from their non-stars/anyone else not named Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Danny Green, the owner of the team’s third-largest salary, was a meme throughout the playoffs for bricking so many 3-pointers. Kyle Kuzma did not take a leap to stardom and doesn’t look capable of doing so.

The “Big 3”, which was really a star quartet given Rondo’s contributions, will always be a legendary team…one that no one will assign an asterisk to, fair or not (it isn’t).