Boston Celtics to Meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals
Two powerhouses will clash in the 2008 NBA Finals. Just a few days away, the Finals will showcase one of the most exciting and competitive matches ever witnessed as it will pit the best basketball teams against each other. The Boston Celtics will match their skills against those of the Los Angeles Lakers and the winner will walk home crowned the 2007-08 NBA Season Winner. Here is a peak into the power teams:
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are a basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play their home games at Staples Center, which they share with fellow NBA team the Los Angeles Clippers and their sister team the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
The Lakers’ franchise was founded in Detroit before moving to Minneapolis, where the team got its official title from the state’s nickname (Land of 10,000 Lakes) and won 5 league championships within the various leagues before locating to Los Angeles. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Lakers popularity soared, which helped them become one of the most successful franchises in the NBA with superstar players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and coach Pat Riley winning five titles in that span, with 3 championship series against their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics.
The Lakers are notable for having the most wins, the highest winning percentage, the most finals appearances of any NBA franchise and the second most championships. The Lakers are generally regarded as one of the NBA’s most successful franchises. They hold the record for the longest consecutive win streak in U.S. professional team sports beginning on November 5th, 1971 and ending on January 7, 1972.
The Lakers have only missed the NBA playoffs 5 times. According to Forbes magazine, the Lakers are the second most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $568 million, surpassed only by the New York Knicks.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by Wycliffe Grousbeck and coached by Doc Rivers, with Danny Ainge as the general manager. Founded in 1946, their 16 NBA Championships are the most for any NBA franchise, while the 1959-to-1966 domination of the NBA Championship, with eight straight titles, is the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any North American professional sports team to date. They currently play their home games in the TD Banknorth Garden.
The Celtics either dominated the league or played a large part in the playoffs in the late 1950s through the mid 1980s. After the death of their top draft pick Len Bias, just two days after the 1986 NBA Draft, the team fell into a steady decline. With strong players by its side, the team has again returned to prominence and is all set to regain its title as the ‘winner’.
2008 NBA Finals
The 2008 NBA Finals will be the championship series of the 2007-08 NBA season, and will be the conclusion of this year’s post-season. It will pit the West’s top seeded Los Angeles Lakers, the winner of the Western Conference Finals, against the East’s top seeded Boston Celtics, the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Lakers will appear in the Finals for the first time since 2004 and a record 29th time overall. The Celtics will appear in the Finals for the first time since 1987 and second best 20th time overall. The Celtics will have home court advantage due to Boston’s (66–16) better record than Los Angeles (57–25). Overall, the Celtics have won the most championships all-time with 16, and the Lakers are second with 14. Both clubs, the two most successful teams in NBA history, look to renew a long-standing rivalry 21 years after their last NBA Finals meeting in 1987.
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