Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met in the NBA Finals 12 times, and many of the battles have been all-time classics. No two teams have ever met more often to decide their league championship in any professional sport. In addition to Bill Russell and Larry Bird, the Celtics have featured stars like John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. On the other side of the spectrum in L.A., Jerry West and Magic Johnson have been joined by legendary names like Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Shaquille O Neal, Pau Gasol and of course Kobe Bryant. The Celtics won the first eight times the two teams met for the title, but the Lakers have won three of the last four championship match ups since.