The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers is the NBA’s best rivalry — yes, the best.
Better than the Celtics and Lakers. Better than the Knicks and Pacers. Better than LeBron and his ever-evolving list of rivals.
Every important figure in Celtics and 76ers team history has played a part in the battle between these two historic franchises. Philadelphia and Boston have met in the playoffs 20 times — the most in playoff history.
The next closest playoff matchup is 15 between the Knicks and Celtics. While New York and Boston's total number of playoff matchups comes close, the stakes and pressure can't hang with that of 76ers-Celtics. 13 of the 20 times the 76ers and Celtics have played it was for a birth in the NBA Finals.
This season won't be the 14th as the two could see each other in the first round but a win in what will be a wide-open Eastern Conference playoff — should the season resume — could be the building block for a deep playoff run. 76ers General Manager Elton Brand is ready for the challenge.
“We’re talking about the Celtics as if that could be an opponent,” said Brand earlier this month. “Brett (Brown) and his staff have also prepared for other teams in case there is a regular season and odds change, but we have done a deep dive.
"As a fan, I want to see it, I want to see this team in the playoffs. I’ve said it many times. That is what we’re built for so I want to see that, but I know it’s going to be based on the data, the safety, and health of not just us, but of our community, but we are preparing as if we are going to go to the playoffs and play the Celtics.”
Would a potential playoff series in 2020 provide another classic moment in this historic rivalry? We can only hope. Regardless, these two teams have provided so many memories through the annals of NBA history.
The Early Years
There's an argument to be made that Wilt Chamberlain vs Bill Russell is the greatest individual rivalry in the history of the sport. Of their eight postseason meetings including a run of six straight years from 1964 to 1969, half came with Chamberlain in a 76ers jersey.
It was Wilt's 76ers who finally put an end to the Celtics’ dominance of 11 straight finals appearances and eight straight NBA titles by eliminating them in the Eastern Conference Finals in just five games.
They met again a year later in the 1968 Eastern Conference Finals and after going down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, Russell and his Celtics came off the mat to complete the first 3-1 series come back to regain Eastern Conference supremacy en-route to their 10th championship.
That loss had a huge impact on Philadelphia. In addition to yet another heartbreak at the hand of the Celtics, it was also marked the end of the Wilt Chamberlain era in Philly as that loss (among other things) paved the way for his ensuing trade in the offseason to the Los Angeles Lakers.
It would be over a decade until the rekindling of this fierce rivalry between the titans of the East.
The Golden Age
It took a while for the rivalry to be renewed but in the early 1980s, from 80 to 82 it was once again the Celtics and 76ers battling for the right to represent the East in the Finals — this time with Larry Bird and “Dr. J” Julius Erving as the faces of their respective franchises.
The 76ers won two of the three meetings in that stretch but the one time the Celtics won in 1981 many consider it the greatest playoff series of all-time. Two of the seven games were decided by a single point — three of the seven were decided by two points and the Celtics once again rallied from down 3-1 to force and win a seventh and deciding game.
Philadelphia eventually had the last laugh in that three-year stretch, and while it celebrated a game seven blowout win in the 1982 East Finals on the parquet floor, the Boston crowd let the 76ers know what to do next.
Chants of "Beat L.A." — perhaps the most famous in any NBA arena — echoed throughout the Boston Garden with Celtics faithful actually cheering on the Sixers to finish the job in the NBA Finals. If that's not a show of respect between rivals, I'm not sure what else qualifies.
(NOTE: the 76ers lost in the Finals to the Lakers before returning to sweep them the following season).
Modern Era
Fast forward to the early 2000s with Allen Iverson and Paul Pierce leading the charge in the 2002 playoffs an epic five-game first-round series which saw the Celtics set a record nine in the fourth quarter of the fifth and deciding game to eliminate the 76ers.
In 2012, with Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett now joining Pierce to form a “Big 3”, Boston still needed seven games to dispatch of an Iverson-less Philadelphia team that featured Andre Iguodala and a young Jrue Holiday. No team in that series won back-to-back games and it was another loss that had huge ramifications for the 76ers franchise as it was that playoff exit that started “the Process”.
The two teams haven’t met for a trip to the NBA Finals since 1985 when the Celtics cruised to a gentleman’s 4-1 sweep over the 76ers, but could this be the year we see them battle again for a trip to the dance in June?
Now...
As it sits right now, it's expected that Boston and Philadelphia finish with the third and sixth seeds respectively in a tightly contested East.
No one likes to lose, but when it comes to Philly and Boston, they hate losing to each other.
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