The NBA championship series has been played every year since 1950 (for 3 years before that it was the BAA title). Until 1986 it was deemed the World Championship. It still is, but "The Finals" is the now more politically correct term. Kobe Bryant is looking for "one for the thumb". For the 2nd team in 3 years L.A. is playing Boston. Game 1 tonight at 9 ET. The series schedule/matchup is here.
Celtics-Lakers is an epic rivalry, sewn in the 1960's, and solidified in the 1980's when Bird battled Magic. To date, after 11 meetings in the Finals, the Celtics are 9-2 vs the Lakers in the Finals. And while L.A. has won 2 of the last 3 (see history of Celtics-Lakers here, Boston beat Kobe in 2008. This year's Lakers team is quite different though.
