Boston Celtics Badly Wanted Rematch With Los Angeles Lakers In 1986 Finals

Danny Ainge said the Boston Celtics thought about the Los Angeles Lakers all season long

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics rivalry is among the greatest in sports history. 

It has lasted since 1950s. In a recent interview with The Players Tribute, former NBA player Danny Ainge gave details on how deep the rivalry runs.

“You know, that was a team that, you know, our fans hated them,” Ainge said. “It was like the country’s divided between the Lakers and the Celtics. We thought about them all season long. Matter of fact, we beat them in ‘84. At that time, I actually thought they were a little better than us. ‘85, I thought we were better than them and they beat us. And then ‘86, like our entire season was like, everyday we thought about the Lakers. I mean, it’s just us and the Lakers and we’re watching and it’s a great motivation for us because we’re gonna get them in ‘86. 

Ainge played with the Celtics from 1981-1989, the years when the rivalry was at its peak. The two franchises met in the Finals three times during his tenure there, with the Celtics winning the 1984 championship. The Celtics also won in 1986 but with disappointment. 

After losing to the Lakers in 1985, they never got a chance for redemption. Instead, they got Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets who defeated the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

"And then they get beat by Houston [Rockets] in the conference finals," Ainge said. "And that was a killer. I mean, it was like a letdown. Because like all year long, we just wanted another crack and we were 100 percent healthy. And it was a team that, it’s easy to say now, but we weren’t going to lose in ‘86."

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Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.