The 76ers–Celtics rivalry is a
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
(NBA)
rivalry
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the
Philadelphia 76ers and the
Boston Celtics. The two teams have the most meetings in the
NBA playoffs, playing each other in 22 series (and the 1954 Eastern Division Round Robin), with the Celtics winning 15 of them. The 76ers are considered to be the Celtics' second biggest rival, behind only the
Los Angeles Lakers.
History
Celtics–Nationals rivalry
The Syracuse Nationals and Boston Celtics played in the Eastern Division in the 1950s. The Nationals beat the Celtics in three straight playoff series in 1954, 1955, and 1956, winning the NBA Championship in 1955. After the 1956 season the Celtics traded for
Bill Russell
William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...
and drafted
K.C. Jones
K. C. Jones (May 25, 1932 – December 25, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known for his association with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), with whom he won 11 of his 12 ...
, both of whom starred and won Championships at the University of San Francisco. Also adding
Tom Heinsohn
Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...
with a territorial pick, the Celtics would win their next three playoff series against the Nationals in the playoffs (1957, 1959, and 1961) before the Nationals were sold and moved to Philadelphia.
Chamberlain and Russell
In
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
, the Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia and became the
76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...
, renewing the basketball rivalry between Philadelphia and Boston (from when the
Warriors
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have be ...
had been in Philadelphia). Shortly after the
All-Star break in
1965, the Sixers acquired
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...
from the Warriors, bringing the Chamberlain/Russell matchup back into the rivalry as well.
The Celtics and Sixers met in the Eastern Conference Finals that season with a trip to the
NBA Finals on the line. The series went the distance, with Game 7 being held at the
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (lat ...
. With 5 seconds left and Boston leading 110–109, Russell tried to inbound the ball when it hit a guy wire that supported the backboard, which resulted in a turnover. However, the Sixers failed to capitalize when Celtics forward
John Havlicek
John Joseph Havlicek ( ; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA championships, four of them coming in his first four seasons with ...
deflected the inbound pass to
Sam Jones, who ran out the clock. The Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the
Los Angeles Lakers in five games for their seventh straight title.
In the 1966 season, the Sixers looked poised to end Boston's 7-year reign as NBA Champions; Philadelphia won the regular season series against Boston 6–4 and finished 55–25 to beat out the Celtics by one game and win the number one seed in Eastern Division. Chamberlain also won the
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
over Russell, who had won three of the previous four awards. When they met in the Conference Championship however, Boston defeated Philadelphia 4-1 and went on to win their eighth straight NBA Championship.
The next year the Sixers brought in
Alex Hannum
Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was a professional basketball player and coach. Hannum coached two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and one American Basketball Association (ABA) team to league championships ...
as head coach. Hannum had also coached the
Bob Pettit
Robert Lee Pettit Jr. (born December 12, 1932) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's M ...
-led
St. Louis Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
to the
1958 NBA Championship-the last year someone had defeated the Celtics in the championship. The Sixers went a then-NBA record 68-13 while the Celtics were 60–21. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Sixers overpowered Boston, beating them in five games and ending Boston's eight-year reign as NBA champions. The Sixers won the NBA Championship by beating the San Francisco Warriors in six games, giving the Sixers and Chamberlain their first title. The 1966-67 76ers were voted in 1980 as being the greatest team in the history of the NBA to that point.
In 1968, the Sixers finished 62–20, eight games above Boston, and Chamberlain won his third consecutive MVP award. Both teams met in the Conference Championship again, and the Celtics won the Series in seven games after trailing 3–1, and went on to win the
1968 NBA Championship. After the season, 76ers head coach Alex Hannum left the NBA for the ABA in order to move closer to his family on the West Coast, and Chamberlain requested a trade, and was traded to Los Angeles.
Without Wilt, the Sixers managed a 55–27 record. Though Philadelphia again won the regular-season series against the Celtics, they were no match for Boston in the playoffs and lost 4–1. The Celtics went on to win the championship, their 11th in 13 seasons. After this season, Russell retired and both teams would not meet in the playoffs until 1977. The only two years Russell's Celtics did not win the championship, they lost to teams coached by Alex Hannum.
Dr. J and Bird
The Sixers slumped until acquiring
Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...
before the
1977 season. They became a contender in the East, and in Erving's first season with the team, the Sixers eliminated the defending champion Boston Celtics in a tough seven-game Eastern semifinals in 1977. Boston slumped for the next two seasons while Philadelphia continued to be a strong team in the NBA, but in 1978, the Celtics drafted
Indiana State
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
forward
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...
in the hope of reviving their glory years as a franchise. Bird joined the team for the
1980 season and his impact was immediate. The Celtics improved from a 29–53 record in the 1978–79 season to a league-best 61–21 record in 1979–1980, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals that season to face the Sixers. The Sixers beat Boston in 5 but failed to win the title against the Lakers.
The next season, both the Celtics and the Sixers finished with the best record in the NBA at 62–20, but Boston held the tiebreaker in the ranking. In a classic 7-game Eastern Finals, the Celtics beat the 76ers in 1981 4–3, coming all the way back from a 3–1 deficit to win the next 3 games in classic finishes. The Celtics won Games 5 and 6 by 2 points each and the seventh game by 1 point, 91–90, coming back from a 7-point deficit with a few minutes left to win on a Larry Bird banker from the left side with barely a minute left. The Celtics then defeated the Houston Rockets on their way to their first title in 5 years. For the 1981–1982 season, the Celtics again had the best record in the NBA at 63–19, followed by Philadelphia at 58–24, with one of the Sixers' key victories in the regular season being a win in Boston to snap the Celtics' 18-game winning streak. In the 1982 Eastern Finals, Boston attempted to come back from a similar 3–1 predicament and managed to extend the series to seven games, with the seventh game playing in raucous Boston Garden. However, Philadelphia had the last laugh, winning Game 7. In that finale, as Boston fans saw their team losing, in a show of respect, they congratulated the Sixers by shouting the now-famous "Beat L.A." chant as the Sixers were about to face the well-rested Lakers. In the end, however, the weary Sixers couldn't keep up, losing to the Lakers in the Finals.
The next season, the Sixers picked up
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cen ...
from the
Houston Rockets. Malone repeated as the MVP and led the 76ers to an
NBA Championship
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
in a 4-game sweep against the Lakers. With the Bucks sweeping Boston, it made the Sixers' title run much easier.
The "highlight" of this era of the rivalry was a 1983 exhibition game that featured 3 separate fights: Moses Malone/
Cedric Maxwell
Cedric Bryan Maxwell (born November 21, 1955) is an American retired professional basketball player now in radio broadcasting. Nicknamed "Cornbread", he played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and played a key role in two ...
, Larry Bird/
Marc Iavaroni
Marcus John Iavaroni (born September 15, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player and former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also served as an assistant coach for several ...
, and
Gerald Henderson
Jerome McKinley "Gerald" Henderson Sr. (born January 16, 1956) is an American retired basketball player. He was a combo guard who had a 13-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1979 until 1992. He played for the Boston C ...
/
Sedale Threatt
Sedale Eugene Threatt (born September 10, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Threatt played college basketball at the West Virginia Institute of Techn ...
. During Bird/Iavaroni, Bird ripped 76ers coach Billy Cunningham's sports jacket in half. The fight was reaching a peak when 66-year-old
Red Auerbach
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...
came down from the stands to restore order. For his actions, Auerbach was fined $2,500 by the NBA. There was also a memorable 1985 choking match between Bird and Erving.
Since 1984, the only times the two teams met in the playoffs were in 1985, 2002, 2012, and 2018. Though the 1983–84 season saw the Celtics win the title and the Sixers upset in the first round by the New Jersey Nets, the Sixers had a measure of satisfaction in the regular season by winning 4 of their 6 regular season games versus Boston, the only time the Sixers managed to win the regular season series versus Boston in the Larry Bird era. Charles Barkley joined the Sixers for the 1984–85 season, and the 1985 Eastern Final series was the Sixers' last conference final until 2001. In the 1985 Finals, they lost to Boston in five games after Boston had won the first 3 games, including a third game in Philadelphia where Julius Erving was uncharacteristically booed by the home crowd for his poor play. Game 5 saw Larry Bird pick off
Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney (born November 23, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 to 1988. A two-time NBA All-Star, he won an NBA championship with the 76e ...
with a few seconds left and Boston up by 2, then dribble up court to preserve the Celtics' close victory, reminiscent of John Havlicek's series-clinching steal in 1965.
Lull and rebuilding
After the 1985 playoffs, the rivalry would die down. Bird and the Celtics would win one more championship in 1986, but the Sixers would not reach another conference finals until 2001. The Sixers saw a steep decline through the rest of the '80's, trading Malone and Cheeks along with the retirements of Erving and Toney. Charles Barkley emerged as the Sixers new leader and a prominent NBA superstar, however he was not able to get the team past the second round. Though considered an MVP candidate in his prime, the Sixers traded him in 1992 and went through a period of rebuilding.
After winning the championship in 1986, the Celtics also began a decline that started with tragedy. Two days after they drafted him in the 1986 draft,
Len Bias
Leonard Kevin Bias (November 18, 1963June 19, 1986) was an American college basketball player who attended the University of Maryland. During his four years playing for Maryland, he was named a first-team All-American. Two days after being selec ...
died of a drug overdose.
Reggie Lewis
Reginald C. Lewis (November 21, 1965 – July 27, 1993) was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1987 to 1993.
Early life
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Lewis attended high schoo ...
died of a heart attack in his prime in 1993. The Celtics then missed the playoffs in 1994, and did not post a winning record until the 2001–02 season.
Despite the 90's being a period of stagnation for both teams, it did produce some key developments.
Allen Iverson was drafted by the 76ers as the first overall pick in the 1996 draft, and the Celtics would draft
Paul Pierce
Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN ...
two years later. Both players would become superstars in the league and lead their respective team into the playoffs numerous times.
In 2002, the Celtics, in their first appearance since 1995, won the first round meeting 3–2 over the defending conference champion 76ers. That series featured the scoring exploits of
Allen Iverson and
Paul Pierce
Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN ...
.
The two teams met again in the
2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which the Celtics won 4–3. The fourth-seeded Celtics defeated the eighth-seeded Sixers in a tight, back and forth series.
The teams met again in the
2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals as both team advanced from the first round lead by their new draft pick
Jayson Tatum
Jayson Christopher Tatum Sr. (; born March 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A McDonald's All-American in high school in Missouri, he played college baske ...
from Celtics with
Ben Simmons and
Joel Embiid
Joel Hans Embiid ( ; born 16 March 1994) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), who also holds French and American citizenship. After one year of college basketb ...
from 76ers, respectively. The Celtics won 4–1, and Joel Embiid afterwards exclaimed "This is not a rivalry, I don't know our record against them, but it's pretty bad. They always kick our ass."
The teams met again in the first round of the
2020 NBA playoffs and the Celtics swept the series 4–0. This series took place in the
2020 NBA Bubble
The 2020 NBA Bubble, also referred to as the Disney Bubble or the Orlando Bubble, was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its p ...
.
The teams met again in the
2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals and the Celtics won 4–3.
The Boston Strangler
Boston sportswriters dubbed Sixers' shooting guard
Andrew Toney
Andrew Toney (born November 23, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 to 1988. A two-time NBA All-Star, he won an NBA championship with the 76e ...
"The Boston Strangler" because of his ability to take control of games against the Celtics. He is remembered for scoring 25 points against Boston in the fourth quarter on March 21, 1982, at the
Philadelphia Spectrum
The Spectrum (later known as CoreStates Spectrum, First Union Spectrum and Wachovia Spectrum) was an indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Opened in September 1967 as part of what is now known as the South Philadelphia Spo ...
. It is still the Sixers' team record for most points scored in a quarter. He also scored a team-high 33 points in the classic Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Finals in Boston (the famous "Beat LA!" game), leading the Sixers to the Finals and avoiding a second straight meltdown in the Eastern Finals versus Boston. Andrew Toney's ability to have big scoring games in the playoffs versus the Celtics was one of the reasons for the Celtics in acquiring defensive ace and Hall of Famer
Dennis Johnson
Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...
from the Phoenix Suns prior to the 1983–84 season, and Johnson would go on to have several great seasons with the Celtics, winning two titles with them in 1984 and 1986.
See also
*
National Basketball Association rivalries
*
Bruins–Flyers rivalry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:76ers-Celtics rivalry
Philadelphia 76ers
Boston Celtics
National Basketball Association rivalries