Basketball: NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers Earvin Magic Johnson (32) in action vs Boston Celtics Larry Bird (33) at Boston Garden. Game 1. Boston, MA 5/27/1985 CREDIT: Manny Millan (Photo by Manny Millan /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X31522 )Set Number: X31522

Magic Johnson Posts on Celtics Winning 18th NBA Title, Topping Lakers for Most Ever

Scott PolacekJun 17, 2024

Boston Celtics 18, Los Angeles Lakers 17.

While the 2024 NBA Finals was between the Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, the battle within the battle was the one between longtime rivals in Boston and Los Angeles.

After all, the two iconic franchises were tied for the most titles in NBA history with 17 heading into the 2023-24 campaign. And now the Celtics have bragging rights after defeating the Mavericks in five games to win their 18th.

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One of the defining figures of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry was not happy about it:

Magic Johnson faced Boston in three NBA Finals (1984, 1985 and 1987) and won two of them as he and Larry Bird defined the 1980s for the league. Even though the Celtics have the overall bragging rights, Johnson will always have that counterpoint from his Hall of Fame career.

The two franchises also faced each other in the 2008 and 2010 Finals with Boston winning the first and Los Angeles winning the second in matchups that featured Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and others.

Perhaps they will play each other in the NBA Finals again in the future, but the Purple and Gold are officially in catch-up mode again after Monday's result.