The rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics will never die out. The last time the two franchises squared off in the NBA Finals was in 2010 when Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom took down Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in seven games to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy and exact revenge after losing to Boston two years prior.
Now in 2024, the Celtics are on the verge of winning their 18th NBA Championship and moving back ahead of the Lakers on the all-time list. The Dallas Mavericks were able to fend off elimination in Game 4, but no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit and it seems like only a matter of time before Boston celebrates once more.
And for Odom, that brings about mixed emotions as he respects Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and is happy for their success as professionals, but he still hates Boston and their fans for what happened following the Lakers’ NBA Finals loss in 2008, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“[Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown, as a professional, as an ex-NBA player, to see them kind of go through the process and make it to the Finals and get better every year as players, I’m happy for them as individuals,” Odom told ESPN. “But I’m a Laker at heart and in Game 6 they beat us pretty bad.
“And that’s when their fans surrounded our bus and wouldn’t let us leave. Shook our bus. That’s when I kind of was on a ‘F— Boston’ vengeance.”
And while Odom doesn’t want the Celtics as a whole to experience another championship, it is Pierce who bothers him the most personally. The former Lakers forward added that knowing Pierce is happy about this makes him sick:
“I know Paul Pierce is happy and it kind of makes me sick to see him gloat and be that happy because that team is about to win,” Odom said. “They were the best team that year [in 2008]. I tip my hat to ’em, even this year, but it kind of makes me sick.”
There is just something about the Celtics that brings about a different level of disgust and hatred. Of course in that 2008 NBA Finals Pierce infamously was wheel chaired off the court for an apparent injury (or bathroom break depending on who you ask) only to return minutes later and lift the Celtics to victory.
Odom in general is an extremely nice and positive person, but Pierce and the Celtics just bring the worst out of him. There is no doubt that Odom, and everyone else who loves the Lakers, are still rooting for the Mavericks to pull off the greatest comeback in NBA history.
Lakers’ LeBron James explains what makes 2024 Celtics so good
The likelihood of a Mavericks comeback is very slim, however, as the Celtics have been the best team in the NBA all season long. And Lakers superstar LeBron James recently broke down why they are so good.
LeBron noted that Boston is excellent at moving the ball around on offense and feels they don’t get enough credit for that. The Lakers star added that the Celtics have a number of players who shoot the 3 at a high percentage, but also are great at attacking once they get the defense moving.
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