1984 Championship Victory

Lore & Background

The series was a rematch of the Lakers and Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1979 with the Magic Johnson–Larry Bird pair entering the league. After alternating wins with the Lakers, the Celtics won Game 7 and the series with a score of 111–102. This was the last NBA Finals to use the 2–2–1–1–1 format until 2014. The following year, the NBA Finals format was changed to 2–3–2 after Celtics president Red Auerbach complained to NBA Commissioner David Stern about the constant travel during the Finals.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Boston Garden was thick with tension and stale popcorn. With minutes ticking away in Game 7, the score remained tight until the Celtics' suffocating defense forced crucial turnovers that broke the Lakers' rhythm. Cedric Maxwell, often overshadowed by the Big Three, poured in a game-high 29 points to seal the deal. As the final buzzer sounded, the roar of the crowd didn't just fill the arena; it seemed to shake the very foundations of the historic building. Red Auerbach, watching from the bench, finally allowed a rare, triumphant smile as his players mobbed their leader on the hardwood.

Reader's Guide

The Celtics were led by Larry Bird, who averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). Key players included Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Gerald Henderson, Danny Ainge, and Dennis Johnson. The Lakers were led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, but suffered a key injury when Jamaal Wilkes was ruled out of the finals.

Did You Know?

• The 1984 NBA Finals has been often regarded as one of the greatest finals ever played, and is considered the 'peak' of the 1980s Celtics-Lakers rivalry.
• This was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each of the previous seven.
• Game 4 of the 1984 Finals marked the last Finals game to go into overtime until Game 2 of the 1990 NBA Finals.
• Game 5 was known as the 'Heat Game', played under 97 °F heat without air conditioning at Boston Garden.