Page 33 - Sports Illustrated Kids (October 2018)

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Formerly teammates in
Cleveland, Irving and James
are the centers of attention
in the NBA’s richest rivalry—
just as Bird and Magic were.
elcome to
hoops history
class here
at James
Naismith
High!
If you’re wondering why
the school is named for James
ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES man who invented basketball, in much brighter than LeBron James has been in this league for two
Naismith, it’s because he was the
1891. (We’ve come a long way since
that first game, which was played
with peach baskets for goals.) And
why is the school mascot the Ducks?
Because Naismith based the rules
')&' )+0& + &0*&1% %&$%
for his new creation on one of his
favorite games from his childhood,
duck on a rock.
Today’s topic is rivalries. And
when it comes to NBA rivalries,
one stands above the rest:
Celtics-Lakers.
There’s an old saying that
those who don’t learn from their
history are doomed to repeat it.
Apparently the rest of the NBA
hasn’t been paying attention to
what’s been going on in Boston
and Los Angeles. Not only do the
Celtics and Lakers have two of the
richest histories in the game,
they’ve also spent the last few
years putting together rosters
that give them two of the
brightest futures as well.
They have two of the hottest
young coaches in the game:
Boston’s Brad Stevens and Luke
Walton of Los Angeles. And this
rivalry has historically been filled
with star power—stars don’t shine
and Kyrie Irving.
It’s not hard to imagine Boston
and Los Angeles facing off in the
2020 NBA Finals. It would be a
very familiar matchup.
1A> >:KER =:RL
The Boston Celtics first met
the Lakers in 1948 when they
were members of the Basketball
Association of America. (The BAA
would merge with the National
Basketball League in 1949 and
change its name to the National
Basketball Association.)
At the time, the Lakers were
based in Minneapolis. (That
explains why the team is called
the Lakers despite the fact that
Los Angeles isn’t known for its
lakes; Minnesota, however, is
called the Land of 10,000 Lakes.)
Behind George Mikan, a 6' 10"
giant who was the first pro
basketball superstar, the Lakers
won league titles in five of their
first six seasons.
Then the Celtics, who were led by
Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach,
took over as the top team. Boston
won its first championship in 1957,
and the Celtics won it all again two
years later—by beating Minneapolis.
The Lakers moved to Los Angeles
in 1960, and they quickly forged a
new identity to go with their new
home. And that didn’t sit well with
the Celtics. “So far the Lakers aren’t
the champions of anything,”
Auerbach scoffed in 1963. “The
Laker organization has said that
‘Los Angeles is the Basketball
Capital of the World.’ Los Angeles
years and it’s the basketball capital
of the world!”
The animosity was mutual. Said
Fred Schaus, the Lakers’ coach: “I
respect Auerbach as a coach. But I
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