The Surprising History of the Celtics Versus the Lakers

When the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers face off tonight in game one of the NBA finals, it will be the record eleventh time the two will battle for the league's Tiffany-made (TIF) Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The Celtics have won an NBA-best 16 titles, the Lakers have won 14; and while Boston beat the Lakers in eight of the ten times they've met previously, both teams know they have a potential seven-game battle on their hands this year.

The last time the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals I wore a t-shirt with a Spuds Mackenzie (BUD) iron-on. The year was 1987, President Ronald Regan and VP George H.W. Bush were in the middle of the Iran Contra affair and Prozac (LLY) celebrated its first anniversary. Gas was 95 cents a gallon. And actor Jack Nicholson, star of The Witches of Eastwick (who has been an Lakers season ticket-holder since 1970) could be counted on to be courtside in LA and high above courtside in Boston.

And, that year the Lakers beat the Celtics.

Fast-forward 21 years. A George Bush is still in the White House, but the price of gas is $4.00 a gallon. And in three decades, that signature anti-depressant maker, Eli Lily's stock up ticked from $6.48 a share to $48.28 a share. (That's a 644% increase!) Oh, and Jack Nicholson, star of The Bucket List, will most likely still be courtside, along with folks like Jay-Z and Tyra Banks.

On the court, one of the most noticeable differences, besides the now copious courtside sponsorships (in 1987, the pads protecting the basketball hoops were ad-free), are the player's fashion statements. There are no more short-shorts. Thigh-baring has gone out of style—shorts are approximately four inches longer than they were in 1987—almost to the extreme. These days the league fines players $10,000 if their shorts dip one inch below the knee. (Both Laker Kobe Bryant and Celtic Kevin Garnett have paid heavy tolls for past fashion infractions.) Also, tattoos are a significant addition to the unofficial uniform of modern players. In 1987, it was illegal to get tattoos in Boston and Los Angeles. Now, tattoos appear to be the rule rather than the exception for ballers. According to Brooklyn tattoo artist, Erick Diaz of Asylum Tattoos, NBA players pay around $200 per hour for body art.