The rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers preceded Kobe Bryant and it will live on long after his tragic death, but there’s no denying the superstar’s place in one of sports’ greatest rivalries.
Bryant was killed Sunday in a helicopter crash Sunday along with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter. It’s obviously a horrific tragedy the sports world continues to mourn as it attempts to process the news.
That was no different in Boston, as the tributes poured in from the Celtics themselves, Paul Pierce, Bill Russell and even TD Garden. Obviously Bryant’s standing as one of the best basketball players of all time transcends anything as trivial as a rivalry, but his death does present an unexpected place in time to reflect on what Bryant meant to the basketball world.
And in Boston, he’ll always be remembered as one of the Celtics’ fiercest rivals. Not only that, Bryant will be remembered for embracing the rivalry and even feeding off the antagonism that came from the opposition and more appropriately, the opposition’s fanbase. Yet, all of that was based — at least eventually and perhaps begrudgingly — in a state of mutual respect. So when Bryant came to Boston for the final time as a player, it allowed Celtics fans a chance to bid him adieu while getting on his case one more time.
After a hearty standing ovation in pregame introductions, Bryant was vociferously booed the first time he touched the ball that night in late December — and he didn’t want it any other way.
“It was unbelievable. It felt great to get booed,” Bryant marveled after the game. “Know what I mean? It was like the recognition at the top of the game and as soon as I touched the ball, they booed, I was like ‘Oh, I’m home.’ It felt great.”
It wasn’t just the Celtics fans who inspired Bryant to be better, of course. He and Paul Pierce had their version of the Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird rivalry with their two NBA Finals meetings. They split those showdowns with Pierce and Boston coming out victorious in Round 1 in 2008. Being the ultra competitor he is, that loss undoubtedly and unsurprisingly fueled Bryant. He got his chance at revenge in 2010, and he wasn’t going to let it go by the wayside.
“I’m just looking forward to the challenge of it,” Bryant said before the 2010 NBA Finals. “The last time we played them, it was a great learning experience for us. It taught us what it takes to be a champion — the defensive intensity that they play with, the tenacity that they play with. We learned a great deal in that series. It’s a great challenge for us to see how much we’ve improved, how much we’ve gotten better.”
The Celtics scored 100 points just once in the seven-game series, and the Lakers’ defensive effort, spearheaded by Bryant, allowed just 67 and 79 points in Games 6 and 7, as LA erased a 3-2 Boston lead to win the series. It was Bryant’s fifth (and final) NBA title, one he tabbed the “sweetest” of his career because “it’s against them and it’s the hardest one — by far.”
He doubled down later that night.
“This (was) the toughest one to get,” Bryant said in an interview with NBA TV after the Lakers’ Game 7 win. “Boston is a heckuva team. They’re tough, they’re nasty, they’re extremely well-coached, execute extremely well, make big shots and it was a heckuva series. When we split and lost the second one here, going up to Boston, that was the most fun I think we had because our backs were against the wall because it was tough going into Garden and winning.”
Despite Bryant and the Lakers ripping away a title that would have solidified that Celtics Big Three as one of the greatest teams in NBA history, Boston fans seemingly forgave Bryant. Winning was what he did, after all. But returning to that final game in 2015, as those boos eventually gave way to chants of his name, Bryant felt the need to reciprocate.
“Honestly, if I could cheer for them, I would,” he said. “I don’t think the fans here really understand how much they drove me. From the singing of the songs to the shaking of the bus (on the ride) back to the hotel, it stuck with me. It drove me to maniacal proportions. I don’t think they really understand how much they meant to my career.”
As Sunday gave way to Monday, and the reality of the situation sank in, Boston basketball fans went down to TD Garden where they built their own makeshift memorial to Bryant, just the latest sign of how much he meant to them, too.
