With the Lakers and Celtics tied with 17 NBA championships, the race for banner No. 18 is on. So, which of the two is best positioned to become the winningest club in NBA history?
In a recent episode of FS1’s “Undisputed” Celtics legend Paul Pierce made his prediction while questioning the legitimacy of the Lakers’ latest title in the Orlando bubble.
“I guarantee you this: We will win our 18th championship before the Lakers,” Pierce said. “You all [Lakers] I just caught up from a few years ago when you won the Mickey Mouse Championship. »
Pierce makes a valid point, given that the C’s are currently the favorites to win the NBA Finals in June. The Lakers, meanwhile, aren’t even a top 10 title favorite and have a lot of work to do to qualify for next month’s playoffs.
Needless to say, Pierce’s comments sparked an all-out war between Celtics and Lakers fans on social media. Even former All-Star Gilbert Arenas gave his opinion on his “Gil’s Arena” podcast.
“If I’m being petty, 95 percent of the Celtics’ championships happened before Paul Pierce was even born,” Arenas said, referring to the The Celtics won 13 of their 17 titles before 1977.
Since Pierce’s birth in 1977, the Celtics have raised their banners in 1981, 1984, 1986 and 2008.
During the same period, the Lakers won five titles in the 1980s and six more since the start of the new millennium. For those counting, the Lakers are 11-4 against the Celtics since 1977.
“They won most of their championships in the 8-team league, man,” Arenas said of the Celtics. “In the last 30 years, Boston hasn’t had any significance in basketball history. In the last 30 years, you’ve had one championship. [in 2008]”.
