The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics are about to step onto the hardwood for the 19th time in NBA playoff history. That’s more than any other two teams have met in the postseason, for a rivalry that once stood on par with the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Celtics.
Here's a quick history lesson, in 1963 the Syracuse Nationals moved into town and became the Philadelphia 76ers after the Philadelphia Warriors had moved to San Francisco the year before. In 1965, they acquired Wilt Chamberlain from those same Warriors and over the next five seasons they would end up playing the Celtics in the playoffs every year. The Sixers were only victorious in one of those series, but the foundation for a classic rivalry had been laid.
The '70s brought on a bit of a lull in the matchup, aside from 1977 when the Sixers landed Julius Erving and beat the Celtics on the way to an NBA Finals appearance, but things heated up again in the '80s after Boston drafted Larry Bird.
The two squads would meet up four times over the next six years with each team winning two series. The rivalry had been taken to the next level, with a number of fantastic games and ev ...
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Article written by Jarred Kidd
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics: Looking to Renew a Rivalry
May 12th, 2012 by Jarred Kidd Leave a reply »
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