I've spent the last few days staying out of the fray of the inevitable Lakers/Celtics NBA Finals matchup. Maybe because I knew many people would have an opinion of this series, be it good or bad. Or because I felt that doing a preview would be tough not because I couldn't do it, but rather that everyone would do it. So, instead of another boring preview, I decided that I would instead revel in the past. To that end, I am going to look back on the 10 previous Finals matchups these two great teams have had. After that, I'll rank the matchups. For the record, I'm not including 1959 because that series ended in a sweep, and those series stink! Let's instead begin with...

1961-62: The Celtics were in the midst of their remarkable run of eight straight titles. Having won three straight at this point, the C's steamrolled to a then-league record 60-20 record. Bill Russell won his second straight MVP (and third for career). The Lakers, in their second year in L.A., won their first division title since 1954 with a 54-26 record, despite Elgin Baylor missing 32 games with injuries. Jerry West and Baylor were among the league leaders in scoring.

The Celtics beat the Warriors in a seven game series (the season where WIlt averaged more than 50 PPG!) with a dramatic Sam Jones jumper with two seconds to go in game 7. The Lakers beat the Pistons in six, and the Finals matchup was a struggle. Each team alternated wins going into game seven. With only a few seconds left, Laker G Frank Selvy had a chance to win the title at the Garden, but his shot rimmed out, and the Celts won in OT 110-107.

1962-63: One year later, little had changed. Boston still dominated the league, going 58-22 and winning the East by 10 games. Russell became the first player to win three straight regular season MVPs. This also marked Bob Cousy's final season and John Havlicek's first (basketball's answer to Mantle and DiMaggio). The Lakers finished 53-27 and won the West by 5 games, as Baylor finished second to Wilt in scoring with a 34.0 PPG.

Both teams faced challenges in their respective division finals; the Celts went seven with the Cincinnati Royals, and the Lakers went seven with the St. Louis Hawks. But both survived to have a Finals rematch. Although most of the games were close (only one was decided by more than 7 points), the C's took a 3-1 lead and won it in six games.

1964-65: After a year's break, the rivalry resumed. Boston set a new league record with a 62-18 record, finishing 14 games ahead of the Royals for first in the East as Russell won his fifth (and final) regular season MVP. He also led the league in rebounds for the last time (24.1 RPG). The Lakers went 49-31 to win the West by four games. West (31.0 PPG) and Baylor (27.1 PPG) were in the top five in scoring.

While the Lakers had a much easier time in the Western Division finals (beating Baltimore 4-2), the Celtics went seven with the Philadelphia 76ers, who had acquired Wilt Chamberlain during the All-Star break. The seventh game was legendary; the Sixers had a chance to win after Russell turned the ball over under the Sixer basket, but John Havlicek stole the inbounding pass (Havlicek stole the ball!!!) to preserve victory. The finals were anticlimatic; with Baylor out the entire series with injury, the Celtics won 4-1.

1965-66: The Celtics' run of nine straight division titles ended during this season; the Sixers beat out the C's by one game to win the division (the Sixers were 55-25, the Celts 54-26) which took away home court and made the Celtics play an opneing round series. So what; Boston beat Cincinnati 3-2, then beat the Sixers 4-1 to advance to their ninth straight Final. The Lakers went 45-35 to win the West by 7 games, as West was second in scoring (31.3 per) and fourth in assists (6.1 per) . They beat the Hawks in seven to advance to the Finals.

L.A. managed to take the opener in Boston in OT. That's when Red Auerbach (who had announced his coaching retirement) named Bill Russell his successor, making Russell the first black coach of the modern era. That inspired the C's to three straight wins and an eventual seven game series win. The win was the Celtics' eighth straight title and ninth in ten years.

1967-68: The Celtics were showing their age a little during the 1968 season. Having lost their title the year before, the Celts finished eight games behind the new champion Sixers with a 54-28 record. Still, they showed there was still something in the tank, as they beat Detroit 4-2 in the division semifinals, then came back from 3-1 down to beat Philly 4-3 and return to the finals. The Lakers finished second to the Hawks in the West with a 52-30 record, as Baylor had one of his last great years (second in scoring with a 26.0 average), beat the Bulls 4-1, then beat the Warriors in a 4-0 sweep to reach the Finals.

The Finals flipped back and forth, with each team alternating wins until the Celts took games 5 & 6 and won the title. The series was noteworthy because Russell played himself a total of 292 minutes in the six game series (a record for a six game Finals series).

1968-69: Many pundits assumed the Lakers were a sure bet to win the title in 1969. They added Wilt Chamberlain in a trade with Philadelphia, and with the dominant trio of him, West and Baylor, the Lakers won 55 games and the Western Division title. Chamberlain led the league in rebounds (21.1 per) and the Lakers beat the Warriors 4-2 and the Hawks 4-1 to advance to the Finals. The Celtics struggled to a 48-34 record, the worst of the Russell era, but managed to beat the Sixers 4-1 in the semis, then beat the Knicks 4-2 to make one more Finals run.

The Lakers took the first two at home by a total of eight points, before the Celtics lashed back with two home wins (one on a dramatic jump shot by Sam Jones, in his last Finals). The teams exchanged home wins to set up game 7, and before the game, the Celts found out that the Lakers, through owner Jack Kent Cooke, had set up dozens of balloons and a marching band to celebrate an apparent Lakers win. That inspired the Cetlics, as they took a big lead early, then through a lucky Don Nelson jumper, beat the Lakers 108-106 to claim their 11th title in 13 years. Despite this, Jerry West won the first Finals MVP (and remains the only losing player to win the award). Three months later, Russell retired, taking the dynasty with him.

1983-84: After a 15 year hiatus, the Celtics and Lakers renewed their hostilities in 1984. The Celtics, after a disappointing 1983 season, replaced Bill Fitch with K.C. Jones and added Dennis Johnson in a trade with Phoenix. With the more relaxed atmosphere, the Celtics went 62-20 and secured the NBA's best record. In the newly expanded playoff format, they beat the Bullets 3-1, survived a grueling seven game series with the Knicks, and beat Milwaukee 4-1 to make the Finals. Larry Bird won his first regular season MVP. The Lakers went 54-28 for the West's best record, swept the Kings 3-0, romped past Dallas 4-1, and beat pesky Phoenix 4-2 to secure the dream finals.

L.A. won the first game 115-109, and they seemed poised to win game 2 until Gerald Henderson stole a pass from James Worthy and scored a tying layup. The Celts won in OT 124-121. The Lakers rolled to an easy 137-104 win in game 3, as Magic Johnson set a Finals record with 21 assists, and Bird angirly said "We played like a bunch of sissies". The Celtics then rebounded with a physical 129-125 OT win, highlighted by Kevin McHale's clothesline of Kurt Rambis and Bird's verbal jousting with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Game 5 was played in sweltering heat (the courtside temp was 97 degrees), but Bird didn't mind; he scored 34 points as Boston won 121-103. The Lakers won game 6, only to see Cedric Maxwell have his last great game as a Celtic with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics won 111-102 and beat the Lakers for the eighth straight time in the Finals. Bird was Finals MVP.

1984-85: The Lakers entered the 1985 season determined to avenge their 1984 Finals faliure. They surged to a 62-20 record, second only to the Celtics, whipped Phoenix 3-0 in the first round, and eliminated Portland and Denver 4-1 each to return to the Finals. The Celtics went 63-19 for the league's best record, with Bird winning his second straight MVP, but faced trouble in the playoffs, beating Cleveland 3-1 in a series where the Cavs matched their total point ouput, eliminated Detroit 4-1, and beat the Sixers 4-1 in the last matchup of the heated foes in the 80s.

Even with that, the Celtics smoked the Lakers in game one 148-114 in the Memorial Day Massacre, as Kareem looked old and the Lakers looked nervous. Both dispelled those notions in game 2, as Kareem scored 30 points and added 17 rebounds in a 109-102 win. After a 136-111 Laker rout in game 3, the Celtics stole game 4 as Dennis Johnson hit a buzzer-beating shot to securd the win. The Lakers won game 5, but as they returned to Boston for game 6, they knew no team had won a title against the Celtics at the Garden. So what?; the Lakers cruised to a 111-100 win and ended their jinx against the C's. Kareem won Finals MVP, and Magic Johnson removed the ghosts of his struggles of 1984.

1986-87: The last matchup (prior to this one, of course) was the series that would determine who would be remembered as the better team of the 1980s, sorta like the third Ali-Frazier fight. The Lakers went 65-17 for the league's best record, as Magic won his first regular season MVP by finishing 10th in scoring (a career-high 23.9 per) and leading the league in assists (12.2 per). The Lakers went 11-1 in the Western Conference playoffs, beating Denver (3-0), Golden State (4-1) and Seattle (4-0) to advance. The Celtics looked old and worn out, but still won 59 games, beating Chicago 3-0 for the second year in a row, then survived seven game series with the Bucks and Pistons (including Bird's legendary stolen inbound pass of Isiah Thomas') to reach their fourth straight Final.

The Lakers rolled to two wins at the Forum, then lost game 3 at Boston. Game 4 was the best of the series. Bird drilled a three late to give the Celtics a two point lead, then Kareem hits and missed a FT, then the C's knock the ball oput of bounds, leading to Magic's famous 'junior skyhook' that proves to be the game winner. After a game 5 loss, the Lakers wrap up the title with a 106-93 win at the Forum. Magic wins his third Finals MVP.

So, after that, here's how these Finals ranked (from 1-10):

1. 1984-85: Can't beat history, can you?

2. 1983-84: So dramatic, and a seven game series usually is very good.

3. 1968-69: I bet you Cooke never counted his chickens like that again, did he?!?

4. 1986-87: The 80s were great, weren't they?

5. 1965-66: History made on the court, and off it, too.

6. 1961-62: Does Frank Selvy still have nightmares about that shot?

7. 1967-68: Talk about running you top guys into the ground; Havlicek played only one fewer minute than Russell! They both averaged over 48 minutes a game!!!!

8. 1962-63: Because it went six games.

9. 1964-65: Because it went five games.

10. 1958-59: Because it was a sweep. None of these series mattered that much!

What do you think was the best Lakers/Celtics matchups? I just want Lakers and Celtics fans to be civil here (lol)! And Fox, this is under NBA, so don't banish me, please (I hope they have a sense of humor. Gulp!).