2008 NBA Finals

• 1. Introduction

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  The 2008 NBA Finals opened with one of basketball's strangest sights. Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce was wheeled off the court in Game 1 after falling awkwardly on teammate Kendrick Perkins' leg. He returned to the game minutes later to a roaring crowd. He then hit two three-pointers on consecutive possessions, putting Boston ahead for good, and finished with 22 points. It would later be dubbed the Wheelchair Game. More than a decade later, during coverage of the 2019 NBA Finals, Pierce admitted he had simply needed to use the bathroom.

  That single scene captured a series that swung between injury scares, blowouts, and comebacks. Six games, played from the 5th to the 17th of June 2008, decided the series. The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics faced the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, the eleventh Finals meeting between the two franchises. How did a Celtics roster headlined by three established stars and a second-year point guard turn into champions? What actually happened across those six games? And what became of both franchises in the years that followed?

• 2. Boston's Long Climb Back

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  A six-game loss to the Lakers in 1987 marked the last time Boston reached the NBA Finals before this run. Over the next 20 years, the Celtics missed the playoffs in nine of those seasons. The team's original Big Three broke apart as Larry Bird and Kevin McHale retired and Robert Parish left the roster. Forward Reggie Lewis died in 1993, and the franchise stumbled to a worst-ever 15-win record in the 1996-97 season. The hiring of head coach Rick Pitino did not turn things around. Franchise patriarch Red Auerbach and former player Dennis Johnson both died during this stretch. Those setbacks culminated in a 24-win 2006-07 season that included a franchise-worst 18 straight losses.

  In the 2007 off-season, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to play alongside franchise star Paul Pierce. That trio became known as the most talented Celtics team since Antoine Walker and Pierce had paired up in the early 2000s. Second-year point guard Rajon Rondo, already regarded as a future All-Star, joined the Big Three to help drive a 42-game turnaround. Boston finished the regular season with 66 wins.

  The Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers each pushed Boston to a decisive Game 7 in the earlier playoff rounds. The Celtics won both Game 7s at home, despite not winning a single game on the road that postseason. Boston then beat the Detroit Pistons in six games, finally breaking that road drought and clinching a return to the Finals. Waiting for them was a Los Angeles franchise that had taken a very different route back to the top.

• 3. Los Angeles Rebuilds

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  After losing to the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, head coach Phil Jackson abruptly retired despite a roster full of talent. Soon after, the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat, receiving Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant in return. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in the 2004-05 season for only the fifth time in team history.

  Jackson had gone so far as calling Kobe Bryant 'uncoachable' in a book titled The Last Season. He nonetheless returned to coach the Lakers for the 2005-06 season. Jackson and Bryant repaired their relationship, but after two consecutive first-round playoff exits, Bryant demanded a trade in the off-season, only to retract the request.

  Los Angeles won 57 games in the 2007-08 season. Midseason, the team added Spanish forward Pau Gasol while center Andrew Bynum recovered from a knee injury. The Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets 4-0, defeated the Utah Jazz 4-2, then eliminated the defending champion San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the conference finals. It marked the franchise's 29th trip to the NBA Finals.

  Before the Finals series even began, Boston and Los Angeles had already met twice that regular season, each game hinting at what was to come.

• 4. A Series Of Swings

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  On the 30th of December 2007, the Celtics routed the Lakers 110-91 at the Staples Center on throwback jersey night. The Lakers wore throwback shorts for the first half, then switched back to their regular shorts at halftime after falling behind. The win also kept Lakers coach Phil Jackson from passing Red Auerbach for seventh all-time in coaching victories. Seven technical fouls were called in a game charged with emotion, since it marked the first time Boston's Big Three had visited Los Angeles together. The result pushed Boston to a 26-3 record, one of the best starts in franchise history.

  Kobe Bryant scored 22 points in that game but shot just 6-for-25 from the field, a preview of his shooting struggles to come. Bryant would go on to average 25.7 points per game in the Finals while shooting only 40 percent from the field. Paul Pierce scored 33 points in the December meeting, and Kevin Garnett shut down the Lakers' big men, a pattern that continued months later. Just over a month after that game, the Lakers traded for Memphis Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol, largely to counter Garnett's size.

  Game 1 tipped off tight, with both teams trading buckets before Kevin Garnett took over, scoring 10 points in the first quarter alone. Kobe Bryant struggled with his shot early, missing six of seven attempts, though he kept setting up teammates. Pau Gasol punished Boston in the paint with tough fadeaways and layups, helping Los Angeles take a 51-46 halftime lead. Boston regained control in the second half. Garnett's putback dunk over two Lakers defenders sealed a 98-88 win, and he finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Kobe Bryant matched him with 24 points for Los Angeles.

  Game 2 opened with the Lakers pushing an early tempo, as Kobe Bryant found Pau Gasol posting up Kevin Garnett for an and-one basket. Los Angeles built a 22-20 first-quarter lead, but Boston's Leon Powe drew ten free throws in his first three minutes off the bench. The Celtics seized control in the second quarter, forcing nine turnovers and building a 54-42 halftime lead as Paul Pierce scored 16 first-half points. Los Angeles rallied behind Vladimir Radmanovic and Sasa Vujacic late, cutting a 24-point deficit down to six. Pierce then blocked a potential game-tying three from Vujacic in the final seconds. Boston held on to win by six points and take a 2-0 series lead. Kobe Bryant finished with 30 points and 8 assists. Rajon Rondo dished a game-high 16 assists, and Leon Powe added 21 points on 6-for-7 shooting.

• 5. Boston Pulls Away

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  Los Angeles jumped out to a 35-14 lead after the first quarter of Game 4, the largest first-quarter lead in NBA Finals history. The Lakers still led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter. Boston answered with a 21-3 run that closed the gap to 73-71. With 4:07 left in the fourth quarter, Boston reserve Eddie House hit an 18-foot jumper for the Celtics' first lead of the game. Boston would not relinquish that lead. Boston's bench outscored Los Angeles' bench 35-15, with 29 of those points coming from House and James Posey. Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 11 rebounds, supporting Ray Allen's 19 and Paul Pierce's 20.

  Entering Game 6, the Celtics had already set a record for most playoff games in a single season, with 26. That broke a mark of 25, shared by the 1994 New York Knicks and the 2005 Detroit Pistons. Doc Rivers, Boston's coach, had once played for that Knicks team himself. Both of those earlier teams had lost their own Finals in seven games. After a shaky first quarter, Boston pulled away for good, eventually leading by more than 25 points. The Celtics dominated the statistical categories, outrebounding Los Angeles 48-29 and forcing 19 turnovers to their own 7. Boston also piled up 18 steals to the Lakers' 4. Ray Allen hit seven three-pointers to tie the existing Finals record, a mark he would break himself in the 2010 Finals against the Lakers. Rajon Rondo added 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals, and every Boston player who saw the floor scored.

  Postgame, Kevin Garnett delivered his now-famous 'anything is possible' speech in an interview with Michele Tafoya. Boston's 131-92 final margin, a 39-point win, was the largest ever in a game that clinched an NBA championship. It broke the previous record of 33 points, also set by the Celtics over the Lakers, in Game 5 of the 1965 NBA Finals. The victory pushed Boston's all-time Finals record against the Lakers to 9-2 and delivered the Celtics' first Finals win over their rivals since 1984. It was Boston's 17th championship, extending their record for the most titles won by a single NBA franchise. The title capped a 66-16 regular season, their best since the 67-15 mark of their previous championship year. That interview marked one of Michele Tafoya's final moments as a Finals sideline reporter, since she would resign from the role shortly before the 2008-09 season began.

• 6. On The Air

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  ESPN produced the broadcast, which aired on ABC in the United States for the sixth consecutive year. Fans in Los Angeles could also watch locally on KABC-TV, while Boston viewers tuned into WCVB-TV. After Tafoya's run as sideline reporter ended, the role passed to Doris Burke, who covered the Finals from 2009 to 2019. Rachel Nichols followed in 2020, then Malika Andrews in 2021, and Lisa Salters beginning in 2022.

  ESPN Latin America and CCTV-5 in China were among the many international broadcasters carrying the series beyond North America. Sport1 in Germany and NBA TV also carried the games. NBA Entertainment also produced a championship season documentary about the Celtics' title run, narrated by Rodd Houston. A separate made-for-TV version of that same documentary was narrated by Kevin Harlan. None of those broadcasters yet knew how quickly this Celtics core would be tested again, starting with the very next season.

• 7. Echoes Beyond 2008

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  Boston opened the 2008-09 season with a 27-2 record, the best start through 29 games in NBA history. That momentum ended on Christmas Day, when the Lakers beat the Celtics in a Finals rematch, snapping Boston's franchise-record 19-game winning streak. Shortly after the 2009 All-Star Game, Kevin Garnett suffered a serious right knee injury that ended his season. Boston still finished with 62 wins, but without Garnett the team fell in seven games to the Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic. The loss came in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals.

  Los Angeles won 65 games the following season and claimed the 2009 NBA championship in five games over that same Orlando Magic team. Andrew Bynum battled another midseason injury but returned in time to help close out the title. The 2008-09 Lakers became the first team since the 1988-89 Detroit Pistons to win the Finals the year after losing them.

  Both franchises met again in the 2010 NBA Finals, the second time in three years. Los Angeles avenged its 2008 loss, beating Boston in seven games to repeat as champions and claim its fifth title in the previous ten seasons. The Lakers would not return to the Finals for another decade, until a 2019-20 team led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis won the championship.

  Boston, meanwhile, did not reach the Finals again until 2022. A team led by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum fell in six games to the Stephen Curry-led Golden State Warriors. Two years later, in 2024, the Celtics returned once more, beating the Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving-led Dallas Mavericks in five games. It gave Boston its first title in 16 years and an 18th overall. On that championship coaching staff sat Sam Cassell, an assistant coach who had also played for the Celtics back in 2008.