The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have formed two sides of arguably the greatest rivalry in NBA history. They have been fighting for championships since the ’60s and are heading into this season with both teams having won 17 titles apiece. This rivalry has birthed legends of the games, as title-winning moments made them iconic.
The Lakers have a 3-9 record against the Celtics in the Finals, and many architects have been the reason behind that. It started with Red Auerbach, moved on to Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, with Paul Pierce being the latest Celtics star to lead them to a title over the Lakers.
Auerbach was the coach and executive who seemed to get joy from beating the Hollywood Lakers whenever they matched up, winning multiple rings at their expense. Bird was simply too good on the court in the ’80s in the decade, with McHale willing to lay out any Lakers that may come in Bird’s way. Pierce was hated by Lakers fans for his swagger and the Finals MVP he won over them in 2008.
But which one of these personalities is hated the most by the fanbase? Lakers fans had a pretty intense discussion on Instagram about the same.
Lakers Fans May Hate All Of These Players
Laker fans don’t warm up to their rivals much, and it was clear in the comments of this post. Answers varied between all four players. All that was clear to us is that these fans still fear Auerbach, have little respect for Pierce, have a lot of respect for Bird, and still don’t like McHale.
“All real Lakers fans should know this. It’s Red Auerbach.”
“Paul Effing Pierce!!! He’s gotten way too much mileage out of that one chip that KG & Ray Allen won for him.”
“Red, then Pierce. Real Laker fans respect Larry.”
“Hahahaha! Paul Pee. Then Danny A. Larry Bird was a rival, but he was still competitive and worthy enough to be a liked rival.”
“The Truth is the worst.”
“Mr. Wheelchair a.k.a. Paul “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” Pierce is the most hated Celtic!”
“All those SOBs, but I respect the Bird man.”
“Danny Ainge easily.”
“My vote goes to Red.”
“Off the rip, it would be Pierce, just for being a bitch, funny that he grew up in LA too. Bird is a legend and respected by basically everyone. Ainge should be the most hated. But real basketball history heads know Red is the real villain.”
Pierce averaged 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists against the Lakers in his career. Bird averaged 21.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in his career, while McHale impacted the game outside of the box score while averaging 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Auerbach has a coaching record of 28-14 against the Lakers in Finals games, showing dominance that no single coach in the NBA will ever have against one franchise.
Danny Ainge Took Pride In The Lakers Failures Even After He Was Done Playing
Out of all these players, Ainge has an animosity for the Lakers that extended into his executive career. When the infamous Chris Paul to Lakers trade was banned by the NBA in 2012, Ainge reportedly played a big part in swaying the league to stop the move and allegedly celebrated when he was dealt to the Clippers.
“I’m told that when the Clippers outmaneuvered the Lakers for Chris Paul, Ainge celebrated as if he had kept Paul from wearing the purple and gold himself. That’s how deep Ainge’s competitive fire goes when it comes to certain teams especially.”
Ainge did end up doing the Lakers a solid last winter with a move that changed the entire competitive complexion of the team. Ainge, as the GM of the Jazz, facilitated a Russell Westbrook trade where the only asset they got back was a top-four protected first-round pick for Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, and D’Angelo Russell.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
