Monday marks a brutal night for Laker Nation as they saw their hated rivals, the Boston Celtics, capture their 18th NBA championship.
With the historic victory, the Celtics passed the Los Angeles Lakers for the team with the most NBA Finals series victory. The Lakers now drop to No. 2 on the list of teams with the most NBA titles with 17, the last league title being captured at the end of the 2019-2020 season.
The Lakers were far off from competing against their rivals in Boston for the 2024 NBA title as the Purple and Gold were bounced in the first round to the Denver Nuggets. The C's, on the other hand, took care of business against the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers (Eastern Conference Finals) and the Dallas Mavericks before taking home the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Below is the top-four list of teams with the most titles:
- Boston Celtics: 18 championships
- Los Angeles Lakers: 17 championships
- Golden State Warriors: 7 championships
- Chicago Bulls: 6 championships
Magic Johnson, who was one the faces of the epic Lakers-Celtics rivalry in the 1980s Showtime era, appeared disgusted by Boston's victory Monday.
"I hate that the Celtics officially have more championships than us now," Johnson wrote on social media, with an eyeroll emoji.
It was certainly "job not finished" for the Lakers as the Purple and Gold's postseason failure led to the firing of head coach Darvin Ham. As of June 17, Laker Nation awaits who the team will hire as Ham's replacement, in addition to figuring out who will make the 2024-2025 roster to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis.