franchise-low 17–65 mark during the 2015–16 season. On December 30, 2015, the Boston Celtics honored the Los Angeles Lakers' star Kobe Bryant in his final game in TD Garden. The Lakers would beat the Celtics 112-104. Nevertheless, the rivalry between the Celtics and the Lakers remained fairly even during this recent period, with the two teams managing a split in the season series four of the last six times. However, battles between the Celtics and the Lakers took a back seat to the emerging rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, who met in four consecutive NBA Finals between 2015 and 2018, where the Cavaliers were led by a big three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, while the Warriors were led by a big four of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Notwithstanding the Celtics' success and the Lakers' struggles during this period, both teams would make their presence felt in subsequent offseasons. The Lakers' run of futility rewarded them with several high first-round picks (D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball were selected second overall), while the Celtics benefited from the Brooklyn Nets' ill-fated 2013 trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett with their top-three selections of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. In addition, the Celtics went on to sign All-Star free agents Al Horford and Gordon Hayward in addition to acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Cavaliers. The Lakers would counter by signing LeBron James in the 2018 offseason. The two teams continued to retool in the 2019 offseason; the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans while the Celtics brought in Kemba Walker after Irving left to join the Nets. 2020: Lakers tie championship record In the 2020 playoffs, the Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, losing in 6 games with Miami denying a Lakers-Celtics matchup, which would've been their first match since the 2010 NBA Finals, while the Lakers defeated the Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals to become NBA champions. Rondo, who was a part of the 2020 Lakers championship team, became the second player in NBA history, after Clyde Lovellette, to win titles with the Celtics and Lakers. Two seasons later, the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention for the seventh time in nine seasons, while the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years