<P> The rivalry had been less intense since the retirements of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1990s , but in 2008 it was renewed as the Celtics , led by the big three of Paul Pierce , Kevin Garnett , Ray Allen , and the Lakers , led by NBA MVP Kobe Bryant met in the Finals for the first time since 1987 , with the Celtics winning the series 4 -- 2 . They met again in the 2010 NBA Finals , which the Lakers won in 7 games . The two teams have won the two highest numbers of championships , the Celtics 17 , the Lakers 16 ( 11 as the L.A. Lakers and 5 as the Minneapolis Lakers ) ; together , they account for 33 of the 72 championships in NBA history . The rivalry was renewed again on July 1 , 2018 when LeBron James signed with the Lakers and when his former teammate Kyrie Irving was traded to the Celtics the previous year . The two played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017 and won the Cavs their first championship title in 2016 . </P>
<P> The rivalry had been less intense since the retirements of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1990s , but in 2008 it was renewed as the Celtics , led by the big three of Paul Pierce , Kevin Garnett , Ray Allen , and the Lakers , led by NBA MVP Kobe Bryant met in the Finals for the first time since 1987 , with the Celtics winning the series 4 -- 2 . They met again in the 2010 NBA Finals , which the Lakers won in 7 games . The two teams have won the two highest numbers of championships , the Celtics 17 , the Lakers 16 ( 11 as the L.A. Lakers and 5 as the Minneapolis Lakers ) ; together , they account for 33 of the 72 championships in NBA history . The rivalry was renewed again on July 1 , 2018 when LeBron James signed with the Lakers and when his former teammate Kyrie Irving was traded to the Celtics the previous year . The two played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017 and won the Cavs their first championship title in 2016 . </P>
who has more nba championships celtics or lakers
who has more nba championships celtics or lakers
Celtics
Celtics