The storied rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics transcends individual players. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were followed by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who paved the way for Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant.
Though both franchises have fallen on the difficult times of re-building, history says it’s a matter of “when” not “if” the Celtics and Lakers will meet again when the stakes are highest. But we’re a long way off from that seeming inevitability, a reality supported by Bryant’s claim that he can’t name five current Boston players.
The midseason roster upheaval ushered by the December trade of Rajon Rondo has left the Celtics a shell of the underwhelming group they were three months ago – let alone the team that Bryant battled for championships in 2008 and 2010. And while Mamba apparently knows little of Boston’s current squad, he seems more concerned that opponents like Pierce and Kevin Garnett continue to change teams.
Via Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was asked if he could name five Celtics.
“Nope,” Bryant said with a laugh.
After a quick run-through of just some of the moves the C’s have made in the last couple of weeks, Bryant shook his head.
“Yeah, that’s strange to see,” he said, “but I guess it’s what they’ve got to do. What’s really weird is my kids, when we watch TV and we watch the games. They’ll see Kendrick Perkins and they’ll see Paul (Pierce) and see KG (Kevin Garnett) in different places, and they’ll be like, ‘Wait, what are they doing there?’ You know what I mean? It’s like really awkward. And it puts things in perspective, because I’m seeing things from their perspective.”
We can’t really blame Kobe.
Danny Ainge has made a whopping five trades in the past calendar month alone, shipping out Rondo and Jeff Green for future assets and players who he immediately flipped again. Brandan Wright, for instance, played just eight games in Boston before being dealt to the Phoenix Suns, and Austin Rivers never even wore the green-and-gold – news of his trade from the Celtics to the Los Angeles Clippers broke before the deal sending him to Bean Town was even completed.
Still, we like to think that we could name five current Celtics – just make sure you don’t ask us to prove it.
Can you name five current Celtics?
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