2008 NBA Finals

The 2008 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. A best-of-seven playoff series that was played from June 5 to June 17, 2008, the series was contested between the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics and the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. It was the 11th Finals meeting between the Lakers and the Celtics. Led by the "Big 3" of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, and holding home court advantage, the Celtics defeated the Lakers, led by Pau Gasol and MVP Kobe Bryant, in six games. It was their first title in twenty-two years and their 17th title overall, a record that still stands today even when the Lakers tied this record in 2020. Pierce was named Finals MVP. Rodd Houston narrated the Boston Celtics' championship season documentary on NBA Entertainment. The made-for-TV version of this documentary is narrated by Kevin Harlan. Background The Celtics were making their first NBA Finals appearance since a six-game loss to the Lakers in 1987. Over the next 20 years the Celtics would suffer through several lean years, not making the playoffs in nine of those years. Following the dissolution of the team's original "Big Three" through the retirements of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale and the departure of Robert Parish, the Celtics suffered through several tragedies such as: the passing of Reggie Lewis in 1993; a franchise-worst 15-win 1996–97 season; the ill-fated hiring of head coach Rick Pitino; and the deaths of franchise patriarch Red Auerbach and former player Dennis Johnson, which culminated in a 24-win 2006–07 season, highlighted by a franchise-worst 18 straight losses.