The 30 greatest NBA team rivalries in league history

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Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks, Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

26. Best NBA rivalries of all-time: Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks

The Boston Celtics have 18 championships to their name. The New York Knicks have only two. It’s a stark gap that hasn’t, nor will it ever stop these two teams from going after each other with battles dating back to the 1950s.

Across the entire sports world, it’s programmed into the minds of everyone that New York and Boston are synonymous with mutual hatred. From the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox to the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, these are two cities with passionate fanbases who have gone to war on many occasions.

When it comes to basketball, the two teams have rarely competed for titles at the same time, but have still gone on to face off in several postseason battles. Across 15 playoff matchups, the Celtics hold a slight 8-7 edge all time.

They faced off three straight times from 1972 to 1974, with New York coming out on top the first two occasions, the latter of which came during a run to the franchise’s second-ever NBA championship. Boston swept the Knicks in the first round in 2011, but the Knicks came right back in 2013 to put an end to the Big Three era in six games.

Surprisingly enough, of the 18 championship banners hanging in TD Garden, only three have forced them to eliminate the Knicks along the way. The 16 title advantage is what matters the most, of course, a level of dominance unmatched in the NBA.

The success of these two teams matters very little when the schedule brings them together. Even a meaningless regular-season matchup affords one city the slightest of bragging rights in a never-ending battle between two sports-crazed towns.