Another episode of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry is coming up Friday, and few around either team have as much history within it as head coach Luke Walton.
As a child, he watched his father, Hall of Famer Bill Walton, battle the Showtime Lakers in the 1987 NBA Finals.
Then, 21 years later, he found himself on the other side, as the Celtics beat his Lakers in six games for the title.
Walton clearly remembers the pain of watching the Celtics’ Gatorade celebration with five minutes still left in the game, as well as the fans’ reaction in Boston that night.
“It took us like two and a half hours to get home from the arena because they were going nuts in the street,” Walton said at Thursday’s practice, “which I respect. But when you’re sitting on the bus after losing the NBA Finals, that’s pretty painful.”
But, of course, Walton was also part of the Lakers’ revenge two years later, when they beat the Celtics in seven games for the 2010 championship.
Current player Metta World Peace was right beside him and hit a clutch 3-pointer in the waning minutes of Game 7 that he says Lakers fans still thank him for.
But the 16-year veteran maintained that ”seven years ago is not important” compared to the status of the current team.
“That was seven or eight years ago,” World Peace said. “This is a new time, new music. Seven years ago was Jay Z, now it’s Lil Uzi Vert. Seven years ago was Mobb Deep, now it’s Chief Keef. It’s a whole new time.
“Some of these guys were still getting their butt whooped for eating too much candy seven years ago. Now is a new time, new era of players.”
And while Walton recalls winning Game 7 as “pure joy,” both he and World Peace have their minds set in the present.
“It was a special moment,” World Peace said, “but my best time is right now.”