What was it like to be part of the legendary Celtics/Lakers rivalry, especially in the Finals?
Riley: I don’t think you ever get anywhere in life unless you develop an adversary! Having an adversary, an opponent, an enemy in your business is going to motivate you. It’s going to bring out the best in you. And what happened in the 80s with the Lakers and the Celtics simply brought out the very best in both sides. The same thing happened back in the 50s, when the Minneapolis Lakers won five championships and then in the 60s with the Celtics and the Lakers again going through all of those championship runs, with the Celtics winning most of them. I think that rivalry in the 80s took on a tone of it’s own because of the geographical locations. I mean, when the Lakers won in 1980, in Magic’s first year, across the front page of the Los Angeles Times, and a lot of the newspapers in this country, it said, “It’s Magic.” And Showtime prevailed, whatever it was. When the Celtics would win, it was “hard work” and “blue-collar” and “tradition.” And there was a certain excellence about their g
