The rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics is one of the fiercest in the world of sports. Both teams remain the most successful in the NBA with 17 championships a piece. After decades of rivalry between the franchises, there was a period when the two did not meet in the Finals for years. It was when the Lakers dominated with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal while the Celtics struggled to compete. After O’Neal’s departure however, the rivalry was once again renewed with the Celtics’ iconic Big 3 and Bryant taking center stage.

It is no secret that Boston fans are one of the loudest in the NBA. Given Kobe’s incredible displays against their team, they were not very fond of him. However, the Black Mamba was well respected by the fanbase despite their differences. Interestingly, the rivalry led to an intense and unique working experience for a producer.

The rivalry made it work between Bryant and this Celtics fan

Kobe Bryant played 44 games against the Celtics, including the regular season and playoffs. It was his most against any Eastern Conference franchise. He is 18-13 in the regular season and 6-7 in the Finals versus the Celtics. Also, he is the fourth-highest scorer in the Celtics-Lakers rivalry behind NBA legends John Havlicek, Jerry West, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Notably, Bryant faced the C’s in the Finals for the first time in 2008 and lost. However, he had his revenge in 2010 by beating them to the title and broke the hearts of Celtics fans. Despite this, the fans respected him for everything he was. Producer Gotham Chopra who is a diehard Celtics fan recently revealed about working with the Hall of Famer.

In 2015, ‘Kobe Bryant’s Muse’, a 105 minute long documentary detailing the Black Mamba‘s career was released by Showtime. Gotham Chopra was the director. Notably, Chopra, Michael Strahan, and Tom Brady founded the sports-focused media company Religion of Sports in 2016. During a recent interview, he opened up about working with Bryant.

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After Chopra said that he is a huge Celtics fan, the host wondered how it worked out with Kobe. He replied, “That’s exactly how it worked.” Chopra added, “He and I got along precisely because of the fact that I was a die-hard Celtics fan and he was a Laker legend but also a Laker fan before that. Kobe was just a unique person, a unique artist, and a unique athlete and all that stuff.”

He noted that it was very intense to work with the 5x NBA champion but admitted it boosted his confidence and gave him capital.

Kobe Bryant’s revenge against the Celtics

With NBA legends Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen on the squad, the Celtics were unstoppable in 2008. They clinched the title comfortably against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

However, the Purple & Gold came back strong and won the title the next year against the Orlando Magic. One year later, it was a rematch of the 2007 Finals. This time, Kobe and the Lakers were poised to avenge the previous loss.

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In a closely contested Finals series, the Lakers came out on top in game 7. The Black Mamba played a crucial role and made multiple clutch plays throughout the series and won his fifth NBA ring and second Finals MVP award.