The rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers is one of the NBA’s oldest and most revered, as it dates back to the Sixers’ inception in 1963. The Sixers and Celtics have played the most playoff series against each other out of any two teams in league history and another chapter will be added this year. After taking care of their respective opponents in the first round, the Celtics and Sixers are set to face off against each other in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
This will be the third time that the Celtics face off against Philly during the Jayson Tatum era, and similarly, the third time that the Sixers are squaring off against Boston during the Joel Embiid era. Boston won the previous two series with a tally of eight wins to one.
When asked about the battles between Boston and Philadelphia back in 2018, Embiid famously said: “This is not a rivalry… They always kick our ass.” Not much has changed since then, though Embiid will look to flip that narrative this time around while Tatum and the C’s will look to extend the streak.
Before the two teams add another installment to their shared history, here’s a look back at the results of the past series between the squads, as well as a few extremely memorable moments.
Past series results
Since the Sixers were officially founded in 1963, the two teams have squared off in the postseason fourteen different times. The most recent meeting prior to this season was in the first round in the Orlando bubble in 2020. Boston won that series 4-0. In fact, Boston has won the past five postseason series between the two teams. The last time the Sixers bested the Celtics in a playoff series was in 1982. Overall, the Celtics have come out victorious in 10 of the 14 series. Here’s a look at the results of all of those series:
2020: Boston 4, Philadelphia 0 (First round)2018: Boston 4, Philadelphia 1 (East semis) 2012: Boston 4, Philadelphia 3 (East semis)2002: Boston 3, Philadelphia 2 (First round) 1985: Boston, 4, Philadelphia 1 (East finals)1982: Philadelphia 4, Boston 3…..
