Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five star players who played for both the Lakers and Celtics.

It is undoubtedly the most iconic rivalry in the history of the NBA. It even inspired the title of the very first game in the NBA Playoffs/NBA Live series! As of writing, the Lakers and the Celtics have combined for 35 of the 78 championships in league history, and have clashed in the Finals a record 12 times. The 2024 season saw the Celtics edge ahead of the Lakers with their 18th championship, and they also have a 9-3 edge in their twelve NBA Finals clashes. Boston also leads the all-time series, and is the only team with a lifetime winning record against LA.

Of course, despite the rivalry and all of the passionate responses it invites from Lakers and Celtics fans, the teams have often done deals. Furthermore, taking into account players that joined one or both teams via free agency, there’s a long list of players who have donned both Celtics green and Lakers purple and gold. That’s inevitable with the teams being around for decades, but it does get interesting when you look for stars and Hall of Famers who ended up playing for both of these storied franchises. To that end, there are five particularly noteworthy players that come to mind here. As we tip off a new season where all eyes are on both teams, let’s take a look at who they are!

1. Shaquille O’Neal

Although Shaq began his career with the Orlando Magic and those early years are memorable too, he’s generally remembered as a Laker Legend. As such, it was always going to be weird to see him conclude his career in another uniform, which basically seemed guaranteed after his feud with Kobe Bryant led to The Diesel being traded to the Miami Heat. However, when you take into account the long-standing rivalry between Boston and LA, Shaquille O’Neal in a Celtics jersey goes beyond the usual oddity of seeing a familiar face in a strange place! Even though he hadn’t been a Laker for six years at that point, it still seemed like Shaq was joining the “enemy”.

After all, not only did the history between the two teams make a former Lakers star joining the Celtics a notable story, but Shaq signing with Boston was inspired by the latest chapter in their rivalry. Los Angeles had just beaten Boston in seven games in the 2010 Finals, an outcome that gave Kobe his fifth ring; one more than Shaq. On top of deciding to keep the team together for another run and potentially avenge the loss, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck saw a prime opportunity to do – as the kids say these days – the funniest thing ever. There wouldn’t be a third showdown between Kobe’s Lakers and the Boston Three Party plus Shaq, but it did give O’Neal an odd stint.

2. Gary Payton

Needless to say, when you think of Gary Payton, you’re most likely to picture him in a Seattle Supersonics jersey. He’s a Sonics Legend, and unsurprisingly, has no interest in having his number retired by the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, as you may also recall, The Glove had an acrimonious departure from Seattle in 2003, as he was traded to the Bucks for Ray Allen. After finishing the year in Milwaukee, he and Karl Malone both took massive pay cuts to join Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. This impressive quartet of future Hall of Famers went 56-26 in the regular season despite Malone missing 40 games, but lost to Detroit in the NBA Finals.

Phil Jackson’s book, The Last Season, paints it as a fitting culmination to what had been a turbulent year. The offseason brought sweeping changes, as the feud between Shaq and Kobe led to the aforementioned trade to Miami. Malone and Kobe also fell out, leading The Mailman to move on as well. Payton was sent to Boston in a trade he didn’t ask for and wasn’t happy with, but still accepted. In fact, even after being traded to Atlanta for Antoine Walker, he willing re-signed with Boston after the Hawks cut him; a move that inspired a new provision in the next CBA! The Glove’s best days were in Seattle, but he’s still a former star that both the Lakers and Celtics can claim.

3. Bob McAdoo

Back when I was a young basketball fan trying to learn all that I could about NBA history – in those days, ignorance of and disrespect for the past were not celebrated and encouraged as they are now – it was fascinating to read about Bob McAdoo. The 1973 Rookie of the Year went on to lead the league in scoring for the next three seasons, averaging over 30 ppg each time; a feat bested only by Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Incidentally, reading about Bob McAdoo was probably also when I first learned about the Los Angeles Clippers originally being the Buffalo Braves. I’ll never understand the modern lack of interest in and appreciation for NBA history!

Anyway, as far as McAdoo’s history is concerned, he was traded to the Knicks after four and a half seasons in Buffalo. Halfway through the 1979 season, he was traded to Boston, ultimately playing 20 games for the Celtics before being dealt to Detroit in September. Following short stints with the Pistons and Nets, McAdoo became a key reserve for the Showtime Lakers, winning championships in 1982 and 1985; the latter victory coming against his former team. Defeating a team he once played for, and the notable What If of almost playing with both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, gives McAdoo some fun and interesting trivia as a member of both the Lakers and Celtics.

4. Isaiah Thomas

I’ve seen a handful of ignorant people – the same folks who are always bashing the past to prop up the present – make giggling posts about 5’3″ Muggsy Bogues having success in the 90s. Beyond the obvious rebuttal of the defensive efforts of a 5’10” J.J Barea in the 2011 NBA Finals, the fact that 5’9″ Isaiah Thomas was tearing up the league during the mid 2010s busts those naïve and frankly nonsensical narratives. On a more positive note, it also supports Muggsy’s own motto of “heart over height”! What players like Muggsy and IT lack in stature, they more than make up for with quickness, savvy, and skill. Thomas didn’t need to be a foot taller to become a star.

Going right back to his rookie season with the Kings, IT often showed that his lack of height wouldn’t stand in his way. His arrival in Boston in 2015 allowed him to truly break out though, as he became a two-time All-Star and averaged a shade under 29 ppg in 2017, earning All-NBA Second Team honours and finishing fifth in both MVP and MIP voting. Unfortunately, a hip injury proved to be career-altering, and after being sent to Cleveland in the Kyrie Irving trade, the Cavaliers dealt him to the Lakers in February 2018. Thomas’ recent stints include another brief run with Los Angeles in 2021, but his Boston years nevertheless make him a notable former Celtic and Laker.

5. Rajon Rondo

Let’s wrap up this list with an example that’s basically the opposite of the first! Like Shaq, Rajon Rondo played for both the Celtics and Lakers – obviously, since he’s on this list – but he began his career in Boston and spent most of it there, joining the Lakers for a brief stint later on (twice, in fact). To that point, Rondo had a longer run in Los Angeles than Shaq did in Boston, though he actually played his final game for the Cleveland Cavaliers while O’Neal would retire as a Celtic. Another noteworthy difference is that whereas Shaq’s quest to win a fifth ring by joining Boston came up short, Rondo was a key reserve as the Lakers won another championship in 2020.

Indeed, that title is historically significant for Rondo. It made him just the second player in history after Clyde Lovellette to win a championship with both clubs. In fact, Rondo was the first to win a ring in Boston and Los Angeles, as Lovellette’s Lakers championship came while the team was still in Minneapolis. Both Shaq and Rondo joined the “enemy” when their All-Star years were behind them, but even past their prime, seeing them in their rivals’ uniforms was excitingly odd. On that note, it would’ve been stranger still to see Shaq in Sacramento and Rondo in Miami…which of course would actually be a mirror of their respective stints with the Heat and Kings.

Honourable Mentions

While I’ve focused on the most prominent players who had stints with Boston and Los Angeles alike, as of writing, there have been over 40 players who are both Lakers and Celtics alumni. They include Don Nelson, a Hall of Fame coach who won a ring with Bill Russell after facing him as a teammate of Jerry West. Rick Fox and Brian Shaw both began their careers in Boston, and went on to win titles with Shaq and Kobe in LA. Again, Clyde Lovellette won championships with both clubs several decades before Rajon Rondo did. Theo Ratliff, Avery Bradley, Dennis Schroder, Kermit Washington, and Don Chaney are other notable names that played for both teams.

I’m guessing that most long-time basketball fans and gamers do remember that these players suited up for the Lakers and Celtics, but were there any that you didn’t know, or had perhaps forgotten? Who are some of your favourite players who played for both of these storied franchises? Let me know in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.