Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson was unhappy but humorously acknowledged the historic victory of his team's eternal rivals, the Boston Celtics.

Boston captured their record-setting 18th NBA championship by defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals, 106-88, on Monday, June 17, at the TD Garden in Boston.

"I hate that the Celtics officially have more championships than us now [rolling eyes emoji]," the Hall of Fame point guard posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

With their latest championship, the Celtics regained the title of being the most successful franchise in the NBA, overtaking the Lakers, who had tied them with their 17th title in 2020.

The Celtics clinched the title on their home floor precisely 16 years after their last championship during the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on June 17, 2008, with a dominant 131-92 victory in Game 6 of the series at the same building.

Magic Johnson's rivalry with the Celtics

Johnson and the 1980s "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers teams faced the Boston Celtics three times in the Finals during the decade in highly heated and anticipated games.

Their first encounter in 1984 resulted in a heartbreaking Game 7 loss for the Lakers, with Boston defeating them again. This marked the Celtics' eighth win over the Lakers in the NBA Finals and maintained their perfect Finals record against them at that time.

However, the Lakers finally triumphed over the Celtics in the Finals in 1985 and repeated the feat in 1987, winning both series in six games.