On the Memorial Day holiday of May 27, 1985, the NBA’s two most storied and successful franchises renewed the greatest championship rivalry in American pro sports history in game one of the 1985 Finals, a much-anticipated rematch of arguably the greatest championship series ever the previous June.
Boston won the 1984 Finals 4-3 as Larry Bird was named MVP as he gained revenge over his college rival and nemesis Earvin Johnson. Smarting from that gut-wrenching defeat, the Lakers pointed all year for a rematch with Boston, which again posted the league’s best record for the fifth time in Bird’s sixth season.