LeBron James dunks during the Miami Heat's game versus the Washington Wizards on March 30, 2011. Photo credit: Keith Allison (Keith Allison), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
When the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat met in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, both teams were vying for their spot in NBA history. A Celtics victory meant that the greatest rivalry in sports, Lakers vs. Celtics, was reinvigorated. It signified that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge’s master plan had succeeded and that the Boston Celtics had established themselves as legitimate contenders. A Heat victory represented an underdog story, one where a fifth seed with 75-1 odds to win the title before the season’s inception punched its ticket to the NBA Finals.