With the series over, the Celtics once again shot up in popularity.
The Green Army was slaughtered by 52 points, and the entire basketball world was filled with a celebratory atmosphere.
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry almost spanned the entire 80s, and fans of other teams were long fed up with these two teams.
Moreover, unlike the original development timeline, with Zhang Yang joining, on this timeline, the Celtics in the 80s did not fall behind the Lakers in the number of championships, both teams with 4 championships each: Lakers in 80, 82, 85, 88; Celtics in 81, 84, 86, 87. The Celtics even had a successful title defense, overshadowing the Lakers.
Adding Big Bird's mouth that offended all the opponents, his 3 consecutive MVPs, and the terrifying 11 championships in 13 years from the 60s and 70s just a decade or so ago, plus the arrogant and extreme OK combination not yet appearing... At present, the Celtics are even less liked by other teams' fans than the Lakers.
