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The Los Angeles Lakers were the class of the Western Conference for close to a decade, amassing NBA rings in 1980, 1982 & 1985. Had the Boston Celtics contained the tandem of Len Bias & Reggie Lewis and they’d have to contend with both the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls regularly in that same era then between these three teams the 1987 and 1988 back to back championships probably wouldn’t have happened. Not only would the perception of the Boston Celtics franchise in the 80’s and early 90’s amongst casual fans have been different but also among the Hip-Hop generation.

They could have given Reebok an opportunity to takeover Converse’s waning fandom & challenge Nike’s momentum due to Michael Jordan’s on court dominance. Imagine if Bias vs. Jordan would’ve become the next Bird vs. Magic or if Bias and Lewis would have faced Jordan and Pippen regularly in the Eastern Conference Finals during the NBA on NBC era? The way basketball historians regard the Showtime Lakers, Bad Boy Pistons or Dynasty Bulls would have been different if the Celtics had Len Bias playing alongside Reggie Lewis at least until the ’92-’93 season when Lewis tragically died months after collapsing during the 1993 NBA Playoffs.

As we all know, the deaths of Len Bias in 1986 and Reggie Lewis in 1993 both plunged the Boston Celtics franchise into mediocrity until the 2007-08 season. What we don’t know is how much different the entire present day culture of NBA basketball could have been like had they both lived and played together. Rest in peace to both Len Bias #30 and Reggie Lewis #35.

 

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