Metta Sandiford-Artest experienced the great NBA rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics first hand. At the time named Metta World Peace, he helped memorably L.A. defeat their archenemies in the 2010 NBA Finals.
The two franchises never came close to the same level of competitiveness over the last decade. Even though Boston bounced back first, they are yet to reach the pinnacle again, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals four times along the way.
Meanwhile, the Lakers registered arguably the worst decade in the organization’s history, failing to even reach the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons after their first-round exit in 2013.