The Sixers’ history against the Celtics in the playoffs

Could the Sixers upset the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs? It feels highly unlikely, but it would be revenge over four decades in the making.

This spring will be the NBA-record 23rd time the two franchises have met in the postseason. It’s a rivalry that favors Boston historically, and, really, in 2026 as well. Still, the Sixers have had some high points sprinkled through the years, too.

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For my fellow basketball nerds, I’m going to take you a little trip through the past with a look at all of these matchups, dating back to 1953…

1953 Eastern Division Semifinals: Celtics win series 2-0

This is when the Sixers were still the Syracuse Nationals. I’ll be honest. As a prideful Philadelphian, I don’t care much about that aspect of the franchise’s history. I think it’s outrageous that the team counts Syracuse’s 1955 championship as one of their own. Ultimately, I don’t write the NBA’s history books though, so I’ll be touching upon these.

In the best-of-three series, Boston’s Bob Cousy was fully in control, dropping 20 points in Game 1 and then a whopping 50 points in Game 2, which went to four overtimes, to advance. Cousy played 66 minutes in that one, going 30-of-32 from the free throw line. The Celtics would lose, however, to the Knicks in the Eastern Division Finals.

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1954 Eastern Division Finals: Nationals win 2-0

This was very much an outlier year in the league’s history. They had a round-robin format to begin the playoffs for the only time ever. When Syracuse faced Boston in those games, the Nationals won them both with Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes averaging 24.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

They then faced off again in the Eastern Division Finals with the Nationals prevailing in a two-games sweep. Schayes carried the Nationals with a 27-21-5 effort in a Game 1 home victory before closing things out in Boston in Game 2 two days later.

The Nationals would then advance to the NBA Finals before falling to the Minneapolis Lakers in seven games.

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1955 Eastern Division Finals: Nationals win 3-1

In a best-of-five format, the Nationals had six…

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Publish date : 2026-04-19 02:17:00

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