How James and Ainge Changed the NBA

LeBron’s biggest rival wasn’t a player.

The same week that LeBron James’s Lakers bowed out in the first round of the NBA playoffs, so did Danny Ainge. Uncharacteristic ends to a season for both giants of the NBA, and Ainge retired from his position as President of Basketball Operations of the Boston Celtics..

The past three seasons saw these men in different conferences. But for a long time in the Eastern Conference, they were rivals. That may be an odd thing to say about a player and a front office executive, but each seemed to make decisions based on what the other was doing.

Ainge took the reins of the Celtics in 2003, the same year James entered the league with the Cavaliers. The Celtics nudged out the Cavs by a game for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Both teams improved the following season, but the Cavs missed the playoffs again while the Celtics won their division. Both seasons, the Celtics lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Celtics, however,struggled the next two seasons and plunged to just 24 wins in 06–07. Meanwhile, the Cavs ascended with James’s continued improvement, reaching the conference semifinals in ’06 and the Finals in ‘07.

LeBron was only 22 when he reached the Finals, and everyone kenw he would only get better. One could see him owning the East for years to come. Ainge had to make drastic moves to save his job and to challenge LeBron’s projected long-term dominance.