Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs

Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs is a 1990 basketball game for the Sega Mega Drive by Electronic Arts. It was originally released for the IBM PC in 1989, and it was the first basketball game to be licensed by the NBA (though it acquired the players' name rights without going through the NBA Players Association). For its time, Lakers versus Celtics was considered to be the top basketball video game on the market, and it was highly received by the press.

The title is a reference to the rivalry between the Celtics and the Lakers, who have faced each other in the NBA Finals more than any other two teams in NBA history (though neither team made it to the finals in 1990). The rivalry was considered particularly intense during the 1980s because of the personal rivalry between star players Larry Bird (Celtics) and Magic Johnson (Lakers).