Curse of the Celtics: Wizards' Enduring Nightmare

Wizards Vs Celtics

The Curse of the Green Death: A True Crime Story of Wizards vs. Celtics

'The Boston Celtics didn’t just beat the Washington Wizards—they buried them. And for decades, the Wizards’ franchise was haunted by the ghosts of their own failures.'

Prologue: The Body in the Basement

June 12, 2008. The Boston Garden (now TD Garden) is in a frenzy. The Celtics have just won their 17th NBA championship, completing one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in league history. Meanwhile, 500 miles south, the Washington Wizards are licking their wounds after yet another early playoff exit.

But this wasn’t just another loss. This was part of a pattern—a curse.

For over 40 years, the Wizards (and their previous incarnation, the Bullets) had been systematically dismantled, outplayed, and psychologically tormented by the Celtics. The evidence was overwhelming. The motive? Pure basketball dominance. The weapon? Larry Bird. Paul Pierce. Kevin Garnett. And before them, Bill Russell. John Havlicek. The list went on.

This is the story of a one-sided rivalry that became a true crime—a case of repeated, ritualistic humiliation.

Chapter 1: The Original Sin (1965-1975)

The Bullets were good. Real good. In 1965, they drafted Wes Unseld, a bruising rebounder who would become the franchise’s first true superstar. By 1971, they were in the Finals.

Then they met the Celtics.

In the 1975 Eastern Conference Finals, the Bullets—defending champs—were favored to repeat. Instead, Boston, led by an aging but ruthless Havlicek, dismantled them in six games. The message was clear: This is our league.

The Bullets would never be the same.

Chapter 2: The Bird Era (1980s – A Decade of Terror)

If the 1970s were bad, the 1980s were criminal.

Larry Bird didn’t just beat the Bullets—he toyed with them. In 1984, Washington made the playoffs for the first time in years, only to be swept by Boston in the first round. The next year? Another sweep.

By 1987, the Bullets were rebranding as the Wizards, but the results stayed the same. Bird’s Celtics were their executioners, and the parquet floor was the killing field.

Chapter 3: The Pierce-Garnett Murders (2008-2017)

The 2000s should have been Washington’s revenge. Gilbert Arenas was a superstar. The Wizards had swagger.

But in the playoffs? Boston owned them.

2008: The newly formed 'Big Three' (Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen) swept the Wizards out of the first round.

2015: A hobbled Wizards squad took Boston to Game 4 before being put down.

2017: The most brutal of all. Isaiah Thomas, playing through his sister’s death, dropped 53 points in an OT thriller. The Wizards never recovered.

Each loss felt like a fresh crime scene.

Epilogue: The Curse Lives On

Even now, the Celtics remain a nightmare. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the new assassins, and Washington is still searching for answers.

Was it bad luck? Poor management? Or something darker—a curse laid upon them by the ghosts of Celtics past?

One thing is certain: Until the Wizards solve this case, the Green will always get away with murder.

Case Unsolved.

Curse of the Celtics: Wizards' Enduring Nightmare

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