PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 15: Paul George #8 talks to Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament game against the Orlando Magic at Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 15, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

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Three years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers seemed like they would finally break through and make the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001. They led the Boston Celtics three games to two in the conference semifinals and had Game 6 at home. But the 76ers lost the final two games of the series, continuing their playoff woes.

On Sunday afternoon, the 76ers will once again have a chance to end their postseason doldrums when they face the Celtics in Game 1 of their first round series in Boston. The 76ers clinched the No. 7 seed thanks to Wednesday night’s 109-97 victory over the Orlando Magic. The Celtics are the No. 2 seed.

This is the 23rd time the 76ers and Celtics will face each other in the playoffs, the most of any two teams. Boston has won 15 of the series, including six in a row.

Philadelphia’s last series victory over Boston occurred in 1982 when the 76ers won in seven games in the conference finals. Julius Erving (29 points, five assists, three steals and three blocks) and Andrew Toney (34 points and six assists) led the way in a 120-106 Game 7 victory in Boston. The 76ers then lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The next year, the 76ers swept the Lakers to win the title, which was the last time they won the NBA championship.

Since then, the 76ers have only made the NBA Finals once, losing in five games to the Lakers in 2001. They have advanced to the conference finals one other time since winning the 1983 title, when they lost to the Celtics in five games in 1985.

As such, the Celtics-76ers rivalry primarily resonates for fans who are in their 50s or older. The teams first met in the playoffs in 1953 when the Celtics won in two games in the best-of-three conference semifinals.

From 1954 through 1959, the teams had five playoff series in six seasons, including in the conference finals in 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1959, with the 76ers winning the first two and the Celtics winning the latter two.

From 1965 through 1968, the teams met in the conference finals each season, with the Celtics winning three of those series. The only exception occurred in 1967 when the 76ers won in five games and then defeated the San Francisco Warriors in six games for the title. That year, 76ers center Wilt Chamberlain averaged 21.7 points, 29.1 rebounds and 9 assists per game in 15 playoff games, including 17.7 points, 28.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the NBA Finals.

From 1980 through 1985, the teams faced each other in the conference finals four times, with the 76ers winning in 1980 and 1982 and the Celtics prevailing in 1981 and 1985. Those series featured some of the best players in history, including 76ers Hall of Famers Moses Malone, Erving, Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks and Charles Barkley and Celtics Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Tiny Archibald, Pete Maravich and Dennis Johnson.

In the past 40 years, the Celtics are undefeated against the 76ers in the playoffs, winning in the first round in 2002 and 2020 and in the conference semifinals in 2012, 2018 and 2023.

Three of Boston’s starters from the 2023 series remain with the team in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. Tatum had a career-high 51 points in Game 7 three years ago against the 76ers, although he missed most of this season after recovering from surgery on his right Achilles tendon, an injury he sustained in Game 4 of last year’s conference semifinals against the New York Knicks.

Tatum, who returned on March 6, is averaging 21.8 points, 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists per games in 16 games this season. Brown, meanwhile, is averaging a career-high 28.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. The two have been the cornerstones of the franchise since Brown was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft and Tatum was the No. 3 selection a year later.

For the 76ers, the starters from the 2023 series that are still with the franchise are guard Tyrese Maxey and center Joel Embiid. Maxey is averaging a career-best 28.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Embiid is questionable for at least the start of the playoffs after he underwent emergency surgery last week in Houston after being diagnosed with appendicitis. Embiid missed Philadelphia’s last three regular season games as well as the play-in game. The 76ers have not disclosed when Embiid will return.

With Embiid out of the play-in game, Maxey had a game-high 31 points and six assists, while rookie guard VJ Edgecombe had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Veterans Kelly Oubre Jr. (19 points), Paul George (16 points, five assists and five rebounds) and Andre Drummond (14 points and 10 rebounds) played well, too.

During the regular season, the 76ers and Celtics split their four games, although only one of those games occurred after Nov. 11, with the Celtics winning 114-98 in Boston on March 1. Embiid and George did not play for the 76ers in the last game against the Celtics, while Tatum was also out and still recovering from surgery.

This postseason, the No. 2 seed Celtics (56-26) are heavily favored over the 76ers (45-37) and are expected to continue their playoff winning streak over Philadelphia. Still, the schedule is favorable to the 76ers, as the team has three days off between Wednesday’s play-in game and Sunday’s Game 1. The teams meet again in Boston next Tuesday night (April 21) before playing Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia on April 24 and April 26.

As usual, Embiid’s status will be a major storyline throughout the series. Three years ago, he missed the first two games of the conference semifinals series in Boston due to a sprained right knee. He then returned and had 30 points in Game 3 and helped the 76ers take a three games to two series lead with a 33-point performance in Game 5. The 76ers are hoping Embiid could have a similar impact this series and somehow help the franchise get over the hump and pull off a major upset.