The Boston Celtics

THE BOSTON CELTICS dominated the National Basketball Association for many years, winning a league-best 16 championships from 1957 to 1986. The Charlotte Hornets, on the other hand, didn’t even become a team until 1988. But in the 1993 playoffs, Charlotte showed Boston that the “old” powers in basketball had passed away.

Down 2–1 in the opening round of the playoffs, the Celtics journeyed to North Carolina hoping to bring the series back to Boston for a fifth and deciding contest. But the Hornets kept Boston at bay and led by 19 points as the third quarter drew to a close.

The old Celtics spirit rekindled in the final 12 minutes. Boston mounted a tremendous comeback, taking a 103–102 lead with 42.7 seconds remaining. As the clock ticked down to 24.9 seconds, Charlotte appeared to give the game away when Kendall Gill missed a 16-footer and Boston’s Robert Parish grabbed the rebound. But an official called Celtics Rick Fox for a ten-second backcourt violation, and the Hornets received one last opportunity.

Larry Johnson zeroed in on Xavier McDaniel. Johnson worked for a shot in the lane, but failed to connect with eight seconds left to play. The ball caromed out of bounds, and officials ruled that possession still belonged to Charlotte with the scoreboard showing 3.3 seconds. Given new life, Alonzo Mourning took the inbound pass from Dell Curry and nailed a 17-footer from the baseline, and the Hornets advanced to the next round with a 104–103 victory.

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POINT Dynasties come and go in sports. A strong team can turn into a weak squad in no time. The Celtics couldn’t believe they lost to the upstart Hornets. But they did. Despite their long history, the team changed from champions to chumps. Of course, Charlotte felt surprised and elated. The old had gone. The new had come.

In the Bible, the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians about old and new. Accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior makes us different people. Our history is wiped away. We put aside our old selfish, sinful selves. We become a new creation in Christ.

GOAL! Name some historically successful, consistently winning sports teams like the Celtics that have become mediocre. Why do you think this happened? Praise God for the new life he gives us when we pray to accept him. Thank him for turning us from chumps into champions.