The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs simply earned their sixth-consecutive journey to the AFC Championship recreation and have not missed out on the NFL’s model of the semifinals for so long as Jayson Tatum has been taking the parquet for the Celtics. It’s sort of wild.
The 2 franchises have been on almost similar paths for the reason that fall of 2017. Each have had nice sustained success, had some nice rivals, and have among the greatest homegrown stars of their respective leagues suiting up for them in every recreation.
In fact, there’s one main distinction between the 2 (effectively two, contemplating they’re enjoying utterly totally different sports activities). Kansas Metropolis has captured two Tremendous Bowls, whereas the Tatum-led Celtics are nonetheless on the lookout for their first Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The Stars
2017 was an enormous 12 months for these two franchises. The Chiefs chosen quarterback Patrick Mahomes tenth general within the NFL Draft, including the centerpiece of success to their roster. A couple of months later, Boston did the identical. They picked Tatum third general within the 2017 NBA Draft, after buying and selling again two spots from No. 1.
Now, the 2 have had considerably totally different careers up up to now. It began with JT becoming a member of a Celtics crew contemporary off of a summer season of main fireworks. That they had simply signed Gordon Hayward earlier than swinging a blockbuster commerce for Irving a month later.
Tatum actually didn’t obtain a ton of recognition till the 2018 playoffs, the place he rose to the event with each stars sidelined with accidents. No. 0 helped the Cs take the reigning Japanese Convention champion Cleveland Cavaliers to seven video games, finally falling on the parquet with a Finals journey on the road.
As for Mahomes, Kanas Metropolis was coming off of a season the place they made the playoffs however had been an early exit. They nonetheless had a beginning quarterback in Alex Smith, which meant that the then-rookie can be doing a variety of watching. Mahomes began in only one recreation that season as Kansas Metropolis rode Smith to a loss within the Wild Card spherical of the postseason. That was the ultimate marketing campaign the place Mahomes can be watching from the sidelines, as he was named the starter earlier than the 2017-18 season. He turned heads proper off the bat, together with his debut season ending with an MVP award. He and the Chiefs received the AFC West however got here up brief within the postseason (we’ll get to that afterward).
Issues went in a different way for the pair of stars within the following 12 months. Tatum’s Celtics crashed and burned within the second spherical of the playoffs after a surplus of stars prompted a whole season of turmoil. On the gridiron, Mahomes led Kansas Metropolis to a Tremendous Bowl win and he was named Tremendous Bowl MVP.
Quick ahead to the present day and each Tatum and Mahomes are two of the largest names in sports activities. There’s a big crowd that may anoint the Celtics ahead as the most effective American-born basketball participant on this planet and simply as massive of a crowd that believes that the Chiefs star is on tempo to grow to be the best to play the sport. Each guys are starring in commercials and have their very own strains of clothes (Mahomes with Adidas and Tatum with Jordan).
The Opponents
As the 2 franchises have fought for supremacy of their respective leagues, they’ve every run into a couple of acquainted faces alongside the way in which.
Through the earlier phases of their present runs, each the Chiefs and Celtics struggled to get previous among the legends of their sports activities.
Boston followers may have no drawback remembering the instances that Tom Brady prevented Kansas Metropolis from taking all of it the way in which and profitable a Tremendous Bowl. Brady and the New England Patriots went into Arrowhead Stadium again within the 2018 AFC Championship recreation and got here out on high in an time beyond regulation thriller.
Two years later, Brady left city and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That Bucs crew wound up being on a collision course with the reigning champion Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LV.
On the hardwood, the “Tom Brady” for Boston was really two guys, LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Once more, Tatum and the Cs pushed James’ Cavs to the brink within the 2018 playoffs, earlier than finally arising brief. For the following few years, the Celtics tried to claw their approach to the NBA Finals however by no means fairly received there.
In 2022, they lastly did. Ready for them was Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors dynasty. The Cs weren’t in a position to recover from the hump and fell to the Warriors in six video games, regardless of trying able to take a commanding 3-1 lead late in Sport 4.
Boston and Kansas Metropolis should not solely related on the subject of the legendary roadblocks which have stored them from extra success, but in addition on the subject of the punching baggage that all the time appear to come back up brief in opposition to them.
The Chiefs’ victory in Buffalo remains to be contemporary, so we’ll begin there. Josh Allen and the Payments have matched up in opposition to Kansas Metropolis thrice within the playoffs and have seen their season go up in smoke all thrice.
In 2020, Buffalo made their approach to the AFC Championship the place they simply weren’t prepared for the then-reigning champs. They fell 38-24 and the Chiefs went to their second straight Tremendous Bowl.
A 12 months later, issues went in a different way — sort of. The Payments nonetheless misplaced, however this time it was an absolute shootout. Some would even name it a choke job. With 13 seconds to play Buffalo had their ticket punched to the following spherical and solely wanted to stop Mahomes from getting his crew inside discipline purpose vary.
They failed and Kansas Metropolis pressured time beyond regulation, the place they’d make fast work of the Payments.
Final Sunday, the Payments didn’t execute as soon as once more. Down three factors, they put collectively a drive the place they’d gotten themselves into discipline purpose vary with an opportunity to tie the sport. Kicker Tyler Bass noticed his kick fly large proper and miss the uprights, sealing his crew’s similar destiny for the third time.
Who is perhaps Boston’s model of the Buffalo Payments?
Oh sure, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia has had a near-identical relationship with the Celtics because the above-mentioned BIlls/Chiefs “rivalry.”
It began within the 2018 rookie Tatum playoff run. Philly had simply crushed the Kelly Olynyk-led Miami Warmth in spherical one, popped champagne, and had been feeling good about enjoying the shorthanded Cs.
Welp. They fell in simply 5 video games, regardless of the sequence being stuffed with tight video games. Sport 3 was so shut that it went into time beyond regulation and the Sixers really dropped confetti after Marco Bellinelli sank a shot on the buzzer, which regarded like a three-pointer on the time. His foot was on the road and Philly went on to fall in OT.
Then, in 2020, Boston continued their dominant reign over the 76ers within the Orlando bubble. The 2 sides met in spherical one of many playoffs the place the Cs made fast work of them, sweeping the sequence 4 video games to zero.
Final season might have served because the Sixers’ greatest likelihood to lastly take out the Celtics. That they had captured two of Boston’s first three house video games to take a 3-2 lead within the Japanese Convention Semifinals. In Sport 6, Tatum shot maybe the worst he had ever shot in a playoff recreation, but Philly couldn’t shut the door on Boston at house. Marcus Sensible stored the Cs in it simply lengthy sufficient for JT to get up and rip out the hearts of the Philadelphia devoted at Wells Fargo Heart.
Tatum was in a position to carry that momentum over to Sport 7 in Boston, the place he hung 51 factors on the 76ers to shut out the sequence.
Sustained Success
Followers of each groups have had lots to be enthusiastic about over the previous a number of years. They’ve every been talked about as title favorites previous to the kick-off of a number of preseasons after which went on to compete for championships deep into their respective postseasons.
Once more, Kansas Metropolis simply earned their sixth straight journey to the AFC title recreation by outlasting the Buffalo Payments on Sunday night time. Throughout that stretch, they’ve received 75.8% of their common season video games.
Boston will look to earn their sixth Japanese Convention Finals berth in eight seasons (and hopefully extra) later this spring when the NBA Playoffs tip-off. Although the Cs aren’t fairly as dominant within the common season because the Chiefs, they’ve nonetheless taken victories in 63.9% of their matchups over that very same span.
Championships are the obtrusive distinction, however Kansas Metropolis has additionally been in a position to get themselves over the hump greater than Boston. They’ve discovered their means into three Tremendous Bowls, whereas the Cs have solely earned one NBA Finals berth in the identical window.
