1969 NBA Finals

1969 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Boston Celtics Bill Russell 4 Los Angeles Lakers Butch van Breda Kolff 3
Dates:	April 23–May 5
MVP:	Jerry West (Los Angeles Lakers)
Eastern Finals:	Celtics defeated Knicks, 4–2
Western Finals:	Lakers defeated Hawks, 4–1
NBA Finals
← 1968
1970 →

The 1969 NBA World Championship Series to determine the champion of the 1968–69 NBA season was played between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, with the Lakers being heavily favored due to the presence of three formidable stars: Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Jerry West. In addition, Boston was an aging team; they made the playoffs as the 4th place team in the Eastern Division, and were not favored to make it to the Finals. The Celtics' Finals victory – the last championship of the Bill Russell dynasty – is considered one of the great upsets in NBA history.

This series is also notable in that West, with an average of nearly 38 points a game, won the Finals Most Valuable Player award, despite being on the losing team. This was the first year that a Finals MVP Award was given, and it remains the only time in NBA Finals history that the MVP was awarded to a player on the losing team. It also marked the first time in NBA Finals history that a Game 7 was won by the road team.

1969 NBA Playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers (Western Division Champion)			Boston Celtics (Eastern Division Champion)
55–27 (.671) 1st Western, 3rd Overall	Regular season		48–34 (.585) 4th Eastern, 5th Overall
Defeated the (3) San Francisco Warriors, 4–2	Division Semifinals		Defeated the (2) Philadelphia 76ers, 4–1
Defeated the (2) Atlanta Hawks, 4–1	Division Finals		Defeated the (3) New York Knicks, 4–2

Prologue

The Los Angeles Lakers had won 55 games in the regular season (2nd best to the Baltimore Bullets' 57 wins), seven more than their perennial rivals, the Boston Celtics, and therefore held homecourt advantage for the first time ever in an NBA Finals meeting vs. the Russell-led Celtics. Both teams had their share of problems in the regular season. Though the Lakers's acquisition of star center Wilt Chamberlain before the season prompted many observers to predict for them the title that had previously eluded them, their arrival at the Finals had not been easy; the season could have been described as a "soap opera"; Chamberlain and reigning Laker superstars Elgin Baylor and Jerry West had some difficulty in meshing their accustomed styles. Second-year coach Butch van Breda Kolff and Chamberlain also clashed terribly throughout the season, frustrating the entire team. In Boston, player-coach Bill Russell was suffering from age and exhaustion, hampering the team both as the starting center and as the coach. In addition, perennial scorer Sam Jones played so poorly that he lost his position as starting shooting guard to Larry Siegfried. The Lakers’ appearance in the Finals was expected, but they lost the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals to the San Francisco Warriors on their home court before prevailing, and then outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 4 games to 1 to gain the rematch with the Celtics. Boston's campaign was considered a surprise. They upset the 2nd place Philadelphia 76ers and were fortunate that the 3rd place New York Knicks upset the 1st place Baltimore Bullets; Boston then knocked off New York in the Eastern Conference finals. In that series, the home team won all of its games, except for Game 7.

On the hardwood, there were several key matchups. At center, low scoring, defensive stalwart Celtics center Bill Russell was matched up against his long-time rival Wilt Chamberlain (Lakers), multiple time scoring champion. At forward, agile Celtic Bailey Howell played against perennial All-NBA member Elgin Baylor, captain of the Lakers, while Laker Keith Erickson tried to slow down high-scoring Celtics forward John Havlicek. At guard, a somewhat revitalised Sam Jones was matched up against Lakers superstar Jerry West. X-factors on both teams respectively were Don Nelson, the sixth man of the Celtics, and sharpshooting Laker Johnny Egan, the only other pure guard besides West on the L.A. roster.

Series summary

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	April 23	Los Angeles	120–118	Boston
Game 2	April 25	Los Angeles	118–112	Boston
Game 3	April 27	Boston	111–105	Los Angeles
Game 4	April 29	Boston	89–88	Los Angeles
Game 5	May 1	Los Angeles	117–104	Boston
Game 6	May 3	Boston	99–90	Los Angeles
Game 7	May 5	Los Angeles	106–108	Boston

Game summaries

Game 1

April 23		Boston Celtics 118, Los Angeles Lakers 120				The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,554 Referees: Norm Drucker, Earl Strom	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 26–23, 26–26, 34–38
		Pts: John Havlicek 37 Rebs: Bill Russell 27 Asts: Sam Jones 6		Pts: Jerry West 53 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 23 Asts: Jerry West 10
		Los Angeles leads series, 1–0

Prior to the series, Celtics player-coach Bill Russell decided not to double-team Lakers star guard Jerry West. West was initially complaining of exhaustion, but in the game, all was forgotten. He used this freedom to score 53 points on opposing guards Sam Jones and Larry Siegfried. In an action-packed match, the lead changed 21 times, and it was Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain who sealed the game with a clutch basket 23 seconds before the end.

Game 2

April 25		Boston Celtics 112, Los Angeles Lakers 118				The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,559 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, John Vanak	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 30–29, 30–35, 27–30
		Pts: John Havlicek 43 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: Bill Russell 13		Pts: Jerry West 41 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19 Asts: Jerry West, Johnny Egan 8
		Los Angeles leads series, 2–0

Again, Russell declined to double-team West. In a tough, physical match, West continued his scoring dominance by scoring 41 points. Aided also by guard Johnny Egan, who scored 26 points, and 31 points from Elgin Baylor (among them the last 12 Lakers points), the Lakers won. Celtics forward Don Nelson and Lakers forward Bill Hewitt required a half-dozen stitches each after in-game collisions.

Game 3

April 27		Los Angeles Lakers 105, Boston Celtics 111				Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 14,037 Referees: Earl Strom, Norm Drucker	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 16–25, 24–32, 38–21, 27–33
		Pts: Jerry West 24 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26 Asts: Jerry West 6		Pts: John Havlicek 34 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 Asts: John Havlicek 7
		Los Angeles leads series, 2–1

In Game 3, Russell finally decided to double-team West. With the heightened pressure, West lost his shooting touch. Also, the exhaustion he was complaining about prior to the series became so apparent that he asked to be taken out for longer stretches. In both pauses, the Lakers fell back by double digits. The heroics belonged to Celtics forward John Havlicek: playing with a swollen eye after being poked by Keith Erickson, he scored 34 points.

Game 4

April 29		Los Angeles Lakers 88, Boston Celtics 89				Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 15,128 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Joe Gushue	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 26–33, 29–18, 18–22
		Pts: Jerry West 40 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31 Asts: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor 4		Pts: John Havlicek 21 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 Asts: Havlicek, Russell, Howell, Siegfried, Bryant 5 each
		Series tied, 2–2

Game 4 was an ugly affair, filled with 50 turnovers and low shooting percentages, but was the turning point in the series. The Lakers had a one-point lead with 7 seconds left and the ball. However, after receiving an inbound pass along the sideline, Baylor was controversially ruled to have stepped out of bounds, causing a turnover. For the last play, Celtics players Havlicek, Siegfried, Bailey Howell and Jones executed a so-called "Ohio", with the three former Ohio State Buckeye players setting a triple pick for the latter. Jones jumped off the wrong foot, but the ball avoided the block attempt of Lakers center Chamberlain, hit the front rim, bounced on the back rim and somehow dropped in for the series-equalizing buzzer beater. So instead of the Lakers going home with a 3-1 series lead, it was all even at 2 games apiece.

Game 5

May 1		Boston Celtics 104, Los Angeles Lakers 117				The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,553 Referees: Norm Drucker, Joe Gushue	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 21–26, 24–30, 35–38
		Pts: Sam Jones 25 Rebs: John Havlicek 14 Asts: John Havlicek, Bill Russell 5		Pts: Jerry West 39 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31 Asts: Jerry West 9
		Los Angeles leads series, 3–2

Enraged by the unlucky Game 4 loss, the Lakers overran the Celtics with high-power basketball. Wilt Chamberlain played through a swollen eye after Celtics guard Em Bryant had poked him. With just three minutes remaining and the Lakers safely ahead, Bryant stole the ball from West. Instead of letting Bryant run, he lunged for the ball, pulled his hamstring and had to be carried out of the game. It was immediately evident that West's swollen leg would not heal until the end of the series.

Game 6

May 3		Los Angeles Lakers 90, Boston Celtics 99				Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 15,128 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Earl Strom	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 22–32, 17–23, 26–27, 25–17
		Pts: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor 26 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 18 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 4		Pts: Don Nelson 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: Em Bryant 5
		Series tied, 3–3

In another ugly game, the Celtics were up 55–39 at halftime and never looked back. The Celtics at one point went 6-of-27 from the field, but the Lakers could not make use of this slump. With neither Baylor nor the limping West providing consistent scoring, Boston cruised to an easy victory. This game was also one of Chamberlain's lesser games: with Russell hounding him, the multiple scoring champion scored only 8 points, provoking criticism that he had choked when it counted most.

Game 7

May 5		Boston Celtics 108, Los Angeles Lakers 106				The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,568 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Earl Strom	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 31–31, 32–20, 17–30
		Pts: John Havlicek 26 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: Bill Russell 6		Pts: Jerry West 42 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Jerry West 12
		Boston wins series, 4–3

In anticipation of a Lakers win, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had ordered thousands of balloons with "World Champion Lakers" printed on them suspended from the rafters of the Forum. Flyers were placed in every seat stating, "When, not if, the Lakers win the title, balloons will be released from the rafters, the USC marching band will play "Happy Days Are Here Again" and broadcaster Chick Hearn will interview Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain in that order." Before the game, the Celtics circulated in their locker room a memo about the Lakers' celebration plans. When Jerry West went to the court for a pre game shoot around and saw the balloons, he became furious with Cooke. Russell noted the giant net hanging from the ceiling during pregame warmups and said to West, "Those fucking balloons are staying up there." With only two true guards on the Laker roster and West still feeling the effects of the hamstring pull, Celtics coach Russell ordered his players to fast break at every opportunity.

Los Angeles shot poorly in the early going, and the Celtics jumped out to a first-quarter 24–12 lead which was cut to 59–56 at halftime. Then, Celtics sixth man Don Nelson scored 12 points in the third quarter, while the Lakers hardly connected on a quarter of their field goal attempts: the Celtics led 91–76 after the third. Early in the fourth quarter, Chamberlain incurred his fifth foul (he had never fouled out of a game in his career) and had to play more tentative defense. Then, with just over 5 minutes remaining and the Lakers trailing 103–94, Chamberlain landed awkwardly when grabbing a rebound and came to the bench with an injured knee. Behind backup center Mel Counts, the Lakers cut the lead to 103–102 with two minutes left. Chamberlain then informed Van Breda Kolff that he was ready to return, but the coach infamously told the superstar center "we're doing fine without you", and Chamberlain never got back in the game. Boston still held the 103–102 lead with 1:33 left in the game when reserve guard Keith Erickson knocked the ball away from John Havlicek. The ball went right to Don Nelson, who put up a desperation 18 foot shot from the free throw line to beat the 24 second clock; the ball hit the back rim, bounced high in the air and fell through the hoop to give Boston a 105–102 lead. The Lakers committed costly turnovers in the last moments and trailed 108–104 before making a meaningless last second shot that made the final score 108–106.

Preceded by 1968

NBA Finals 1969

Succeeded by 1970