Celtics: John Havlicek (1984) Bailey Howell (1997) Sam Jones (1984) Don Nelson (2012, coach) Bill Russell (1975) Lakers: Elgin Baylor (1977) Wilt Chamberlain (1979) Jerry West (1980) Coaches: Bill Russell (2021) Officials: Mendy Rudolph (2007) Earl Strom (1995)
Eastern Finals
Celtics defeated Knicks, 4–2
Western Finals
Lakers defeated Hawks, 4–1
← 1968
NBA Finals
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. The Lakers were 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 fourth 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 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.
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...
NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1970 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the 1969–70 National Basketball Association (NBA)...
given since the 1969NBAFinals. The award is decided by a panel of eleven media members, who cast votes after the conclusion of the Finals. The person with...
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The NBAFinals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven-game...
in the Finals for the first time since 1971, and it was consequently the first Finals since 1978 where neither team had previously won an NBA title. The...
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Finals debut after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in four close games in the Western Conference Finals to make this the second straight NBAFinals with...
1969NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70...
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consecutive NBA title. This was the first time Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain faced off in the NBAFinals; they would do so once again in 1969. This was...
meetings. 1969NBAFinals1969NBA season NBA records Exner, Rich. "What history says about a No. 4 seed like the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBAFinals". cleveland...
NBA championship and sixth Finals MVP award in six full basketball seasons. This would be his final season of winning the NBA championship and Finals...
championship. The Celtics won their previous NBAFinals appearance against the Lakers in 2008. This was the 12th Finals played between the two rival teams. The...
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Celtics in the NBAFinals until 1985, which they did on the Celtics' home floor; they lost to the Boston Celtics in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984 and...
nine road games in the 1995 playoffs. It was the second NBAFinals sweep in the 2–3–2 Finals format (after the Detroit Pistons did so against the Los...
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the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBAFinals (more than any other Finals matchup). It would be the Celtics' last Finals appearance until the two teams met...
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