1968–69 NBA season
1968–69 NBA season | ||
---|---|---|
League | MVP Jerry West (L.A. Lakers) | |
The 1968–69 NBA season was the 23rd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
- The Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks began play as the league expanded to 14 teams.
- The St. Louis to Atlanta.
- The Cincinnati Royalswon the game's MVP award.
- The inaugural NBA Finals MVP Award was won by Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers, despite his team losing in seven games to the Boston Celtics.
- The NBA All-Defensive Team was named for the first time and became part of the NBA's regular season awards.
- rebounding titles with 21.14 per game. This remains an unbroken NBA record; Dennis Rodmancurrently ranks second with seven career rebounding titles. It was also, incidentally, the last season to date in which any NBA player averaged more than twenty rebounds per game.
Offseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 1967–68 coach | 1968–69 coach | ||
Chicago Bulls | Johnny "Red" Kerr
|
Dick Motta | ||
Milwaukee Bucks | Expansion | Larry Costello | ||
Philadelphia 76ers | Alex Hannum | Jack Ramsay | ||
Phoenix Suns | Expansion | Johnny "Red" Kerr
| ||
San Francisco Warriors
|
Bill Sharman | George C. Lee
| ||
In-season | ||||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach | ||
Detroit Pistons | Donnie Butcher
|
Paul Seymour |
Season recap
The Philadelphia 76ers, champions two seasons ago and the favorites last year, lost two key leaders before the season. Coach Alex Hannum jumped to the ABA for more money. Wilt Chamberlain, who absorbed criticism after their loss to Boston last year just days after the King murder, demanded a trade out of his hometown. So he made major waves in the league by signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. It put Chamberlain's team in the favorite role for the third straight year.
Four NBA teams won 50 or more games this year. While Russell and Chamberlain remained the subject of much discussion, the team of the year was the
Right behind the Bullets in the NBA's East Division were the resurgent 76ers. Jack Ramsay, a legendary local product, was now the coach. With Wilt gone, Ramsay turned to Billy Cunningham as a team leader. Cunningham was third in the NBA in scoring and tenth in rebounds. An aggressive defender, Cunningham also led the NBA in personal fouls. Guard Hal Greer also picked up some of the slack. The 32-year-old speedster added 23.1 points per game and five assists to help the NBA's highest scoring offense. The team had gained some bench depth with the Wilt trade from the Lakers, but also lost big man Luke Jackson to injury after 25 games. Like the Bullets, they would be hampered at playoff time.
The
The New York Knicks also made waves that year by winning 54 games to be a strong third in the East. A major trade had boosted this club as well. Dave DeBusschere, the tough defender and rebounder in Detroit who had been a steady star and even the coach there for his hometown team, was brought over by coach Red Holzman in trade for star center Walt Bellamy and point guard Howie Komives, which some felt was a steep price at the time. But DeBusschere complemented center Willis Reed perfectly. Strong guard play, led by Walt Frazier, and a solid bench made the Knicks a contender. They also had the top-rated defense in the league.
Just off the radar were two 48-game winners, the Boston Celtics and the new Atlanta Hawks. 34-year-old player/coach Bill Russell was fighting through a knee injury, and the club he led to a title a year ago did not appear to be a convincing champion. Six Celtics did average over ten points a game, but Russell was not one of them. He was again third in rebounds and was still an effective shot blocker. John Havlicek and Bailey Howell both took on bigger roles for the club, which was still strong defensively and unselfish with the ball.
The Atlanta Hawks were still the former St. Louis Hawks. Rich Guerin was still the coach and the roster was still largely the same, led by scorers Zelmo Beaty and Lou Hudson. Six scorers over ten points per game and a strong bench showed that Hawks were looking to improve on their fold in the playoffs a year ago.
Eight of the NBA's then-fourteen teams finished .500 or better that year, a fact helped very much by the expansion teams in recent years that made up the bulk of the West Division.
Four teams in each division made the playoffs. Once again, the NBA had the division winners play the third place teams, while the second place clubs got the easier fourth place teams as first round opponents. The
Baltimore were swept in four games. Unseld and his guards played well, but the loss of Johnson and a poor bench were no match for the balanced, well-organized New Yorkers.
Injury also affected the Philadelphia – Boston series. Darrall Imhoff was thrust into the starting center spot and played well for the 76ers. But Boston won the first three straight behind seven ten-point scorers to beat Philadelphia's strong starting five and win the series. The top two teams in the East were now gone in the very first round of the playoffs.
The Lakers beat their California rival, the
The Atlanta Hawks also beat San Diego 4–2, winning Game Six by only a basket. San Diego's John Block missed that game with a broken wrist, likely a deciding factor.
In round two, Boston was favored over New York in a battle of veterans against rising younger players. The Knicks lost the first two, including the opener in Madison Square Garden, before winning at home in Game Three. Before a large television audience, Boston won at home in Game Four 97–96 to go up three games to one. New York won Game Five, but Red Auerbach and Bill Russell were looking ahead to Game Six in Boston Garden. In another nail biter that foreshadowed future matchups, New York again lost 106–105 to the wily veterans. Boston, with the fourth-best East record, was in the NBA Finals.
In the West, the Lakers were edging the Hawks by just two points in each of the first two games, both in Los Angeles. The Hawks again were primarily playing their starters, while the Lakers rotated their four forwards. A big win in Atlanta behind Jerry West led to a 4–1 series win. They confidently waited while Boston barely survived New York. The Lakers certainly looked like favorites as another Boston-LA series started.
The Lakers got a big start by winning two close games at home to start the series. Los Angeles fans sensed their victory coming after years of frustration. But Boston won their two home games next, including an 89–88 nail biter in Game Four, keyed by a last-second basket by Sam Jones, before a strong television audience. The two teams then exchanged home wins again to force Game Seven in Los Angeles, where a Laker victory was eagerly expected by fans.
Five of Boston's top players in minutes played were over age 30, but they ran hard to pull out to a 17-point fourth quarter lead. With just over five minutes to play, and the Lakers down by 9, the 32-year-old Chamberlain came down awkwardly after a rebound try and limped to the bench in pain. Replaced by seven-foot back-up Mel Counts, the Lakers cut the margin to one, but stalled despite having several chances to take the lead. In the final minutes, Chamberlain had recovered enough to return and signaled to Van Breda Kolff to put him back in. But the Laker coach ignored him, thinking Counts could outlast the Celtic charge. He was wrong, and the Celtics reasserted command following a key shot by Don Nelson with a minute to play. Boston, winner of eleven out of the last thirteen NBA titles, gave Bill Russell his eleventh championship ring while Wilt watched from the bench, 108–106.
Van Breda Kolff's blunder also meant a whole new round of criticism for Chamberlain, who was also blasted in the press by Russell, who retired after the series. Chamberlain had chosen not to shoot in the playoffs, averaging just 14 points per game, while concentrating on defense and rebounding. The quiet, well-mannered West was also outraged with his coach, his outstanding 31 points and 7.5 assist averages in the playoffs again good only for second place.
The Celtics were again paced by the outstanding all-around game of John Havlicek, just as they had been a year ago. But it was Russell, the retiring player/coach, who commanded center stage, retiring as the NBA winner.
Final standings
Eastern Division
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-Baltimore Bullets | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 29–9 | 24–15 | 4–1 | 26–14 |
x-Philadelphia 76ers | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2 | 26–8 | 24–16 | 5–3 | 23–17 |
x-New York Knicks | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3 | 30–7 | 19–20 | 5–1 | 26–14 |
x-Boston Celtics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 9 | 24–12 | 21–19 | 3–3 | 23–17 |
Cincinnati Royals | 41 | 41 | .500 | 16 | 15-13 | 16–21 | 10–7 | 20–20 |
Detroit Pistons | 32 | 50 | .390 | 25 | 21–17 | 7–30 | 4–3 | 13–27 |
Milwaukee Bucks | 27 | 55 | .329 | 30 | 15–19 | 8–27 | 4–9 | 7–29 |
Western Division
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-Los Angeles Lakers | 55 | 27 | .671 | – | 32–9 | 21–18 | 2–0 | 30–10 |
x-Atlanta Hawks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 7 | 28–12 | 18–21 | 2–1 | 26–14 |
x-San Francisco Warriors | 41 | 41 | .500 | 14 | 22–19 | 18–21 | 1–1 | 20–20 |
x-San Diego Rockets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 18 | 25–16 | 8–25 | 4–4 | 20–20 |
Chicago Bulls | 33 | 49 | .402 | 22 | 19–21 | 12–25 | 2–3 | 19–21 |
Seattle SuperSonics | 30 | 52 | .366 | 25 | 18–18 | 6–29 | 6–5 | 15–23 |
Phoenix Suns | 16 | 66 | .195 | 39 | 11–26 | 4–28 | 1–12 | 8–30 |
x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
E1 | Baltimore* | 0 | ||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
E4 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
E4 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
E2 | Philadelphia | 1 | ||||||||||||
E4 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles | 3 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
W3 | San Francisco | 2 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
Western Division | ||||||||||||||
W2 | Atlanta | 1 | ||||||||||||
W4 | San Diego | 2 | ||||||||||||
W2 | Atlanta | 4 |
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Statistics leaders
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Elvin Hayes | San Diego Rockets |
2,327 |
Rebounds | Wilt Chamberlain | Los Angeles Lakers | 1,712 |
Assists | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals |
772 |
FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | Los Angeles Lakers | .583 |
FT% | Larry Siegfried | Boston Celtics | .864 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Baltimore Bullets
- Rookie of the Year: Wes Unseld, Baltimore Bullets
- Coach of the Year: Gene Shue, Baltimore Bullets
- All-NBA First Team:
- F – Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers
- F – Billy Cunningham, Philadelphia 76ers
- C – Wes Unseld, Baltimore Bullets
- G – Earl Monroe, Baltimore Bullets
- G – Cincinnati Royals
- All-NBA Second Team:
- F – Dave DeBusschere, New York Knicks
- F – John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
- C – Willis Reed, New York Knicks
- G – Hal Greer, Philadelphia 76ers
- G – Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
- NBA All-Rookie Team:
- Gary Gregor, Phoenix Suns
- Art Harris, Seattle SuperSonics
- San Diego Rockets
- Bill Hewitt, Los Angeles Lakers
- Wes Unseld, Baltimore Bullets
- NBA All-Defensive First Team:
- Dave DeBusschere, New York Knicks
- Walt Frazier, New York Knicks
- Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
- Jerry Sloan, Chicago Bulls
- San Francisco Warriors
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
- Bill Bridges, Atlanta Hawks
- John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
- Rudy LaRusso, San Francisco Warriors
- Tom Sanders, Boston Celtics
- Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers