1969 NBA Finals Game 7 vs Los Angeles Lakers
The 1969 NBA Finals: The Celtics' historic upset over the Lakers in seven games.
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; no four seed had ever made the Finals before the Celtics did so here. Ultimately, the Celtics won the championship in seven games – the last championship of the Bill Russell dynasty – and is considered one of the great upsets in NBA history.
Quick Facts
- Date
- May 18, 1969
- Venue
- Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
- Series result
- Celtics win 4-3
- Key figure (celtics)
- Bill Russell (Player/Head Coach)
- Notable performance
- John Havlicek (29 points)
Lore & Background
The Celtics became the first team in NBA history to overcome a 2–0 series deficit to win the championship. They remain the only 4th seed team to win the Finals and the second-lowest seeded team overall to win the Finals after the Houston Rockets in 1995. 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.
Reader's Guide
In Game 7, the Celtics won on the road at the Lakers' home arena. The Celtics were down 2–0 in the series, not 2–1. The Celtics were the fourth place team in the Eastern Division; the seeding system at the time is not described.
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