1967–68 Los Angeles Lakers season

1967–68 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coach	Butch Van Breda Kolff
General manager	Fred Schaus
Owner(s)	Jack Kent Cooke
Arena	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (through December 31, 1967) The Forum (after December 31, 1967)
Results
Record	52–30 (.634)
Place	Division: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (Lost to Celtics 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTLA
Radio	KNX

The 1967–68 NBA season was the Lakers' 20th season in the NBA and eighth season in Los Angeles. This was the first season the Lakers uniforms featured what would become the signature gold and purple colors. This was also the first season the team played at The Forum in Inglewood, where the Lakers would achieve fame in the immediate future, and played 31 seasons at this venue.

Roster

1967–68 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 30 Anderson, Cliff 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1944-09-07 Saint Joseph's PF 23 Barnes, Jim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1941-04-13 UTEP SF 22 Baylor, Elgin (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1934-09-16 Seattle SG 21 Clark, Archie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1941-07-15 Minnesota C 31 Counts, Mel 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1941-10-16 Oregon State SG 12 Crawford, Freddie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1941-12-33 St. Bonaventure SG 11 Goodrich, Gail 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1943-04-23 UCLA PF 52 Hamilton, Dennis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944-05-08 Notre Dame SF 33 Hawkins, Tom 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1936-12-22 Notre Dame C 14 Imhoff, Darrall 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1938-10-11 California C 34 Mueller, Erwin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1944-03-12 San Francisco PG 44 West, Jerry (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia SF 24 Wetzel, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1944-10-22 Virginia Tech

Head coach Butch van Breda Kolff Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: January 12, 1968

Regular season

Season standings

Western Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-St. Louis Hawks	56	26	.683	–	25–7	22–13	9–6	31–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers	52	30	.634	4	30–11	18–19	4–0	28–12
x-San Francisco Warriors	43	39	.524	13	27–14	16–23	0–2	24–16
x-Chicago Bulls	29	53	.354	27	11–22	12–24	6–7	11–29
Seattle SuperSonics	23	59	.280	33	10–21	7–24	6–14	15–25
San Diego Rockets	15	67	.183	41	8–33	4–26	3–8	11–29

Record vs. opponents

1967-68 NBA Records
Team	BAL	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	NYK	PHI	SDR	SFW	SEA	STL
Baltimore	–	3–5	2–5	5–3	4–4	3–4	3–5	0–8	7–0	2–5	5–2	2–5
Boston	5–3	–	5–2	3–5	6–2	4–3	6–2	4–4	7–0	4–3	6–1	4–3
Chicago	5–2	2–5	–	5–2	3–4	1–7	2–5	1–6	4–4	2–6	3–5	1–7
Cincinnati	3–5	5–3	2–5	–	4–4	1–6	3–5	3–5	7–0	4–3	6–1	1–6
Detroit	4–4	2–6	4–3	4–4	–	2–5	4–4	1–7	5–2	4–3	6–1	4–3
Los Angeles	4–3	3–4	7–1	6–1	5–2	–	4–3	2–5	7–1	4–4	4–4	6–2
New York	5–3	2–6	5–2	5–3	4–4	3–4	–	3–5	6–1	5–2	4–3	1–6
Philadelphia	8–0	4–4	6–1	5–3	7–1	5–2	5–3	–	6–1	4–3	7–0	5–2
San Diego	0–7	0–7	4–4	0–7	2–5	1–7	1–6	1–6	–	2–6	3–5	1–7
San Francisco	5–2	3–4	6–2	3–4	3–4	4–4	2–5	3–4	6–2	–	7–1	1–7
Seattle	2–5	1–6	5–3	1–6	1–6	4–4	3–4	0–7	5–3	1–7	–	0–8
St. Louis	5–2	3–4	7–1	6–1	3–4	2–6	6–1	2–5	7–1	7–1	8–0	—

Game log

1967–68 Game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 17	@ Chicago	107–105	Elgin Baylor (21)	1–0
2	October 18	@ Philadelphia	87–103	Elgin Baylor (24)	1–1
3	October 19	@ St. Louis	95–100	Elgin Baylor (25)	1–2
4	October 21	@ New York	114–106	Baylor, Clark (25)	2–2
5	October 25	Cincinnati	116–132	Elgin Baylor (33)	3–2
6	October 27	Chicago	117–125	Archie Clark (39)	4–2
7	October 29	Baltimore	105–118	Archie Clark (33)	5–2
8	November 1	New York	129–113	Elgin Baylor (23)	5–3
9	November 3	@ Boston	104–105	Elgin Baylor (25)	5–4
10	November 4	@ Cincinnati	106–104	Elgin Baylor (42)	6–4
11	November 11	Philadelphia	115–111	Elgin Baylor (35)	6–5
12	November 12	Chicago	96–97	Gail Goodrich (21)	7–5
13	November 15	Chicago	115–124	Archie Clark (24)	8–5
14	November 17	@ Baltimore	107–116	Elgin Baylor (29)	8–6
15	November 18	@ St. Louis	127–107	Mel Counts (23)	9–6
16	November 21	@ Seattle	132–137	Elgin Baylor (34)	9–7
17	November 23	Detroit	120–132	Archie Clark (30)	10–7
18	November 24	@ San Francisco	121–122 (OT)	Elgin Baylor (29)	10–8
19	November 25	San Francisco	131–112	Elgin Baylor (22)	10–9
20	November 26	St. Louis	105–109	Archie Clark (20)	11–9
21	November 28	St. Louis	117–134	Jerry West (30)	12–9
22	November 29	@ Detroit	123–127	Elgin Baylor (30)	12–10
23	December 1	@ Boston	119–123	Elgin Baylor (29)	12–11
24	December 2	@ New York	122–106	Jerry West (24)	13–11
25	December 5	@ Philadelphia	128–122 (OT)	Elgin Baylor (32)	14–11
26	December 6	@ Baltimore	136–125	Jerry West (32)	15–11
27	December 8	@ Detroit	115–103	Jerry West (27)	16–11
28	December 9	@ San Diego	127–109	Archie Clark (32)	17–11
29	December 10	@ Seattle	123–133	Elgin Baylor (35)	17–12
30	December 14	Chicago	106–101	Jerry West (30)	17–13
31	December 17	Boston	123–117	Jerry West (28)	17–14
32	December 20	New York	138–131	Jerry West (32)	17–15
33	December 22	Detroit	105–133	Elgin Baylor (25)	18–15
34	December 25	@ San Diego	101–104	Elgin Baylor (21)	18–16
35	December 26	@ Chicago	104–101	Archie Clark (24)	19–16
36	December 27	@ Cincinnati	127–132	Mel Counts (30)	19–17
37	December 29	@ New York	126–115	Jerry West (30)	20–17
38	December 30	@ St. Louis	106–104	Jerry West (34)	21–17
39	December 31	San Diego	118–147	Archie Clark (31)	22–17
40	January 2	@ San Francisco	118–119	Jerry West (29)	22–18
41	January 3	Boston	113–103	Jerry West (27)	22–19
42	January 5	@ Philadelphia	113–125	Elgin Baylor (23)	22–20
43	January 6	@ Baltimore	127–130 (OT)	Elgin Baylor (39)	22–21
44	January 10	New York	115–101	Archie Clark (22)	22–22
45	January 17	Philadelphia	116–125	Jerry West (39)	23–22
46	January 20	San Francisco	122–151	Elgin Baylor (30)	24–22
47	January 21	Seattle	123–154	Elgin Baylor (29)	25–22
48	January 25	N Cincinnati	118–116	Elgin Baylor (28)	26–22
49	January 26	@ Boston	118–112	Elgin Baylor (33)	27–22
50	January 27	@ Detroit	119–125	Gail Goodrich (23)	27–23
51	January 28	N St. Louis	113–128	Elgin Baylor (29)	28–23
52	January 30	@ Seattle	116–128	Jerry West (27)	28–24
53	January 31	St. Louis	102–110	Elgin Baylor (33)	29–24
54	February 2	Seattle	113–151	Elgin Baylor (25)	30–24
55	February 3	San Diego	122–133	Jerry West (42)	31–24
56	February 4	Seattle	131–137	Jerry West (43)	32–24
57	February 6	Cincinnati	102–146	Elgin Baylor (26)	33–24
58	February 8	@ Seattle	110–115	Jerry West (34)	33–25
59	February 9	San Francisco	104–122	Elgin Baylor (30)	34–25
60	February 11	@ Boston	141–104	Jerry West (24)	35–25
61	February 13	@ Baltimore	119–116 (OT)	Jerry West (47)	36–25
62	February 15	N Chicago	132–105	Jerry West (31)	37–25
63	February 16	@ San Francisco	116–118	Jerry West (36)	37–26
64	February 17	Philadelphia	135–134 (2OT)	Jerry West (49)	37–27
65	February 21	Boston	117–122	Jerry West (34)	38–27
66	February 23	Cincinnati	115–131	Jerry West (29)	39–27
67	February 25	@ San Diego	127–112	Elgin Baylor (41)	40–27
68	February 27	Cincinnati	106–117	Elgin Baylor (40)	41–27
69	February 29	N Chicago	117–107	Elgin Baylor (27)	42–27
70	March 2	Seattle	121–127	Elgin Baylor (26)	43–27
71	March 3	Baltimore	114–121	Elgin Baylor (33)	44–27
72	March 6	St. Louis	112–96	Elgin Baylor (20)	44–28
73	March 7	@ San Diego	119–102	Elgin Baylor (35)	45–28
74	March 8	San Diego	122–130	Baylor, Clark (23)	46–28
75	March 9	@ San Francisco	137–132 (OT)	Elgin Baylor (38)	47–28
76	March 10	Baltimore	119–89	Erwin Mueller (16)	47–29
77	March 13	San Francisco	106–142	Elgin Baylor (25)	48–29
78	March 15	New York	112–123	Elgin Baylor (37)	49–29
79	March 16	Detroit	108–135	Gail Goodrich (30)	50–29
80	March 17	Detroit	116–120	Elgin Baylor (28)	51–29
81	March 18	@ Philadelphia	128–158	Mel Counts (26)	51–30
82	March 19	San Diego	109–121	Elgin Baylor (35)	52–30

Playoffs

1968 playoff game log
Division Semi-finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 24 Chicago W 109–101 Jerry West (33) Elgin Baylor (23) Elgin Baylor (8) The Forum 7,352 1–0 2 March 25 Chicago W 111–106 Jerry West (35) Elgin Baylor (16) Jerry West (8) The Forum 8,158 2–0 3 March 27 @ Chicago L 98–104 Jerry West (32) Darrall Imhoff (15) Elgin Baylor (5) Chicago Stadium 3,456 2–1 4 March 29 @ Chicago W 93–87 Elgin Baylor (27) Darrall Imhoff (21) Elgin Baylor (5) Chicago Stadium 5,678 3–1 5 March 31 Chicago W 122–99 Elgin Baylor (37) Elgin Baylor (12) Archie Clark (10) The Forum 12,108 4–1
Division Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 5 San Francisco W 133–105 Elgin Baylor (29) Elgin Baylor (16) Archie Clark (5) The Forum 10,319 1–0 2 April 10 San Francisco W 115–112 Baylor, West (36) Elgin Baylor (19) Jerry West (5) The Forum 11,270 2–0 3 April 11 @ San Francisco W 128–124 Jerry West (40) Elgin Baylor (12) Jerry West (8) Cow Palace 9,232 3–0 4 April 13 @ San Francisco W 106–100 Jerry West (29) Elgin Baylor (20) Archie Clark (5) Cow Palace 9,623 4–0
NBA Finals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 21 @ Boston L 101–107 Jerry West (25) Darrall Imhoff (14) Archie Clark (5) Boston Garden 9,546 0–1 2 April 24 @ Boston W 123–113 Jerry West (35) Darrall Imhoff (11) Erwin Mueller (7) Boston Garden 14,780 1–1 3 April 26 Boston L 119–127 Jerry West (33) Elgin Baylor (18) Jerry West (9) The Forum 17,011 1–2 4 April 28 Boston W 118–105 Jerry West (38) Darrall Imhoff (20) Darrall Imhoff (6) The Forum 17,147 2–2 5 April 30 @ Boston L 117–120 (OT) Jerry West (35) Elgin Baylor (15) Baylor, West (6) Boston Garden 14,780 2–3 6 May 2 Boston L 109–124 Elgin Baylor (28) Mel Counts (25) Elgin Baylor (6) The Forum 17,392 2–4
1968 schedule

Awards and records

• Elgin Baylor, All-NBA First Team
• Jerry West, All-NBA Second Team
• Elgin Baylor, NBA All-Star Game
• Jerry West, NBA All-Star Game
• Archie Clark, NBA All-Star Game