1968–69 Baltimore Bullets season

1968–69 Baltimore Bullets season
Division champions
Head coach	Gene Shue
General manager	Joe Sachs
Owner(s)	Abe Pollin
Arena	Baltimore Civic Center
Results
Record	57–25 (.695)
Place	Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference Semifinals (Lost to Knicks 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WBAL-TV
Radio	WBAL

The 1968–69 Baltimore Bullets season was the their eighth season in the NBA. The Bullets continued to rebuild through the draft by selecting center Wes Unseld, a 2-time All-American from Louisville. Unseld would have an immediate impact for the Bullets. He finished 2nd in the NBA in rebounding with 18.2 rebounds per game as the Bullets went from worst to first posting a league best 57–25 record. Rookie Wes Unseld won both the Rookie of the Year and MVP. In the playoffs, the Bullets would show their inexperience as they were swept in 4 straight games by the New York Knicks.

Roster

1968–69 Baltimore Bullets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 23 Ellis, Leroy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) St. John's F 25 Johnson, Gus 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Idaho G 22 Loughery, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) St. John's F 24 Marin, Jack 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Duke G 10 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Winston-Salem State G 33 Orms, Barry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Saint Louis F 15 Quick, Bob 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Xavier F 31 Scott, Ray 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Portland F 41 Unseld, Wes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Louisville

Head coach Gene Shue Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season 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

Record vs. opponents

1968–69 NBA records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	SDR	SFW	SEA
Atlanta	—	2–4	3–3	6–1	4–2	6–0	3–4	4–2	2–4	1–5	6–0	3–4	4–3	4–2
Baltimore	4–2	—	5–2	6–0	4–3	7–0	3–3	5–1	3–4	2–4	6–0	5–1	3–3	4–2
Boston	3–3	2–5	—	4–2	5–2	5–1	2–4	5–1	1–6	5–2	6–0	4–2	3–3	3–3
Chicago	1–6	0–6	2–4	—	1–5	3–3	3–4	5–1	2–4	1–5	4–2	3–3	4–3	4–3
Cincinnati	2–4	3–4	2–5	5–1	—	3–4	2–4	5–1	4–2	3–4	4–2	2–4	3–3	3–3
Detroit	0–6	0–7	1–5	3–3	4–3	—	3–3	2–4	3–4	3–4	4–2	3–3	2–4	4–2
Los Angeles	4–3	3–3	4–2	4–3	4–2	3–3	—	5–1	5–1	1–5	6–0	7–0	4–3	5–1
Milwaukee	2–4	1–5	1–5	1–5	1–5	4–2	1–5	—	0–6	0–6	6–2	4–2	3–3	3–5
New York	4–2	4–3	6–1	4–2	2–4	4–3	1–5	6–0	—	4–3	5–1	3–3	5–1	6–0
Philadelphia	5–1	4–2	2–5	5–1	4–3	4–3	5–1	6–0	3–4	—	5–1	4–2	2–4	6–0
Phoenix	0–6	0–6	0–6	2–4	2–4	2–4	0–6	2–6	1–5	1–5	—	1–7	2–4	3–3
San Diego	4–3	1–5	2–4	3–3	4–2	3–3	0–7	2–4	3–3	2–4	7–1	—	3–3	3–3
San Francisco	3–4	3–3	3–3	3–4	3–3	4–2	3–4	3–3	1–5	4–2	4–2	3–3	—	4–3
Seattle	2–4	2–4	3–3	3–4	3–3	2–4	1–5	5–3	0–6	0–6	3–3	3–3	3–4	—

Playoffs

1969 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 27 New York L 101–113 Earl Monroe (32) Wes Unseld (13) Monroe, Unseld (3) Baltimore Civic Center 11,941 0–1 2 March 29 @ New York L 91–107 Earl Monroe (29) Wes Unseld (27) Kevin Loughery (4) Madison Square Garden 19,500 0–2 3 March 30 New York L 116–119 Kevin Loughery (29) Wes Unseld (14) Kevin Loughery (7) Baltimore Civic Center 9,927 0–3 4 April 2 @ New York L 108–115 Monroe, Unseld (25) Wes Unseld (20) Kevin Loughery (7) Madison Square Garden 19,500 0–4
1969 schedule

Awards and honors

• Earl Monroe, All-NBA First Team
• Wes Unseld, All-NBA First Team
• Wes Unseld, NBA Rookie of the Year
• Wes Unseld, NBA Most Valuable Player

References

• Bullets on Basketball Reference