1968–69 Los Angeles Lakers season

1968–69 Los Angeles Lakers season
Division champions
Head coach	Butch van Breda Kolff
Owners	Jack Kent Cooke
Arena	The Forum
Results
Record	55–27 (.671)
Place	Division: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (Lost to Celtics 3–4)
Local media
Television	KTLA
Radio	KNX

The 1968–69 NBA season was the Lakers' 21st season in the NBA and ninth season in Los Angeles. This season saw the Lakers acquire Wilt Chamberlain.

The Lakers would make it to the NBA Finals, but would lose to the Boston Celtics in seven games despite being the heavy favorites. This marked the Lakers' seventh consecutive defeat to the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Jerry West, who averaged nearly 38 points per game in the Finals, became the inaugural recipient of the Finals Most Valuable Player award. To date he is the only player in NBA history to win the award as a member of the losing team.

Offseason

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	11	Bill Hewitt	(PF)	United States	USC

Roster

1968–69 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 40 Anderson, Cliff 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1944-09-07 Saint Joseph's F 22 Baylor, Elgin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1934-09-16 Seattle F 52 Carty, Jay 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1941-07-04 Oregon State C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1936-08-21 Kansas 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) St. Bonaventure PG 21 Egan, Johnny 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1939-01-31 Providence F 24 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA F 33 Hawkins, Tom 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Notre Dame F 30 Hewitt, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) USC G 44 West, Jerry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia

Head coach Butch van Breda Kolff Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

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

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	—

Game log

1968–69 game log
October Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 18 at Philadelphia L 96–114 Elgin Baylor (36) 15,224 0–1 2 October 19 at New York W 118–96 Wilt Chamberlain (29) Madison Square Garden 16,443 1–1
1968–69 schedule

Playoffs

West Division Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Francisco Warriors: Lakers win series 4–2

• Game 1 @ Los Angeles: San Francisco 99, Los Angeles 94
• Game 2 @ Los Angeles: San Francisco 107, Los Angeles 101
• Game 3 @ San Francisco: Los Angeles 115, San Francisco 98
• Game 4 @ San Francisco: Los Angeles 103, San Francisco 88
• Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 103, San Francisco 98
• Game 6 @ San Francisco: Los Angeles 118, San Francisco 78

West Division Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Atlanta Hawks: Lakers win series 4–1

• Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 95, Atlanta 93
• Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 104, Atlanta 102
• Game 3 @ Atlanta: Atlanta 99, Los Angeles 86
• Game 4 @ Atlanta: Los Angeles 100, Atlanta 85
• Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 104, Atlanta 96

NBA Finals

(W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E4) Boston Celtics: Celtics win series 4–3

• Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 120, Boston 118
• Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 118, Boston 112
• Game 3 @ Boston: Boston 111, Los Angeles 105
• Game 4 @ Boston: Boston 89, Los Angeles 88
• Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 117, Boston 104
• Game 6 @ Boston: Boston 99, Los Angeles 90
• Game 7 @ Los Angeles: Boston 108, Los Angeles 106

Awards

• Jerry West, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Elgin Baylor, All-NBA First Team
• Jerry West, All-NBA Second Team
• Jerry West, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Elgin Baylor, NBA All-Star Game
• Jerry West, NBA All-Star Game
• Wilt Chamberlain, NBA All-Star Game
• Bill Hewitt, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team