<< 1967-68 Los Angeles Lakers | 1969-70 Los Angeles Lakers >>
The 1968-69 season was the year that the Los Angeles Lakers finally made the big move to put them ahead of the Boston Celtics. They did this by bringing on Wilt Chamberlain, one of the first major team switches of a superstar player in the NBA.
Now, with a three-headed monster of Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor, they could take down the Celtics and win their first championship in L.A.
The NBA also added two new teams as a part of continued expansion, making it a 14-team league. This was no big deal for the Lakers, who finished first in the West at 55-27. They defeated the San Francisco Warriors and Atlanta Hawks to get the Finals.
Meanwhile, the Celtics finished the regular season with the fourth and final playoff spot out East. It barely made a dent in their plans, as they upset the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks to face the Lakers in the Finals.
West did everything he could to bring home a championship to L.A., but they could still not get past the Celtics. In another seven-game battle, it came down to just two points separating the two teams. West won Finals MVP in an unprecedented loss, but the Celtics won their 11th and final championship of the Bill Russell era.
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