1969 NBA Playoffs

The 1969 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1968-1969 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, four games to three in the NBA Finals.

Despite finishing in 4th place, the Celtics won their second consecutive NBA championship, marking their 11th overall as their era of 1960s dominance drew to a close. They upset Philadelphia and the Knicks on the way to the finals. Out west, the San Francisco Warriors stunned the Lakers by winning the first two games in L.A., and Bay Area fans were thinking of avenging the prior year's sweep by the Lakers with a sweep of their own. But the Lakers won 4 straight to win the series in 6. This year marked the debut of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award; it was awarded to Jerry West of the Lakers, which marks the only time, thus far, that the trophy has been given to a player on the losing team.

The second-year San Diego Rockets earned their first playoff appearance; the next time they appeared in the playoffs it would be in 1975 as the Houston Rockets.

3RoundBracket-Byes | RD1= Division Semifinals
RD2= Division Finals
RD3= NBA Finals
group1=Western Division
group2=Eastern Division

RD1-seed1=1
RD1-team1=L.A. Lakers
RD1-score1=4
RD1-seed2=3
RD1-team2=San Francisco
RD1-score2=2

RD1-seed3=4
RD1-team3=San Diego
RD1-score3=2
RD1-seed4=2
RD1-team4=Atlanta
RD1-score4=4

RD1-seed5=1
RD1-team5=Baltimore
RD1-score5=0
RD1-seed6=3
RD1-team6=New York
RD1-score6=4

RD1-seed7=4
RD1-team7=Boston
RD1-score7=4
RD1-seed8=2
RD1-team8=Philadelphia
RD1-score8=1

RD2-seed1=1
RD2-team1=L.A. Lakers
RD2-score1=4
RD2-seed2=2
RD2-team2=Atlanta
RD2-score2=1

RD2-seed3=3
RD2-team3=New York
RD2-score3=2
RD2-seed4=4
RD2-team4=Boston
RD2-score4=4

RD3-seed1=W1
RD3-team1=L.A. Lakers
RD3-score1=3
RD3-seed2=E4
RD3-team2=Boston
RD3-score2=4

External links

* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1969.html Basketball-Reference.com's 1969 NBA Playoffs page]