1969 NBA Finals
The 1969 NBA World Championship Series to determine the champion of the 1968-69 NBA season was played between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the Lakers being heavily favored due to the presence of three formidable stars: Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Jerry West. In addition, Boston was an aging team; they made the playoffs as the 4th place team in the Eastern Division, and were not favored to make it to the finals. The Celtics' finals victory - the last championship of the Bill Russell dynasty - is considered one of the great upsets in NBA history.
This series is also notable in that West, with an average of nearly 38 points a game, won the Finals Most Valuable Player award, despite being on the losing team. This was the first year a finals MVP award was given, and it remains the only time in NBA Finals history that the MVP was awarded to a player on the losing team. It also marks the first time ever in NBA Finals history that a Game 7 was won by the road team.
Read more about 1969 NBA Finals: Prologue, Series Summary, Aftermath, Team Rosters