1969 NBA Finals - Prologue

Prologue

The Los Angeles Lakers had won 55 games in the regular season, seven more than their perennial rivals, the Boston Celtics, and therefore held homecourt advantage for the first time ever in a finals meeting vs. the Russell-led Celtics. Both teams had their share of problems in the regular season. Though the Lakers's acquisition of star center Wilt Chamberlain before the season prompted many observers to predict for them the title that had previously eluded them, their arrival at the Finals had not been easy; the season could have been described as a "soap opera"; Chamberlain and reigning Laker superstars Elgin Baylor and Jerry West had some difficulty in meshing their accustomed styles. And second-year coach Butch van Breda Kolff and Chamberlain clashed terribly throughout the season, frustrating the entire team. In Boston, player-coach Bill Russell was suffering from age and exhaustion, hampering the team both as the starting center and as the coach. In addition, perennial scorer Sam Jones played so poorly that he lost his position as starting shooting guard to Larry Siegfried. The Lakers's appearance in the Finals was expected, but they lost the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals to the San Francisco Warriors on their home court before prevailing, and then outlasted the Atlanta Hawks to gain the rematch with the Celtics. Boston's campaign was considered a surprise. They upset the 2nd place 76ers and were fortunate that the 3rd place Knicks upset the 1st place Bullets; Boston then knocked off New York in the Eastern Division finals.

On the hardwood, there were several key matchups. On center, low scoring, defensive stalwart Celtics center Bill Russell was matched up against his long-time rival Wilt Chamberlain (Lakers), multiple scoring champion. On forward, agile Celtic Bailey Howell played against perennial All-NBA member Elgin Baylor, captain of the Lakers, while Laker Keith Erickson tried to slow down high-scoring Celtics forward John Havlicek. At guard, a somewhat revitalised Sam Jones was matched up against Lakers superstar Jerry West. X-factors on both teams respectively were Don Nelson, the sixth man of the Celtics, and sharpshooting Laker Johnny Egan, the only other pure guard except West on the L.A. roster.