The 1969 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1968-69 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Despite finishing in 4th place, the Celtics won their second straight NBA title, marking their 11th overall as their era of 1960s dominance drew to a close. They upset Philadelphia and New York on the way to the Finals. Out west, the San Francisco Warriors stunned the Lakers by winning the first 2 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 so far that the trophy has been given to a player on the losing team.
The second-year San Diego Rockets made their first playoff appearance; the next time they appeared was in 1975 as the Houston Rockets.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | San Francisco | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | 4 | |||||||||||
| W1 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | |||||||||||
| E4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Baltimore | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||
Read more about 1969 NBA Playoffs: Western Division, Eastern Division, NBA Finals