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1968 NBA Finals

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1968 NBA finals
TeamCoachWins
Boston Celtics Bill Russell (player-coach) 4
Los Angeles Lakers Butch van Breda Kolff 2
DatesApril 21–May 2
Hall of FamersCeltics:
Sam Jones (1984)
John Havlicek (1984)
Bailey Howell (1997)
Don Nelson (2012, coach)
Bill Russell (1975)
Lakers:
Elgin Baylor (1977)
Gail Goodrich (1996)
Jerry West (1980)
Coaches:
Bill Russell (2021)
Officials:
Mendy Rudolph (2007)
Earl Strom (1995)
Eastern finalsCeltics defeated 76ers, 4–3
Western finalsLakers defeated Warriors, 4–0
← 1967 NBA finals 1969 →

The 1968 NBA World Championship Series pitted the Boston Celtics from the East, against the Los Angeles Lakers from the West, for the sixth time in ten years. The Celtics won their tenth NBA Championship in twelve seasons, by defeating the Lakers in six games. Significantly, Game 6 marked the first time that any NBA competition had taken place during the month of May. This was the last NBA Finals without a Finals MVP named as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award was introduced the following year.

Series summary

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Game Date Home team Result Road team
Game 1 April 21 Boston Celtics 107–101 (1–0) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 2 April 24 Boston Celtics 113–123 (1–1) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 3 April 26 Los Angeles Lakers 119–127 (1–2) Boston Celtics
Game 4 April 28 Los Angeles Lakers 119–105 (2–2) Boston Celtics
Game 5 April 30 Boston Celtics 120–117 (OT) (3–2) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 6 May 2 Los Angeles Lakers 109–124 (2–4) Boston Celtics

Celtics win series 4–2

Team rosters

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Boston Celtics

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1967–68 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
F/C 28 Wayne Embry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1937-03-26 Miami (OH)
PG 11 Mal Graham 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1945-02-23 NYU
G/F 17 John Havlicek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1940-04-08 Ohio State
SF 18 Bailey Howell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1937-01-20 Mississippi State
PF 27 Johnny Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1933-03-12 Cal State LA
SG 24 Sam Jones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1933-06-24 North Carolina Central
F 19 Don Nelson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1940-05-15 Iowa
C 6 Bill Russell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1934-02-12 San Francisco
SF 16 Satch Sanders 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1938-11-08 NYU
G 20 Larry Siegfried 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1939-10-14 Ohio State
G/F 12 Tom Thacker 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1939-11-02 Cincinnati
PG 26 Rick Weitzman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-04-30 Northeastern
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Los Angeles Lakers

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1967–68 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
SG 30 Cliff Anderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1944-09-07 Saint Joseph's
PF 23 Jim Barnes 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1941-04-13 UTEP
SF 22 Elgin Baylor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1934-09-16 Seattle
SG 21 Archie Clark 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1941-07-15 Minnesota
C 31 Mel Counts 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1941-10-16 Oregon State
SG 12 Freddie Crawford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1941-12-33 St. Bonaventure
SG 11 Gail Goodrich 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1943-04-23 UCLA
PF 52 Dennis Hamilton 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944-05-08 Notre Dame
SF 33 Tom Hawkins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1936-12-22 Notre Dame
C 14 Darrall Imhoff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1938-10-11 California
C 34 Erwin Mueller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1944-03-12 San Francisco
PG 44 Jerry West 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia
SF 24 John Wetzel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1944-10-22 Virginia Tech
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game summaries

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April 21
Los Angeles Lakers 101, Boston Celtics 107
Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 33–19, 24–33, 16–26
Pts: Jerry West 25
Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 14
Asts: Archie Clark 5		 Pts: Bailey Howell 20
Rebs: Bill Russell 25
Asts: John Havlicek 8
Boston leads series, 1–0
April 24
Los Angeles Lakers 123, Boston Celtics 113
Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 26–27, 36–27, 33–32
Pts: Jerry West 35
Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 11
Asts: Erwin Mueller 7		 Pts: John Havlicek 24
Rebs: Bill Russell 24
Asts: Bill Russell 5
Series tied, 1–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,780
April 26
Boston Celtics 127, Los Angeles Lakers 119
Scoring by quarter: 36–28, 33–34, 34–25, 24–32
Pts: John Havlicek 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 16
Asts: Bill Russell 9		 Pts: Jerry West 33
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 18
Asts: Jerry West 9
Boston leads series, 2–1
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,011
April 28
Boston Celtics 105, Los Angeles Lakers 118
Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 23–26, 31–28, 30–38
Pts: Bailey Howell 24
Rebs: Bill Russell 22
Asts: John Havlicek 8		 Pts: Jerry West 38
Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 20
Asts: Darrall Imhoff 6
Series tied, 2–2
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,147
April 30
Los Angeles Lakers 117, Boston Celtics 120 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 20–34, 34–22, 18–30, 36–22, Overtime: 9–12
Pts: Jerry West 35
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15
Asts: Baylor, West 6 each		 Pts: John Havlicek 31
Rebs: Bill Russell 25
Asts: John Havlicek 8
Boston leads series, 3–2
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,780
May 2
Boston Celtics 124, Los Angeles Lakers 109
Scoring by quarter: 35–28, 35–22, 24–28, 30–31
Pts: John Havlicek 40
Rebs: Bill Russell 19
Asts: John Havlicek 7		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 28
Rebs: Mel Counts 25
Asts: Elgin Baylor 6
Boston wins series, 4–2
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,392


See also

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