1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers season

1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers season
Division champions
Head coach Joe Mullaney
Arena The Forum
Results
Record 46–36 (.561)
Place Division: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(Lost to Knicks 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1969-70 NBA season was the Lakers' 22nd season in the NBA and tenth season in Los Angeles.[1]

Offseason

After the tumultuous previous two seasons under the fiery head coach Butch Van Breda Kolff, the Lakers replaced him with the low key Joe Mullaney.

Draft picks

  • 1st round, 12th pick – Willie McCarter, G, Drake University
  • 1st round, 15th pick – Rick Roberson, C, University of Cincinnati
  • 2nd round, 27th pick – Dick Garrett, G, Southern Illinois University

Roster

1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 22 Baylor, Elgin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1934-09-16 Seattle
C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1936-08-21 Kansas
C 31 Counts, Mel 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1941-10-16 Oregon State
PG 21 Egan, Johnny 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1939-01-31 Providence
F 24 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA
SG 20 Garrett, Dick 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1947-01-31 Southern Illinois
F 52 Hairston, Happy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1942-05-31 New York
SF 33 Lynn, Mike 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1945-11-25 UCLA
SG 15 McCarter, Willie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-07-26 Drake
C 35 Roberson, Rick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 231 lb (105 kg) 1947-07-07 Cincinnati
PF 14 Tresvant, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1939-11-06 Seattle
G 44 West, Jerry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2013-10-29

Regular season

After barely losing the NBA title the previous season, the veteran Lakers had high hopes coming into the 1969–70 season. However, 7 games into the season, Wilt Chamberlain suffered a severe knee injury and it was thought he would miss the next 10–12 months. Elgin Baylor also missed 28 games due to injury, and Jerry West missed 8. 1st draft pick Willie McCarter also missed almost the entire season. But the Lakers received key contributions from rookies Rick Roberson and Dick Garrett, and managed to battle the Atlanta Hawks for 1st place in the Western Division for most of the season. Chamberlain returned for the final few games, and while the Lakers finished 2nd in the division to Atlanta by 2 games, they were at full strength for the playoffs.

Season standings

Western Division W L PCT GB
x-Atlanta Hawks 4834.585–
x-Los Angeles Lakers 4636.5612
x-Chicago Bulls 3943.4769
x-Phoenix Suns 3943.4769
Seattle SuperSonics 3646.43912
San Francisco Warriors 3052.36618
San Diego Rockets 2755.32921
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1969–70 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS CHI CIN DET LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO SDR SFW SEA
Atlanta —2–46–05–23–33–34–33–34–23–32–44–25–24–2
Baltimore 4–2—5–25–14–35–24–23–31–53–43–36–02–45–1
Boston 0–62–5—3–33–34–32–41–64–32–42–44–25–12–4
Chicago 2–51–53–3—3–33–34–24–20–63–35–23–44–24–3
Cincinnati 3–33–43–33–3—4–22–42–52–54–33–34–22–41–5
Detroit 3–32–53–43–32–4—3–31–61–61–53–33–33–33–3
Los Angeles 3–42–44–22–44–23–3—3–32–44–23–45–25–26–0
Milwaukee 3–33–36–12–45–26–13–3—2–45–26–06–04–25–1
New York 2–45–13–46–05–26–14–24–2—5–26–05–15–14–2
Philadelphia 3–34–34–23–33–45–12–42–52–5—4–24–26–00–6
Phoenix 4–23–34–22–53–33–34–30–60–62–4—7–03–34–3
San Diego 2–40–62–44–32–43–32–50–61–52–40–7—5–24–2
San Francisco 2–54–21–52–44–23–32–52–41–50–63–32–5—3–4
Seattle 2–41–54–23–45–13–30–61–52–46–03–42–44–3—

Game log

1969–70 game log
October
November
December
January
February
March
1969–70 schedule

Playoffs

West Division Semifinals

The Lakers will still adjusting to playing at full strength with Wilt Chamberlain in the lineup, and it showed in the first round of the playoffs against the upstart Phoenix Suns. After winning game 1, the Suns stunned the Lakers by winning the next three games. Facing a 3–1 series deficit, the Lakers became the 2nd team in NBA history to overcome such a deficit and win the series.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Phoenix Suns: Lakers win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 128, Phoenix 112
  • Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Phoenix 114, Los Angeles 101
  • Game 3 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 112, Los Angeles 98
  • Game 4 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 112, Los Angeles 102
  • Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 138, Phoenix 121
  • Game 6 @ Phoenix: Los Angeles 104, Phoenix 93
  • Game 7 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 129, Phoenix 94

West Division Finals

After winning the final 3 games of the first round vs. Phoenix, the Lakers appeared to be hitting their stride. In a rematch of the 1969 Western Division finals (won by the Lakers in 5 games), the Lakers swept the Hawks, although each game was close except for game four.

(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers win series 4–0

  • Game 1 @ Atlanta: Los Angeles 119, Atlanta 115
  • Game 2 @ Atlanta: Los Angeles 105, Atlanta 94
  • Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 115, Atlanta 114 (OT)
  • Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 133, Atlanta 114

NBA Finals

(E1) New York Knicks vs. (W2) Los Angeles Lakers: Knicks win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ New York: New York 124, Los Angeles 112
  • Game 2 @ New York: Los Angeles 105, New York 103
  • Game 3 @ Los Angeles: New York 111, Los Angeles 108 (OT)
  • Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 121, New York 115 (OT)
  • Game 5 @ New York: New York 107, Los Angeles 100
  • Game 6 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 135, New York 113
  • Game 7 @ New York: New York 113, Los Angeles 99

Awards and records

References

  1. ↑ 1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers
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