1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers season

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1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coachJoe Mullaney
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record46–36 (.561)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Knicks 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1968–69 1970–71 >

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.[citation needed]

Draft picks[]

Main article: 1969 NBA Draft
  • 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[]

Roster listing
1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
SF 22 Baylor, Elgin (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1934-09-16 Seattle
C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt (C) 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
SF 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
PF 52 Hairston, Happy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1942-05-31 New York
PF 30 Hewitt, Bill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944-08-08 Southern California
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
PG 44 West, Jerry (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 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 Injured

Roster
Last transaction: January 23, 1970

Regular season[]

After barely losing the NBA title the previous season, the veteran Lakers had high hopes coming into the 1969–70 season. However, 9 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. They traded Bill Hewitt for double-double machine Happy Hairston midway through the season. 1st round 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 48 34 .585 –
x-Los Angeles Lakers 46 36 .561 2
x-Chicago Bulls 39 43 .476 9
x-Phoenix Suns 39 43 .476 9
Seattle SuperSonics 36 46 .439 12
San Francisco Warriors 30 52 .366 18
San Diego Rockets 27 55 .329 21


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 — 2–4 6–0 5–2 3–3 3–3 4–3 3–3 4–2 3–3 2–4 4–2 5–2 4–2
Baltimore 4–2 — 5–2 5–1 4–3 5–2 4–2 3–3 1–5 3–4 3–3 6–0 2–4 5–1
Boston 0–6 2–5 — 3–3 3–3 4–3 2–4 1–6 4–3 2–4 2–4 4–2 5–1 2–4
Chicago 2–5 1–5 3–3 — 3–3 3–3 4–2 4–2 0–6 3–3 5–2 3–4 4–2 4–3
Cincinnati 3–3 3–4 3–3 3–3 — 4–2 2–4 2–5 2–5 4–3 3–3 4–2 2–4 1–5
Detroit 3–3 2–5 3–4 3–3 2–4 — 3–3 1–6 1–6 1–5 3–3 3–3 3–3 3–3
Los Angeles 3–4 2–4 4–2 2–4 4–2 3–3 — 3–3 2–4 4–2 3–4 5–2 5–2 6–0
Milwaukee 3–3 3–3 6–1 2–4 5–2 6–1 3–3 — 2–4 5–2 6–0 6–0 4–2 5–1
New York 2–4 5–1 3–4 6–0 5–2 6–1 4–2 4–2 — 5–2 6–0 5–1 5–1 4–2
Philadelphia 3–3 4–3 4–2 3–3 3–4 5–1 2–4 2–5 2–5 — 4–2 4–2 6–0 0–6
Phoenix 4–2 3–3 4–2 2–5 3–3 3–3 4–3 0–6 0–6 2–4 — 7–0 3–3 4–3
San Diego 2–4 0–6 2–4 4–3 2–4 3–3 2–5 0–6 1–5 2–4 0–7 — 5–2 4–2
San Francisco 2–5 4–2 1–5 2–4 4–2 3–3 2–5 2–4 1–5 0–6 3–3 2–5 — 3–4
Seattle 2–4 1–5 4–2 3–4 5–1 3–3 0–6 1–5 2–4 6–0 3–4 2–4 4–3 —

Game log[]

Playoffs[]

1970 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
Division Finals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
NBA Finals: 3–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–3)
1970 schedule

Awards and records[]

References[]

  1. ^ 1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers
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