1968–69 Boston Celtics season

The 1968–69 Boston Celtics season was their 23rd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. The Celtics won their 11th championship in what was Bill Russell's final season as either player or coach of the club. The Celtics had the best team defensive rating and the tenth best team offensive rating in the NBA.

1968–69 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Head coach	Bill Russell
General manager	Red Auerbach
Arena	Boston Garden
Results
Record	48–34 (.585)
Place	Division: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions (Defeated Lakers 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WKBG-TV WSBK-TV
Radio	WHDH
< 1967–68 1969–70 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1968 NBA draft

This table only displays picks through the second round.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	12	Don Chaney	SG	United States	Houston

Roster

1968–69 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 28 Barnes, Jim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1941-04-13 UTEP PG 7 Bryant, Em 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-11-04 DePaul SG 12 Chaney, Don 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1946-03-22 Houston PG 11 Graham, Mal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1945-02-23 NYU SG 17 Havlicek, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1940-04-08 Ohio State PF 18 Howell, Bailey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1937-01-20 Mississippi State C 26 Johnson, Rich 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1946-12-18 Grambling State SG 24 Jones, Sam 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1933-06-24 North Carolina Central SF 19 Nelson, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1940-05-15 Iowa PF 29 Olsen, Bud 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940-07-25 Louisville C 6 Russell, Bill 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1934-02-12 San Francisco SF 16 Sanders, Satch 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1938-11-08 NYU PG 20 Siegfried, Larry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1939-05-22 Ohio State

Head coach Bill Russell Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Baltimore Bullets	57	25	.695	–	29–9	24–15	4–1	26–14
x-Philadelphia 76ers	55	27	.671	2	26–8	24–16	5–3	23–17
x-New York Knicks	54	28	.659	3	30–7	19–20	5–1	26–14
x-Boston Celtics	48	34	.585	9	24–12	21–19	3–3	23–17
Cincinnati Royals	41	41	.500	16	15-13	16–21	10–7	20–20
Detroit Pistons	32	50	.390	25	21–17	7–30	4–3	13–27
Milwaukee Bucks	27	55	.329	30	15–19	8–27	4–9	7–29

Record vs. opponents

1968-69 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	SDR	SFW	SEA
Atlanta	—	2–4	3–3	6–1	4–2	6–0	3–4	4–2	2–4	1–5	6–0	3–4	4–3	4–2
Baltimore	4–2	—	5–2	6–0	4–3	7–0	3–3	5–1	3–4	2–4	6–0	5–1	3–3	4–2
Boston	3–3	2–5	—	4–2	5–2	5–1	2–4	5–1	1–6	5–2	6–0	4–2	3–3	3–3
Chicago	1–6	0–6	2–4	—	1–5	3–3	3–4	5–1	2–4	1–5	4–2	3–3	4–3	4–3
Cincinnati	2–4	3–4	2–5	5–1	—	3–4	2–4	5–1	4–2	3–4	4–2	2–4	3–3	3–3
Detroit	0–6	0–7	1–5	3–3	4–3	—	3–3	2–4	3–4	3–4	4–2	3–3	2–4	4–2
Los Angeles	4–3	3–3	4–2	4–3	4–2	3–3	—	5–1	5–1	1–5	6–0	7–0	4–3	5–1
Milwaukee	2–4	1–5	1–5	1–5	1–5	4–2	1–5	—	0–6	0–6	6–2	4–2	3–3	3–5
New York	4–2	4–3	6–1	4–2	2–4	4–3	1–5	6–0	—	4–3	5–1	3–3	5–1	6–0
Philadelphia	5–1	4–2	2–5	5–1	4–3	4–3	5–1	6–0	3–4	—	5–1	4–2	2–4	6–0
Phoenix	0–6	0–6	0–6	2–4	2–4	2–4	0–6	2–6	1–5	1–5	—	1–7	2–4	3–3
San Diego	4–3	1–5	2–4	3–3	4–2	3–3	0–7	2–4	3–3	2–4	7–1	—	3–3	3–3
San Francisco	3–4	3–3	3–3	3–4	3–3	4–2	3–4	3–3	1–5	4–2	4–2	3–3	—	4–3
Seattle	2–4	2–4	3–3	3–4	3–3	2–4	1–5	5–3	0–6	0–6	3–3	3–3	3–4	—

Game log

1968–69 Game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 18	@ Detroit	106–88	Larry Siegfried (26)	1–0
2	October 19	@ Chicago	106–96	Larry Siegfried (26)	2–0
3	October 23	Cincinnati	101–108	Howell, Sanders (21)	3–0
4	October 26	Milwaukee	89–102	Bailey Howell (19)	4–0
5	October 29	N Chicago	103–97	Bill Russell (17)	4–1
6	October 30	Detroit	119–117	Bailey Howell (33)	4–2
7	November 1	Philadelphia	99–118	Bailey Howell (32)	5–2
8	November 3	@ Atlanta	123–103	John Havlicek (28)	6–2
9	November 8	Seattle	114–112	Larry Siegfried (26)	6–3
10	November 9	@ Milwaukee	98–97	Sam Jones (24)	7–3
11	November 11	San Diego	113–134	John Havlicek (29)	8–3
12	November 15	Cincinnati	105–116	Bailey Howell (27)	9–3
13	November 16	@ San Diego	120–112	Sam Jones (24)	10–3
14	November 17	@ Phoenix	130–98	Bailey Howell (28)	11–3
15	November 19	@ Los Angeles	106–116	John Havlicek (32)	11–4
16	November 20	@ Seattle	139–92	Havlicek, Sanders (21)	12–4
17	November 22	Phoenix	106–133	Bailey Howell (28)	13–4
18	November 23	@ New York	100–111	John Havlicek (28)	13–5
19	November 27	New York	117–131	John Havlicek (31)	14–5
20	November 29	Los Angeles	93–92	John Havlicek (28)	14–6
21	November 30	@ Philadelphia	117–113 (OT)	John Havlicek (36)	15–6
22	December 3	@ Milwaukee	137–115	John Havlicek (41)	16–6
23	December 4	Milwaukee	99–101	Bailey Howell (28)	17–6
24	December 6	Detroit	118–132	John Havlicek (36)	18–6
25	December 7	@ Cincinnati	117–114 (OT)	John Havlicek (27)	19–6
26	December 10	Baltimore	115–101	Jim Barnes (19)	19–7
27	December 11	@ Detroit	108–106	Larry Siegfried (27)	20–7
28	December 13	San Francisco	108–98	Bailey Howell (33)	20–8
29	December 14	@ Baltimore	101–110	Larry Siegfried (25)	20–9
30	December 18	New York	104–98	Bailey Howell (31)	20–10
31	December 21	@ Chicago	102–94	John Havlicek (29)	21–10
32	December 26	Milwaukee	106–139	John Havlicek (29)	22–10
33	December 28	@ Atlanta	97–110	Satch Sanders (23)	22–11
34	December 31	Cincinnati	114–112	John Havlicek (30)	22–12
35	January 1	@ Phoenix	93–87	Havlicek, Howell (17)	23–12
36	January 2	@ San Diego	107–95	Havlicek, Sanders (23)	24–12
37	January 3	@ San Francisco	102–104	Satch Sanders (27)	24–13
38	January 5	@ San Francisco	134–86	John Havlicek (33)	25–13
39	January 6	@ Seattle	121–97	Don Nelson (28)	26–13
40	January 8	Detroit	104–113	John Havlicek (27)	27–13
41	January 10	Los Angeles	82–88	John Havlicek (24)	28–13
42	January 11	@ Philadelphia	111–101	Bailey Howell (31)	29–13
43	January 12	@ Milwaukee	110–114	Satch Sanders (23)	29–14
44	January 17	San Francisco	99–102	Bailey Howell (25)	30–14
45	January 18	Seattle	97–111	John Havlicek (28)	31–14
46	January 20	@ Baltimore	109–122	Sam Jones (35)	31–15
47	January 22	@ Chicago	94–95	Sam Jones (24)	31–16
48	January 24	Philadelphia	120–111	Bailey Howell (26)	31–17
49	January 26	Baltimore	86–124	Sam Jones (28)	32–17
50	January 28	Atlanta	96–108	Don Nelson (22)	33–17
51	January 29	N Seattle	124–122 (OT)	Sam Jones (39)	33–18
52	January 31	Cincinnati	101–116	Bailey Howell (23)	34–18
53	February 1	@ New York	82–109	John Havlicek (16)	34–19
54	February 2	New York	95–94	John Havlicek (25)	34–20
55	February 4	N San Diego	135–126	John Havlicek (24)	34–21
56	February 5	@ Baltimore	112–124	Sam Jones (30)	34–22
57	February 7	Atlanta	109–107	Sam Jones (24)	34–23
58	February 9	Philadelphia	117–122 (OT)	John Havlicek (31)	35–23
59	February 12	@ Detroit	113–106	Larry Siegfried (27)	36–23
60	February 14	@ Atlanta	101–104 (OT)	John Havlicek (29)	36–24
61	February 16	@ Philadelphia	102–127	Sam Jones (30)	36–25
62	February 18	Phoenix	110–116	John Havlicek (20)	37–25
63	February 21	@ Los Angeles	124–102	John Havlicek (30)	38–25
64	February 22	@ Phoenix	124–100	John Havlicek (21)	39–25
65	February 23	@ Seattle	116–118	John Havlicek (25)	39–26
66	February 25	N Phoenix	99–112	Bailey Howell (27)	40–26
67	February 26	New York	92–88	Sam Jones (22)	40–27
68	February 28	Atlanta	120–122	Sam Jones (31)	41–27
69	March 1	@ New York	96–115	Bill Russell (17)	41–28
70	March 2	Chicago	92–99	Sam Jones (20)	42–28
71	March 4	@ San Francisco	95–99	John Havlicek (29)	42–29
72	March 6	@ San Diego	97–110	Bailey Howell (31)	42–30
73	March 7	@ Los Angeles	99–105 (OT)	John Havlicek (26)	42–31
74	March 9	San Francisco	89–138	Larry Siegfried (25)	43–31
75	March 12	@ Philadelphia	126–117	Sam Jones (30)	44–31
76	March 13	@ Cincinnati	110–120	John Havlicek (27)	44–32
77	March 15	@ Baltimore	98–99	Sam Jones (28)	44–33
78	March 16	Los Angeles	108–73	John Havlicek (15)	44–34
79	March 19	Chicago	92–104	Bailey Howell (27)	45–34
80	March 21	N Cincinnati	119–145	Sam Jones (23)	46–34
81	March 23	Baltimore	98–126	Bailey Howell (22)	47–34
82	March 24	N San Diego	107–111	John Havlicek (31)	48–34

Playoffs

1969 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 4–1 (home: 1–1; road: 3–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 26 @ Philadelphia W 114–100 John Havlicek (35) Bill Russell (15) Bill Russell (8) Spectrum 8,151 1–0 2 March 28 Philadelphia W 134–103 Bailey Howell (29) Howell, Russell (16) John Havlicek (7) Boston Garden 13,751 2–0 3 March 30 @ Philadelphia W 125–118 Sam Jones (28) Bill Russell (18) John Havlicek (10) Spectrum 15,244 3–0 4 April 1 Philadelphia L 116–119 John Havlicek (28) Bill Russell (29) Bill Russell (5) Boston Garden 14,017 3–1 5 April 4 @ Philadelphia W 93–90 John Havlicek (22) Bill Russell (18) Bill Russell (6) Spectrum 15,244 4–1
Division Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 6 @ New York W 108–100 John Havlicek (25) Bill Russell (16) Em Bryant (8) Madison Square Garden 19,500 1–0 2 April 9 New York W 112–97 Bailey Howell (27) Bill Russell (29) John Havlicek (12) Boston Garden 14,933 2–0 3 April 10 @ New York L 91–101 Russell, Bryant (16) Bill Russell (20) Russell, Havlicek (8) Madison Square Garden 19,500 2–1 4 April 13 New York W 97–96 Bill Russell (21) Bill Russell (23) John Havlicek (4) Boston Garden 13,506 3–1 5 April 14 @ New York L 104–112 John Havlicek (29) Bill Russell (16) John Havlicek (7) Madison Square Garden 19,500 3–2 6 April 18 New York W 106–105 Sam Jones (29) Bill Russell (21) Russell, Havlicek (5) Boston Garden 14,933 4–2
NBA Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–0; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 23 @ Los Angeles L 118–120 John Havlicek (37) Bill Russell (27) Sam Jones (6) The Forum 17,554 0–1 2 April 25 @ Los Angeles L 112–118 John Havlicek (43) Bill Russell (21) Bill Russell (13) The Forum 17,559 0–2 3 April 27 Los Angeles W 111–105 John Havlicek (34) Bill Russell (18) John Havlicek (7) Boston Garden 14,037 1–2 4 April 29 Los Angeles W 89–88 John Havlicek (21) Bill Russell (29) five players tied (2) Boston Garden 15,128 2–2 5 May 1 @ Los Angeles L 104–117 Sam Jones (25) John Havlicek (14) Russell, Havlicek (5) The Forum 17,553 2–3 6 May 3 Los Angeles W 99–90 Don Nelson (25) Bill Russell (19) Em Bryant (5) Boston Garden 15,128 3–3 7 May 5 @ Los Angeles W 108–106 John Havlicek (26) Bill Russell (21) Bill Russell (6) The Forum 17,568 4–3
1969 schedule

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

• John Havlicek, All-NBA Second Team
• Bill Russell, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Satch Sanders, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• John Havlicek, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

References

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference