1970 NBA Finals

The 1970 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1970 NBA playoffs, which concluded the 1969–70 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The Eastern Division champion New York Knicks defeated the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers in seven games for their first NBA title.

1970 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins New York Knicks Red Holzman 4 Los Angeles Lakers Joe Mullaney 3
Dates	April 24 – May 8
MVP	Willis Reed[1] (New York Knicks)
Hall of Famers	Knicks: Willis Reed (1982) Bill Bradley (1983) Dave DeBusschere (1983) Walt Frazier (1987) Phil Jackson (2007, coach) Dick Barnett (2024) Lakers: Elgin Baylor (1977) Wilt Chamberlain (1979) Jerry West (1980) Coaches: Red Holzman (1986) Officials: Mendy Rudolph (2007)
Eastern finals	Knicks defeated Bucks, 4–1
Western finals	Lakers defeated Hawks, 4–0
← 1969 NBA Finals 1971 →

The Knicks appeared to have a see-saw Game 3 won when Dave DeBusschere made a shot with three seconds left to give New York a 102–100 edge and the Lakers were stuck with no time outs. L.A. inbounded to Mr. Clutch, Jerry West, who launched and made a miracle shot from beyond midcourt. It counted only for two points, as only the ABA had a three-point shot at the time, so the game went to overtime, and the Knicks were able to win, 111–108.^[2]

The final game of the series was named by ESPN in 2010 as the greatest Game 7 in finals history, featuring a return from injury for Willis Reed.^[3] Reed's most famous performance took place on May 8, 1970, in Game 7 played at Madison Square Garden. Due to a severe thigh injury suffered in Game 5, a torn muscle that kept him out of Game 6, he was considered unlikely to play in Game 7. Yet Reed surprised the fans by walking onto the court during warmups, prompting widespread applause. Starting the game, he scored the Knicks' first two field goals on his first two shot attempts, his only points of the game.^[2] He then played defense on Wilt Chamberlain, limiting him to two shots made in nine attempts. When Reed left for good with 3:05 left in the first half, the Knicks led 61–37.^[4] Walt "Clyde" Frazier took it from there, finishing with 36 points and 19 assists as the Knicks won the championship, 113–99. Following the game in the winner's locker room, a moved Howard Cosell told Reed on national television, "You exemplify the very best that the human spirit can offer."^[2] ESPN's SportsCentury Top 10 Games of the 20th Century ranked Game 7 the 9th Greatest Game in 1999.

Background

Main article: 1970 NBA playoffs

New York Knicks

Main article: 1969–70 New York Knicks season

1969-70 Eastern Division Champions New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SG 12 Dick Barnett 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936–10–02 Tennessee State C 17 Nate Bowman 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1945–03–19 Wichita State SF 24 Bill Bradley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943–07–28 Princeton PF 22 Dave DeBusschere 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940–10–16 Detroit Mercy PG 10 Walt Frazier 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–03–29 Southern Illinois PF 20 Bill Jr. Hosket 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1946–12–20 Ohio State PF 18 Phil Jackson (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota SF 5 Don May 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1946–01–03 Dayton C 19 Willis Reed 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942–06–25 Grambling State SG 6 Mike Riordan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–07–09 Providence SF 33 Cazzie Russell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1944–06–07 Michigan SF 9 Dave Stallworth 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1941–12–20 Wichita State SG 16 John Warren 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1947–07–07 St. John's

Head coach Red Holzman Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Los Angeles Lakers

Main article: 1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers season

1969–70 Western Division Champions Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SF 22 Elgin Baylor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1934-09-16 Seattle C 13 Wilt Chamberlain 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1936-08-21 Kansas C 31 Mel Counts 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1941-10-16 Oregon State PG 21 Johnny Egan 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1939-01-31 Providence SF 24 Keith Erickson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA SG 20 Dick Garrett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1947-01-31 Southern Illinois PF 52 Happy Hairston 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1942-05-31 NYU PF 30 Bill Hewitt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944-08-08 USC SF 33 Mike Lynn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1945-11-25 UCLA SG 15 Willie McCarter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-07-26 Drake C 35 Rick Roberson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 231 lb (105 kg) 1947-07-07 Cincinnati PF 14 John Tresvant 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1939-11-06 Seattle PG 44 Jerry West 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia

Head coach Joe Mullaney Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Series summary

Game	Date	Road team	Result	Home team
Game 1	April 24	Los Angeles Lakers	112–124 (0–1)	New York Knicks
Game 2	April 27	Los Angeles Lakers	105–103 (1–1)	New York Knicks
Game 3	April 29	New York Knicks	112–108 (OT) (2–1)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 4	May 1	New York Knicks	115–121 (OT) (2–2)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 5	May 4	Los Angeles Lakers	100–107 (2–3)	New York Knicks
Game 6	May 6	New York Knicks	113–135 (3–3)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 7	May 8	Los Angeles Lakers	99–113 (3–4)	New York Knicks

Knicks win series 4–3

Source:^[5]

Game summaries

Game 1

April 24

Boxscore

Los Angeles Lakers 112, New York Knicks 124
Scoring by quarter: 25–35, 29–30, 38–24, 20–35
Pts: Jerry West 33 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 5		Pts: Willis Reed 37 Rebs: Reed, DeBusschere 16 each Asts: Dick Barnett 9
New York leads series, 1–0

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,500

Game 2

April 27

Boxscore

Los Angeles Lakers 105, New York Knicks 103
Scoring by quarter: 28–24, 24–28, 29–29, 24–22
Pts: Jerry West 34 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Garrett, Erickson 6 each		Pts: Willis Reed 29 Rebs: Willis Reed 15 Asts: Walt Frazier 11
Series tied, 1–1

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,500

Game 3

April 29

Boxscore

New York Knicks 111, Los Angeles Lakers 108 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 20–26, 22–30, 26–17, 34–29, Overtime: 9–6
Pts: Willis Reed 38 Rebs: Willis Reed 17 Asts: Walt Frazier 7		Pts: Jerry West 34 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26 Asts: Elgin Baylor 11
New York leads series, 2–1

The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,509

• Jerry West hit a desperation buzzer-beating 60-foot shot to tie it at 102 and force OT. If a three-point line had existed at the time, it would've won the game for the Lakers and potentially the Finals, likely going to down as the greatest shot in NBA history.^[6]

Game 4

May 1

Boxscore

New York Knicks 115, Los Angeles Lakers 121 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 20–30, 20–17, 32–28, Overtime: 16–22
Pts: Dick Barnett 29 Rebs: Dave Stallworth 13 Asts: Walt Frazier 11		Pts: Jerry West 37 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Jerry West 18
Series tied, 2–2

The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,509

Game 5

May 4

Boxscore

Los Angeles Lakers 100, New York Knicks 107
Scoring by quarter: 30–20, 23–20, 29–35, 18–32
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 22 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19 Asts: Keith Erickson 6		Pts: Walt Frazier 21 Rebs: Cazzie Russell 8 Asts: Walt Frazier 12
New York leads series, 3–2

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,500

Game 6

May 6

Boxscore

New York Knicks 113, Los Angeles Lakers 135
Scoring by quarter: 16–36, 35–35, 29–28, 33–36
Pts: Dave DeBusschere 25 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 9 Asts: Dick Barnett 8		Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 45 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Jerry West 13
Series tied, 3–3

The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,509

Game 7

May 8

Boxscore

Los Angeles Lakers 99, New York Knicks 113
Scoring by quarter: 24–38, 18–31, 27–25, 30–19
Pts: Jerry West 28 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Keith Erickson 6		Pts: Walt Frazier 36 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 17 Asts: Walt Frazier 19
New York wins series, 4–3

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,500 Referees: No. 5 Mendy Rudolph No. 26 Richie Powers

External videos
Full game broadcast on YouTube

Television

The 1970 NBA Finals were the first to be nationally televised in full, with ABC providing the coverage. Chris Schenkel was the play-by-play man, with Jack Twyman serving as the color analyst. Howard Cosell provided interviews from the Knicks' locker room following Game 7 and was famously doused with champagne.

However, the Knicks' victory in Game 7 was not seen live on broadcast TV in New York; ABC's coverage was blacked out on WABC-TV, causing a raft of angry fans to deluge the WABC switchboard. Schenkel made an announcement during the broadcast that the game would be aired in New York at 11:30 p.m. that night. The game was shown live on the premium-channel MSG Network in New York City, which was then only available in about 25,000 cable households in Manhattan.

Since the 1970 finals, every NBA Finals game has been carried across the United States, though local blackouts would take some time to subside.

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

New York Knicks

New York Knicks statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Willis Reed	6		37.7	.484		.588	10.5	2.8			23.0
Dave DeBusschere	7		38.1	.455		.722	12.6	2.6			19.0
Dick Barnett	7		40.6	.448		.897	2.3	4.3			18.6
Walt Frazier	7		43.1	.541		.775	7.7	10.4			17.6
Bill Bradley	7		35.6	.388		.750	4.0	2.7			12.1
Cazzie Russell	7		18.6	.492		1.000	3.6	1.4			9.3
Dave Stallworth	7		14.0	.447		1.000	4.7	1.6			7.0
Mike Riordan	7		13.0	.387		.857	1.9	1.4			4.3
Nate Bowman	7		9.7	.481		.600	3.0	0.3			4.1
Bill Hosket	2		4.5	.250			0.5	0.5			1.0
John Warren	4		1.5	1.000			0.0	0.3			0.5

Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Jerry West	7		47.9	.450		.833	3.4	7.7			31.3
Wilt Chamberlain	7		47.6	.625		.343	24.1	4.0			23.3
Elgin Baylor	7		40.0	.486		.778	11.3	4.7			17.9
Dick Garrett	7		36.7	.474		.944	3.0	2.1			13.0
Keith Erickson	7		38.7	.479		.722	4.4	4.7			11.6
Happy Hairston	6		17.5	.471		.636	4.3	1.5			6.5
Johnny Egan	7		10.3	.526		1.000	0.1	0.9			3.6
John Tresvant	4		9.3	.333		.800	2.8	1.3			4.5
Mel Counts	3		9.0	.357		.667	2.7	0.3			4.0
Rick Roberson	3		3.3	.500		.500	1.3	0.0			2.3
Mike Lynn	1		1.0				0.0	0.0			0.0
Willie McCarter	1		2.0	.000			1.0	1.0			0.0

Source:^[5]