The
1969 NBA World Championship Series to determine the champion of the
1968-69 NBA season was played between the
Los Angeles Lakers and
Boston Celtics, the Lakers being heavily favored due to the presence of three formidable stars:
Elgin Baylor,
Wilt Chamberlain, and
Jerry West. In addition, Boston was an aging team; they made the playoffs as the 4th place team in the Eastern Division, and were not favored to make it to the finals. The Celtics' finals victory - the last championship of the
Bill Russell dynasty - is considered one of the great upsets in NBA history.