# 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.

## Draft picks

This table only displays picks through the second round.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 12 | Don Chaney | SG | United States | Houston |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Eastern Divisionvte | 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
## Playoffs

1969 playoff game log :
Division Semifinals: 4–1 (home: 1–1; road: 3–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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