Claim: The Lakers were in the NBA Finals.

The 1968 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association 's 1967-68 season . The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals .   The Celtics won their 10th NBA title , first under player/coach Bill Russell after Red Auerbach 's retirement .   In the Eastern Division Finals , the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win , as they knocked off the defending champion 76ers in 7 . In the West , the Lakers swept the Warriors in 4 games .   It was the first time since 1954 that the top team in a division failed to make the Division Finals ; from 1955 -- 1966 the league gave the regular-season division champion a first-round bye .