1968–69 Boston Celtics season

{{short description|NBA basketball team season (won championship)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{NBA season

| team = Boston Celtics

| ChampionshipWin = yes

| end_year = 1969

| wins = 48

| losses = 34

| division = Eastern

| division_place = 4

| coach = Bill Russell

| gm = Red Auerbach

| arena = Boston Garden

| television = WKBG-TV
WSBK-TV

| radio = WHDH

| playoffs = NBA Champions
(Defeated Lakers 4–3)

| bbr_team = BOS

}}

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

{{main|1968 NBA draft}}

This table only displays picks through the second round.{{Cite web |title=1968 NBA Draft |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1968.html |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Basketball-Reference.com |language=en}}

class="wikitable sortable sortable"

! style="background:#008040; color:white" width="10%"| Round

! style="background:#008040; color:white" width="10%"| Pick

! style="background:#008040; color:white" width="20%"| Player

! style="background:#008040; color:white" width="15%"| Position

! style="background:#008040; color:white" width="15%"| Nationality

! style="background:#008040; color:white" width="20%"| College

style="text-align: center"

| 1

| 12

| Don Chaney

| SG

| {{USA}}

| {{college|Houston}}

Roster

{{NBA roster header|team=Boston Celtics|season=1968–69

| bg1 = #008040 | color1 = #FFFFFF

| bg2 = #FFFFFF | color2 = #008040

}}

{{player2 | num = 28 | first = Jim | last = Barnes | dab = basketball | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 8 | lbs = 210 | DOB = 1941-04-13 | college = University of Texas at El Paso}}

{{player2 | num = 7 | first = Em | last = Bryant | pos = PG | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 175 | DOB = 1938-11-04 | college = DePaul University}}

{{player2 | num = 12 | first = Don | last = Chaney | pos = SG | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 210 | DOB = 1946-03-22 | college = University of Houston}}

{{player2 | num = 11 | first = Mal | last = Graham | pos = PG | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 185 | DOB = 1945-02-23 | college = NYU}}

{{player2 | num = 17 | first = John | last = Havlicek | pos = SG | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 203 | DOB = 1940-04-08 | college = Ohio State}}

{{player2 | num = 18 | first = Bailey | last = Howell | pos = PF | ft = 6 | in = 7 | lbs = 210 | DOB = 1937-01-20 | college = Mississippi State}}

{{player2 | num = 26 | first = Rich | last = Johnson | dab = basketball | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 7 | lbs = 210 | DOB = 1946-12-18 | college = Grambling State University}}

{{player2 | num = 24 | first = Sam | last = Jones | dab = basketball, born 1933 | pos = SG | ft = 6 | in = 4 | lbs = 198 | DOB = 1933-06-24 | college = North Carolina Central}}

{{player2 | num = 19 | first = Don | last = Nelson | pos = SF | ft = 6 | in = 6 | lbs = 210 | DOB = 1940-05-15 | college = Iowa}}

{{player2 | num = 29 | first = Bud | last = Olsen | pos = PF | ft = 6 | in = 8 | lbs = 220 | DOB = 1940-07-25 | college = University of Louisville}}

{{player2 | num = 6 | first = Bill | last = Russell | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 9 | lbs = 215 | DOB = 1934-02-12 | college = San Francisco }}

{{player2 | num = 16 | first = Satch | last = Sanders | pos = SF | ft = 6 | in = 6 | lbs = 210 | DOB = 1938-11-08 | college = NYU}}

{{player2 | num = 20 | first = Larry | last = Siegfried | pos = PG | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 190 | DOB = 1939-05-22 | college = Ohio State}}

{{NBA roster footer

| head_coach =

| asst_coach =

}}

Regular season

=Season standings=

{{1968–69 NBA East standings|team=BOS}}

=Record vs. opponents=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;"
colspan=15|1968–69 NBA records
width=100|Team

!style="background:#69B3E6;color:#C70F2E;width=35"|ATL

!style="background:#002854;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|BAL

!style="background:#006400;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|BOS

!style="background:#BA0C2F;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|CHI

!style="background:#012F6B;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|CIN

!style="background:#012F6B;color:#D40032;width=35"|DET

!style="background:#800080;color:#FFD700;width=35"|LAL

!style="background:#006400;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|MIL

!style="background:#003EA4;color:#FF8C00;width=35"|NYK

!style="background:#C90F2E;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"|PHI

!style="background:#702F8B;color:#FA4417;width=35"|PHO

!style="background:#00843D;color:#FFCC00;width=35"|SDR

!style="background:#FFC62C;color:#012F6B;width=35"|SFW

!style="background:#173F36;color:#EBAA00;width=35"|SEA

style="text-align:left;" | Atlanta2–43–36–14–26–03–44–22–41–56–03–44–34–2
style="text-align:left;" | Baltimore4–25–26–04–37–03–35–13–42–46–05–13–34–2
style="text-align:left;" | Boston3–32–54–25–25–12–45–11–65–26–04–23–33–3
style="text-align:left;" | Chicago1–60–62–41–53–33–45–12–41–54–23–34–34–3
style="text-align:left;" | Cincinnati2–43–42–55–13–42–45–14–23–44–22–43–33–3
style="text-align:left;" | Detroit0–60–71–53–34–33–32–43–43–44–23–32–44–2
style="text-align:left;" | Los Angeles4–33–34–24–34–23–35–15–11–56–07–04–35–1
style="text-align:left;" | Milwaukee2–41–51–51–51–54–21–50–60–66–24–23–33–5
style="text-align:left;" | New York4–24–36–14–22–44–31–56–04–35–13–35–16–0
style="text-align:left;" | Philadelphia5–14–22–55–14–34–35–16–03–45–14–22–46–0
style="text-align:left;" | Phoenix0–60–60–62–42–42–40–62–61–51–51–72–43–3
style="text-align:left;" | San Diego4–31–52–43–34–23–30–72–43–32–47–13–33–3
style="text-align:left;" | San Francisco3–43–33–33–43–34–23–43–31–54–24–23–34–3
style="text-align:left;" | Seattle2–42–43–33–43–32–41–55–30–60–63–33–33–4

=Game log=

class="toccolours collapsible" width=50% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center"
colspan=11 style="background:#008040; color:white;" | 1968–69 Game log
align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"

| #

DateOpponentScoreHigh pointsRecord
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 1

October 18@ Detroit106–88Larry Siegfried (26)1–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 2

October 19@ Chicago106–96Larry Siegfried (26)2–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 3

October 23Cincinnati101–108Howell, Sanders (21)3–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 4

October 26Milwaukee89–102Bailey Howell (19)4–0
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 5

October 29N Chicago103–97Bill Russell (17)4–1
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 6

October 30Detroit119–117Bailey Howell (33)4–2
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 7

November 1Philadelphia99–118Bailey Howell (32)5–2
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 8

November 3@ Atlanta123–103John Havlicek (28)6–2
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 9

November 8Seattle114–112Larry Siegfried (26)6–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 10

November 9@ Milwaukee98–97Sam Jones (24)7–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 11

November 11San Diego113–134John Havlicek (29)8–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 12

November 15Cincinnati105–116Bailey Howell (27)9–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 13

November 16@ San Diego120–112Sam Jones (24)10–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 14

November 17@ Phoenix130–98Bailey Howell (28)11–3
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 15

November 19@ Los Angeles106–116John Havlicek (32)11–4
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 16

November 20@ Seattle139–92Havlicek, Sanders (21)12–4
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 17

November 22Phoenix106–133Bailey Howell (28)13–4
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 18

November 23@ New York100–111John Havlicek (28)13–5
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 19

November 27New York117–131John Havlicek (31)14–5
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 20

November 29Los Angeles93–92John Havlicek (28)14–6
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 21

November 30@ Philadelphia117–113 (OT)John Havlicek (36)15–6
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 22

December 3@ Milwaukee137–115John Havlicek (41)16–6
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 23

December 4Milwaukee99–101Bailey Howell (28)17–6
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 24

December 6Detroit118–132John Havlicek (36)18–6
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 25

December 7@ Cincinnati117–114 (OT)John Havlicek (27)19–6
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 26

December 10Baltimore115–101Jim Barnes (19)19–7
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 27

December 11@ Detroit108–106Larry Siegfried (27)20–7
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 28

December 13San Francisco108–98Bailey Howell (33)20–8
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 29

December 14@ Baltimore101–110Larry Siegfried (25)20–9
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 30

December 18New York104–98Bailey Howell (31)20–10
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 31

December 21@ Chicago102–94John Havlicek (29)21–10
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 32

December 26Milwaukee106–139John Havlicek (29)22–10
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 33

December 28@ Atlanta97–110Satch Sanders (23)22–11
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 34

December 31Cincinnati114–112John Havlicek (30)22–12
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 35

January 1@ Phoenix93–87Havlicek, Howell (17)23–12
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 36

January 2@ San Diego107–95Havlicek, Sanders (23)24–12
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 37

January 3@ San Francisco102–104Satch Sanders (27)24–13
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 38

January 5@ San Francisco134–86John Havlicek (33)25–13
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 39

January 6@ Seattle121–97Don Nelson (28)26–13
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 40

January 8Detroit104–113John Havlicek (27)27–13
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 41

January 10Los Angeles82–88John Havlicek (24)28–13
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 42

January 11@ Philadelphia111–101Bailey Howell (31)29–13
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 43

January 12@ Milwaukee110–114Satch Sanders (23)29–14
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 44

January 17San Francisco99–102Bailey Howell (25)30–14
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 45

January 18Seattle97–111John Havlicek (28)31–14
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 46

January 20@ Baltimore109–122Sam Jones (35)31–15
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 47

January 22@ Chicago94–95Sam Jones (24)31–16
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 48

January 24Philadelphia120–111Bailey Howell (26)31–17
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 49

January 26Baltimore86–124Sam Jones (28)32–17
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 50

January 28Atlanta96–108Don Nelson (22)33–17
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 51

January 29N Seattle124–122 (OT)Sam Jones (39)33–18
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 52

January 31Cincinnati101–116Bailey Howell (23)34–18
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 53

February 1@ New York82–109John Havlicek (16)34–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 54

February 2New York95–94John Havlicek (25)34–20
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 55

February 4N San Diego135–126John Havlicek (24)34–21
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 56

February 5@ Baltimore112–124Sam Jones (30)34–22
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 57

February 7Atlanta109–107Sam Jones (24)34–23
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 58

February 9Philadelphia117–122 (OT)John Havlicek (31)35–23
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 59

February 12@ Detroit113–106Larry Siegfried (27)36–23
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 60

February 14@ Atlanta101–104 (OT)John Havlicek (29)36–24
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 61

February 16@ Philadelphia102–127Sam Jones (30)36–25
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 62

February 18Phoenix110–116John Havlicek (20)37–25
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 63

February 21@ Los Angeles124–102John Havlicek (30)38–25
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 64

February 22@ Phoenix124–100John Havlicek (21)39–25
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 65

February 23@ Seattle116–118John Havlicek (25)39–26
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 66

February 25N Phoenix99–112Bailey Howell (27)40–26
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 67

February 26New York92–88Sam Jones (22)40–27
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 68

February 28Atlanta120–122Sam Jones (31)41–27
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 69

March 1@ New York96–115Bill Russell (17)41–28
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 70

March 2Chicago92–99Sam Jones (20)42–28
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 71

March 4@ San Francisco95–99John Havlicek (29)42–29
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 72

March 6@ San Diego97–110Bailey Howell (31)42–30
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 73

March 7@ Los Angeles99–105 (OT)John Havlicek (26)42–31
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 74

March 9San Francisco89–138Larry Siegfried (25)43–31
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 75

March 12@ Philadelphia126–117Sam Jones (30)44–31
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 76

March 13@ Cincinnati110–120John Havlicek (27)44–32
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 77

March 15@ Baltimore98–99Sam Jones (28)44–33
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc"

| 78

March 16Los Angeles108–73John Havlicek (15)44–34
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 79

March 19Chicago92–104Bailey Howell (27)45–34
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 80

March 21N Cincinnati119–145Sam Jones (23)46–34
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 81

March 23Baltimore98–126Bailey Howell (22)47–34
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc"

| 82

March 24N San Diego107–111John Havlicek (31)48–34

Playoffs

{{NBA game log start|Boston Celtics|end_year=1969|playoffs=yes|}}

{{NBA game log section|Boston Celtics|color=#008040|bgcolor=white|Division Semifinals|playoffs=yes|first=yes|show=no

| home_wins = 1

| home_losses = 1

| road_wins = 3

| road_losses = 0

}}

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 1

| March 26

| @ Philadelphia

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196903260PHI.html W 114–100]

| John Havlicek (35)

| Bill Russell (15)

| Bill Russell (8)

| Spectrum
8,151

| 1–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 2

| March 28

| Philadelphia

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196903280BOS.html W 134–103]

| Bailey Howell (29)

| Howell, Russell (16)

| John Havlicek (7)

| Boston Garden
13,751

| 2–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 3

| March 30

| @ Philadelphia

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196903300PHI.html W 125–118]

| Sam Jones (28)

| Bill Russell (18)

| John Havlicek (10)

| Spectrum
15,244

| 3–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 4

| April 1

| Philadelphia

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904010BOS.html L 116–119]

| John Havlicek (28)

| Bill Russell (29)

| Bill Russell (5)

| Boston Garden
14,017

| 3–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 5

| April 4

| @ Philadelphia

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904040PHI.html W 93–90]

| John Havlicek (22)

| Bill Russell (18)

| Bill Russell (6)

| Spectrum
15,244

| 4–1

|-

{{NBA game log section|Boston Celtics|color=#008040|bgcolor=white|Division Finals|playoffs=yes|show=no

| home_wins = 3

| home_losses = 0

| road_wins = 1

| road_losses = 2

}}

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 1

| April 6

| @ New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904060NYK.html W 108–100]

| John Havlicek (25)

| Bill Russell (16)

| Em Bryant (8)

| Madison Square Garden
19,500

| 1–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 2

| April 9

| New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904090BOS.html W 112–97]

| Bailey Howell (27)

| Bill Russell (29)

| John Havlicek (12)

| Boston Garden
14,933

| 2–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 3

| April 10

| @ New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904100NYK.html L 91–101]

| Russell, Bryant (16)

| Bill Russell (20)

| Russell, Havlicek (8)

| Madison Square Garden
19,500

| 2–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 4

| April 13

| New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904130BOS.html W 97–96]

| Bill Russell (21)

| Bill Russell (23)

| John Havlicek (4)

| Boston Garden
13,506

| 3–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 5

| April 14

| @ New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904140NYK.html L 104–112]

| John Havlicek (29)

| Bill Russell (16)

| John Havlicek (7)

| Madison Square Garden
19,500

| 3–2

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 6

| April 18

| New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904180BOS.html W 106–105]

| Sam Jones (29)

| Bill Russell (21)

| Russell, Havlicek (5)

| Boston Garden
14,933

| 4–2

|-

{{NBA game log section|Boston Celtics|color=#008040|bgcolor=white|NBA Finals|playoffs=yes|show=no

| home_wins = 3

| home_losses = 0

| road_wins = 1

| road_losses = 3

}}

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 1

| April 23

| @ Los Angeles

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904230LAL.html L 118–120]

| John Havlicek (37)

| Bill Russell (27)

| Sam Jones (6)

| The Forum
17,554

| 0–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 2

| April 25

| @ Los Angeles

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904250LAL.html L 112–118]

| John Havlicek (43)

| Bill Russell (21)

| Bill Russell (13)

| The Forum
17,559

| 0–2

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 3

| April 27

| Los Angeles

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904270BOS.html W 111–105]

| John Havlicek (34)

| Bill Russell (18)

| John Havlicek (7)

| Boston Garden
14,037

| 1–2

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 4

| April 29

| Los Angeles

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196904290BOS.html W 89–88]

| John Havlicek (21)

| Bill Russell (29)

| five players tied (2)

| Boston Garden
15,128

| 2–2

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 5

| May 1

| @ Los Angeles

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196905010LAL.html L 104–117]

| Sam Jones (25)

| John Havlicek (14)

| Russell, Havlicek (5)

| The Forum
17,553

| 2–3

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 6

| May 3

| Los Angeles

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196905030BOS.html W 99–90]

| Don Nelson (25)

| Bill Russell (19)

| Em Bryant (5)

| Boston Garden
15,128

| 3–3

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 7

| May 5

| @ Los Angeles

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196905050LAL.html W 108–106]

| John Havlicek (26)

| Bill Russell (21)

| Bill Russell (6)

| The Forum
17,568

| 4–3

|-

{{NBA game log end|bbr_team=BOS|playoffs=yes|end_year=1969}}

Awards, records and milestones

=Awards=

References

{{reflist|2}}

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20071121063440/http://www.databasebasketball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=BOS&lg=N&yr=1968 Celtics on Database Basketball]
  • [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1969.html Celtics on Basketball Reference]

{{1968-69 NBA season by team}}

{{Boston Celtics 1968-69 NBA champions}}

{{NBA Champions}}

{{Boston Celtics seasons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1968-69 Boston Celtics season}}

Boston Celtics

Category:Boston Celtics seasons

Category:NBA championship seasons

Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

Category:1960s in Boston