Wilt Chamberlain, who absorbed criticism after their loss to Boston last year just days after the King murder, demanded a trade out of his hometown.
The team had gained some bench depth with the Wilt trade from the Lakers, but also lost big man Luke Jackson to injury after 25 games.
Coach Butch Van Breda Kolff, who led the runners-up a year ago, was admittedly not a Wilt fan.
Elgin Baylor would pick up some of the slack at LA's third 20-point scorer while adding ten rebounds per game and 5.4 assists at age 34.
Dave DeBusschere, the tough defender and rebounder in Detroit who had been a steady star and even the coach there for his hometown team, was brought over by coach Red Holzman in trade for star center Walt Bellamy and point guard Howie Komives, which some felt was a steep price at the time.
34-year-old player/coach Bill Russell was fighting through a knee injury, and the club he led to a title a year ago did not appear to be a convincing champion.
Rich Guerin was still the coach and the roster was still largely the same, led by scorers Zelmo Beaty and Lou Hudson.
Six scorers over ten points per game and a strong bench showed that Hawks were looking to improve on their fold in the playoffs a year ago.
The Cincinnati Royals, victims of the strong East Division all decade long, won half their games this year, again behind the stellar play of Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas.
But the 37–45 San Diego Rockets, led by super-rookie Elvin Hayes and Don Kojis, were going to the playoffs while the Royals stayed home.
Unseld and his guards played well, but the loss of Johnson and a poor bench were no match for the balanced, well-organized New Yorkers.
San Francisco had gotten another huge year from center Nate Thurmond, which much help from Rudy LaRusso and Jeff Mullins, all 20-point scorers.
The two teams then exchanged home wins again to force Game Seven in Los Angeles, where a Laker victory was eagerly expected by fans.
Five of Boston's top players in minutes played were over age 30, but they ran hard to pull out to a 17-point fourth quarter lead.
In the final minutes, Chamberlain had recovered enough to return and signaled to Van Breda Kolff to put him back in.
Boston, winner of eleven out of the last thirteen NBA titles, gave Bill Russell his eleventh championship ring while Wilt watched from the bench, 108–106.
Van Breda Kolff's blunder also meant a whole new round of criticism for Chamberlain, who was also blasted in the press by Russell, who retired after the series.
The quiet, well-mannered West was also outraged with his coach, his outstanding 31 points and 7.5 assist averages in the playoffs again good only for second place.
x – clinched playoff spot Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.