1969–70 NBA season
| 1969–70 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Lew Alcindor |
| Picked by | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Willis Reed (New York) |
| Top scorer | Jerry West (L.A. Lakers) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | New York Knicks |
| Eastern runners-up | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Western runners-up | Atlanta Hawks |
| Finals | |
| Champions | New York Knicks |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Finals MVP | Willis Reed (New York) |
The 1969–70 NBA Season was the 24th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the New York Knicks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
The 1969–70 season saw the NBA into a new decade as well as a new era. The retirement of Bill Russell from the Celtics at the end of the 1968–69 season effectively signaled the end of the Celtics dynasty that had dominated the NBA for the past decade.
The New York Knickerbockers were the top team in the league. The Knicks, as they were well-known, had a solid team of players led by star center Willis Reed and rising star guard Walt Frazier. Dave DeBusschere, who had been acquired from the Detroit Pistons the previous year, combined with Frazier and Reed to anchor the league's best defense. Coach Red Holzman led the club to wins in 60 of its 82 regular season games to top the league.
In just their second season in the league the Milwaukee Bucks totaled 56 wins behind rookie superstar Lew Alcindor. The 7'2 230-pound center had caused controversy in boycotting the 1968 Summer Olympics, urging Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld and Bob Lanier to do the same. The Bucks, however, were happy to sign him after a bidding war with the ABA. The rookie averaged 29 points per game on 52% shooting. He was also third in rebounds, seventh in shooting accuracy, second in minutes played, and blocked more shots than any center since Russell or Chamberlain, making him a strong MVP candidate in just his first year. Coach Larry Costello's team also had a strong backcourt of Jon McGlocklin and Flynn Robinson, and two ex-Cincinnati Royals, but Alcindor's arrival on the team nearly doubled their win total from the previous season, earning him rookie of the year honors.
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