What the 2020 NBA Playoffs and 1969 NBA Playoffs have in common

Bill Russell (Matt York, Google Images)

The conference finals are now set in the East and the West. On Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 104-89 in game seven of the Western Conference Semifinal and will now face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Final starting Friday.

In the Eastern Conference Final, the third-ranked Boston Celtics are facing the fourth-ranked Miami Heat. So far in the NBA Playoffs, the Celtics have eliminated the sixth-ranked Philadelphia 76ers and the second-ranked Toronto Raptors, while the Heat have knocked out the fifth-ranked Indiana Pacers and the first-ranked Milwaukee Bucks.

What is interesting from the NBA Playoffs so far is the fact that the top two seeds in the East are gone. This is the first time since 1969 that the Eastern Conference Final does not contain either of the top two seeds.

In 1969, seven teams made up the Eastern Division, with the top four teams reaching the playoffs. The fourth-ranked Boston Celtics beat the second-ranked Philadelphia 76ers four games to one in the divisional semifinals, while the third-ranked New York Knicks swept the first-ranked Baltimore Bullets in a four-game sweep.

The Celtics then went on to beat the Knicks in the Eastern Final and then the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games in a dramatic 1969 NBA Finals. The Celtics became the first team in NBA history to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games of the series. In a very controversial decision, Jerry West of the Lakers was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player even though the Lakers lost the series. He is the only NBA Finals MVP on a losing team. The Celtics meanwhile were led by Bill Russell, Sam Jones, and Don Nelson. Russell and Jones each played their final NBA game in the 1969 finals.

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