NBA Finals History: The 10 Best NBA Finals series of all time

#3 1969 - Celtics beat Lakers 4-3

Wilt Chamberlain blocks a shot by Bill Russell

The 1969 NBA Finals pitted some of the greatest players to ever play against each other. Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West lined up against Bill Russell, John Havlicek and Sam Jones in what was easily the best Finals series till that time.

Bill Russell's decision not to double-team Jerry West resulted in the guard going off for 53 points in a 120-118 victory for the Lakers in Game 1. He continued in the same vein given Russell's reluctance to deploy the double-teaming tactic to get the Lakers a 2-0 lead with a 41-point haul in Game 2.

John Havlicek shook off a swollen eye to record 34 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists in a 111-105 win for the Celtics. The Cs followed it up with perhaps the most famous 'Ohio' play of all time, when a shooter receives a triple ball screen - Sam Jones hit the buzzer-beater to win the game for the Celtics in a turnover-filled 88-89 game.

The Lakers, enraged by their narrow loss in Game 4, turned on the afterburners to race to a 117-104 win. But disaster struck as Jerry West pulled his hamstring with 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. He had to be carried off on a stretcher, and he never made a full recovery from this injury in the series thereafter.

West did not let up, however. Eager to seal a series win in game 6, he took the field once again to score 26 points, but the Celtics won 99-90 as Wilt wilted under the circumstances, making just one field goal on 5 attempts and finishing the game with 8 points.

The Lakers, in anticipation of a series win at home, went all the way to suspend celebratory balloons on the roof of the Great Western Forum. This rubbed Bill Russell off the wrong way, and he said to Jerry West: "Those f***** balloons are staying up there."

The Celtics followed through on Russell's promise. Defying another ballistic outing from Jerry West, who totalled 42 and willed the Lakers back into the game in the 4th quarter - they were trailing by 15 points heading into this period. The Celtics were the ones, however, to uncork the victory champagne with a 108-106 win.

Jerry West received Finals MVP honours for his unreal showing through the 7 games - especially in his game 7 when he was playing through an injured hamstring. He averaged 38 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists for the series.