The 1969–70 NBA season was the Lakers' 22nd season in the NBA and tenth season in Los Angeles. Offseason After the tumultuous previous two seasons under the fiery head coach Butch Van Breda Kolff, the Lakers replaced him with the low key Joe Mullaney. Draft picks 1st round, 12th pick – Willie McCarter, G, Drake University 1st round, 15th pick – Rick Roberson, C, University of Cincinnati 2nd round, 27th pick – Dick Garrett, G, Southern Illinois University Roster Regular season After barely losing the NBA title the previous season, the veteran Lakers had high hopes coming into the 1969–70 season. However, 9 games into the season, Wilt Chamberlain suffered a severe knee injury and it was thought he would miss the next 10–12 months. Elgin Baylor also missed 28 games due to injury, and Jerry West missed 8. They traded Bill Hewitt for double-double machine Happy Hairston midway through the season. 1st round draft pick Willie McCarter also missed almost the entire season. But the Lakers received key contributions from rookies Rick Roberson and Dick Garrett, and managed to battle the Atlanta Hawks for 1st place in the Western Division for most of the season. Chamberlain returned for the final few games, and while the Lakers finished 2nd in the division to Atlanta by 2 games, they were at full strength for the playoffs. Season standings x – clinched playoff spot Record vs. opponents Game log Playoffs |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | March 25 | Phoenix | W 128–112 | Elgin Baylor (32) | Wilt Chamberlain (19) | Elgin Baylor (10) | The Forum15,046 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | March 29 | Phoenix | L 101–114 | Jerry West (33) | Wilt Chamberlain (25) | Jerry West (11) | The Forum17,501 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 2 | @ Phoenix | L 98–112 | Jerry West (31) | Wilt Chamberlain (12) | Chamberlain, West (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,324 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | April 4 | @ Phoenix | L 102–112 | Wilt Chamberlain (29) | Wilt Chamberlain (19) | Keith Erickson (6) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,356 | 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | April 5 | Phoenix | W 138–121 | Chamberlain, West (36) | Mel Counts (17) | Jerry West (18) | The Forum17,475 | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 |