Los Angeles Lakers’ best NBA Finals: 3. 1972 vs. New York Knicks
If this would have been more recent and would have been a series that we watched then it might be higher on this list. However, considering that a lot of Laker fans were not old enough to remember watching this NBA Finals, it does mean slightly less to the fanbase and thus comes in at number three.
From a historical perspective, though, this is one of the most meaningful championships in Lakers’ history. Jerry West had a terrible 1-8 record in the NBA Finals as he was never seemingly able to get over the hump and he finally was able to in this series.
The series itself was not all that close as the Lakers gave the New York Knicks the five-game gentleman’s sweep but the historical importance of this title is huge. The Logo finally got over the hump and won a championship, but ironically, he was not even the best player in the Finals.
That belonged to Wilt Chamberlain, who was far past his prime at this point but turned in an exceptional effort on both sides of the court to be named the NBA Finals MVP. Chamberlain, West and Gail Goodrich made up one of the most underrated NBA trios of all-time and gave the Lakers the franchise’s first title since the run in the early days, mostly still in Minneapolis.
The one bad thing about this series is that Elgin Baylor was not part of the team, although he did receive a ring. Baylor battled injuries and played a total of 11 games in his last two seasons with the Lakers, this season being his last.