1965-66 Season
Record: 45-35, first place in Western Division
Jack Kent Cooke bought the Lakers from Bob Short for $5 million before the season began and the Lakers drafted future NBA Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich out of UCLA. Elgin Baylor was hampered by sore knees much of the season and scored only 16.6 points per game. Jerry West averaged 31.3 points, second in the league behind Wilt Chamberlain.
Playoffs: The Lakers defeated the Hawks in seven games to reach the NBA Finals, where they faced the Boston Celtics for the fourth time in five years. The Celtics won the title again with a two-point victory in Game 7, meaning the Lakers had faced the Celtics in the Finals five times since 1959, and lost each time.
Playoff Results
Western Division Finals
- at Lakers 129, St. Louis 106
- at Lakers 125, St. Louis 116
- at St. Louis 120, Lakers 113
- Lakers 107, at St. Louis 95
- St. Louis 112, at Lakers 100
- at St. Louis 131, Lakers 127
- at Lakers 130, St. Louis 121
NBA Finals
- Lakers 133, at Boston 129 (OT)
- at Boston 129, Lakers 109
- Boston 120, at Lakers 106
- Boston 122, at Lakers 117
- Lakers 121, at Boston 117
- at Lakers 123, Boston 115
- at Boston 95, Lakers 93
