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| Dates | April 18–25 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Celtics: John Havlicek (1984) Tom Heinsohn (1986, player - 2015, coach) K.C. Jones (1989) Sam Jones (1984) Bill Russell (1975, player - 2021, coach) Satch Sanders (2011) Lakers: Dick Barnett (2024) Elgin Baylor (1977) Jerry West (1980) Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) Officials: Mendy Rudolph (2007) Earl Strom (1995) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Celtics defeated 76ers, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Lakers defeated Bullets, 4–2 | |||||||||
The 1965 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1965 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1964–65 season. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. The Celtics made their ninth-straight trip to the championship finals after beating the Philadelphia 76ers in a highly contested Eastern Division Finals that ended on John Havlicek's steal of the ball. The Lakers made it to their third Finals in four seasons after beating Baltimore in six games, though it came at a cost as Elgin Baylor suffered a knee injury that would sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. The Celtics won the series over the Lakers, 4–1.[1]