Jim McMillian, a former Columbia University star who helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a 33-game winning streak and the 1972 N.B.A. championship as a second-year pro playing with Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, died on Monday in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was 68.

The cause was complications of heart failure, a sister-in-law, Denise Sheridan, said.

The Lakers made McMillian the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1970 draft. He was also drafted in the first round by the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association, but he chose the Lakers. He averaged 15.3 points during three seasons in Los Angeles.

McMillian, a 6-foot-5 forward, was a key member of the Lakers’ first championship team after their move from Minneapolis. Replacing Elgin Baylor, who had retired, he averaged 19.1 points a game in the playoffs. Besides Chamberlain and West, the team’s roster included Gail Goodrich, Happy Hairston, Keith Erickson and Pat Riley. The Lakers were coached by Bill Sharman.

Despite his relative youth, McMillian fit in seamlessly with his veteran teammates. “Jim could run and fill the lanes with the best of them,” Erickson said. “He had a great 15-foot jump shot” and was “a perfect complement on our team.”