1978–79 NBA season

1978–79 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 13, 1978 – April 8, 1979
April 10 – May 18, 1979 (Playoffs)
May 20 – June 1, 1979 (Finals)
Number of games82
Number of teams22
TV partner(s)CBS
Draft
Top draft pickMychal Thompson
Picked byPortland Trail Blazers
Regular season
Top seedWashington Bullets
Season MVPMoses Malone (Houston)
Top scorerGeorge Gervin (San Antonio)
Playoffs
Eastern championsWashington Bullets
  Eastern runners-upSan Antonio Spurs
Western championsSeattle SuperSonics
  Western runners-upPhoenix Suns
Finals
ChampionsSeattle SuperSonics
  Runners-upWashington Bullets
Finals MVPDennis Johnson (Seattle)
NBA seasons

The 1978–79 NBA season was the 33rd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Seattle SuperSonics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Washington Bullets 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals, a rematch of the previous year's Finals, but with the opposite result.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1977–78 coach 1978–79 coach
Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers Cotton Fitzsimmons Gene Shue
Chicago Bulls Ed Badger Larry Costello
Scotty Robertson
Detroit Pistons Bob Kauffman Dick Vitale
Kansas City Kings Larry Staverman Cotton Fitzsimmons
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Boston Celtics Satch Sanders Dave Cowens
Chicago Bulls Larry Costello Scotty Robertson
Denver Nuggets Larry Brown Donnie Walsh
New York Knicks Willis Reed Red Holzman

Final standings

By division

W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Washington Bullets 54 28 .659 31–10 23–18 11–5
x-Philadelphia 76ers 47 35 .573 7 31–10 16–25 9–7
x-New Jersey Nets 37 45 .451 17 25–16 12–29 7–9
New York Knicks 31 51 .378 23 23–18 8–33 7–9
Boston Celtics 29 53 .354 25 21–20 8–33 6–10
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 48 34 .585 29–12 19–22 11–9
x-Houston Rockets 47 35 .573 1 30–11 17–24 12–8
x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 2 34–7 12–29 14–6
Cleveland Cavaliers 30 52 .366 18 20–21 10–31 6–14
Detroit Pistons 30 52 .366 18 22–19 8–33 9–11
New Orleans Jazz 26 56 .317 22 21–20 8–33 9–15
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Kansas City Kings 48 34 .585 32–9 16–25 12–4
x-Denver Nuggets 47 35 .573 1 29–12 18–23 8–8
Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 10 25–16 13–28 6–10
Milwaukee Bucks 38 44 .463 10 28–13 10–31 9–7
Chicago Bulls 31 51 .378 17 19–22 12–29 5–11
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 .634 31–10 21–20 11–9
x-Phoenix Suns 50 32 .610 2 32–9 18–23 11–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers 47 35 .573 5 31–10 16–25 11–9
x-Portland Trail Blazers 45 37 .549 7 33–8 12–29 8–12
San Diego Clippers 43 39 .524 9 29–12 14–27 11–9
Golden State Warriors 38 44 .463 14 23–18 15–26 8–12

By conference

#
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Washington Bullets 54 28 .659
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 48 34 .585 6
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers 47 35 .573 7
4 x-Houston Rockets 47 35 .573 7
5 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 8
6 x-New Jersey Nets 37 45 .451 17
7 New York Knicks 31 51 .378 23
8 Cleveland Cavaliers 30 52 .366 24
8 Detroit Pistons 30 52 .366 24
10 Boston Celtics 29 53 .354 25
11 New Orleans Jazz 26 56 .317 28
#
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 .634
2 y-Kansas City Kings 48 34 .585 4
3 x-Phoenix Suns 50 32 .610 2
4 x-Denver Nuggets 47 35 .573 5
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers 47 35 .573 5
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 45 37 .549 7
7 San Diego Clippers 43 39 .524 9
8 Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 14
9 Milwaukee Bucks 38 44 .463 14
10 Golden State Warriors 38 44 .463 14
11 Chicago Bulls 31 51 .378 21

Notes

  • z, y – division champions
  • x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
E1 Washington* 4
E4 Houston 0 E5 Atlanta 3
E5 Atlanta 2 Eastern ConferenceE1 Washington* 4
E2 San Antonio* 3
E3 Philadelphia 3
E3 Philadelphia 2 E2 San Antonio* 4
E6 New Jersey 0 E1 Washington* 1
W1 Seattle* 4
W1 Seattle* 4
W4 Denver 1 W5 Los Angeles 1
W5 Los Angeles 2 Western ConferenceW1 Seattle* 4
W3 Phoenix 3
W3 Phoenix 4
W3 Phoenix 2 W2 Kansas City* 1
W6 Portland 1
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game George Gervin San Antonio Spurs 29.6
Rebounds per game Moses Malone Houston Rockets 17.6
Assists per game Kevin Porter Detroit Pistons 13.4
Steals per game M.L. Carr Detroit Pistons 2.46
Blocks per game Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers 3.95
FG% Cedric Maxwell Boston Celtics .584
FT% Rick Barry Houston Rockets .947

NBA awards


This page was last updated at 2023-11-08 18:46 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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