1977–78 NBA season
| 1977–78 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
October 18, 1977 – April 9, 1978 April 11–May 17, 1978 (Playoffs) May 21–June 7, 1978 (Finals) |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 22 |
| TV partner(s) | CBS |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Kent Benson |
| Picked by | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Season MVP | Bill Walton (Portland) |
| Top scorer | George Gervin (San Antonio) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Washington Bullets |
| Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Western champions | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Western runners-up | Denver Nuggets |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Washington Bullets |
| Runners-up | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Finals MVP | Wes Unseld (Washington) |
The 1977–78 NBA season was the 32nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Washington Bullets winning the NBA Championship, beating the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
- The New York Nets moved from Uniondale, New York to Piscataway, New Jersey, and were renamed the New Jersey Nets. The New York Knicks, who forced the Nets to pay $4.8 million for invading the New York area prior to the previous season, remained the only NBA team in New York for 35 years, until the Nets moved to Brooklyn in the 2012–13 season.
- The 1978 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, with the East beating the West 133-125. Randy Smith of the Buffalo Braves wins the game's MVP award.
- The defending champion Portland Trail Blazers went off to a 50–10 start and looked poised to repeat, but Bill Walton broke his foot (the first of the numerous major injuries that radically shortened his career) and was out for the remainder of the season. The Blazers, hurt by Walton's absence and by other key injuries, faded to an 8–14 finish and lost to the Sonics in the Western Conference semifinals.
- On December 9, 1977, Kermit Washington punched Houston Rockets player Rudy Tomjanovich in the face during an NBA game. Tomjanovich was seriously injured and missed the rest of the season. Washington was subsequently fined $10,000 and suspended 26 games by the NBA.
- Throughout the 1977–78 season, CBS broadcast NBA games during the regular season and the playoffs. During halftime of those games, they showed a pre-taped H–O–R–S–E tournament pitting players from the NBA against each other. It featured, among others, Pete Maravich, Paul Westphal, Bob McAdoo, Kevin Grevey, and George Gervin. Maravich and Westphal made it to the final, and CBS originally planned to hold their match at halftime during an NBA Finals game. However, Maravich was injured and could not participate, so CBS decided to have Westphal compete against "Bag-Man" (who was actually analyst Rick Barry with a bag covering his head) by letting them both shoot a free throw. Westphal, blindfolded, went first and hit his. Barry missed, and Westphal was awarded the trophy. H–O–R–S–E featuring NBA players would not be re-instituted for 31 more years (until the 2009 All-Star Weekend).
- This was the first season since the 1949–50 season that no Boston Celtics player was named to either the First or Second All-NBA Team.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1976–77 coach | 1977–78 coach |
| Buffalo Braves | Tates Locke | Joe Mullaney |
| New York Knicks | Red Holzman | Willis Reed |
| Seattle SuperSonics | Bill Russell | Bob Hopkins |
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Boston Celtics | Tom Heinsohn | Satch Sanders |
| Buffalo Braves | Joe Mullaney | Cotton Fitzsimmons |
| Detroit Pistons | Herb Brown | Bob Kauffman |
| Kansas City Kings | Phil Johnson | Larry Staverman |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Gene Shue | Billy Cunningham |
| Seattle SuperSonics | Bob Hopkins | Lenny Wilkens |
Final standings
By division
| Atlantic Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Philadelphia 76ers | 55 | 27 | .671 | – | 37–4 | 18–23 | 14–2 |
| x-New York Knicks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 12 | 29–12 | 14–27 | 7–9 |
| Boston Celtics | 32 | 50 | .390 | 23 | 24–17 | 8–33 | 8–8 |
| Buffalo Braves | 27 | 55 | .329 | 28 | 20–21 | 7–34 | 7–9 |
| New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 31 | 18–23 | 6–35 | 4–12 |
| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | – | 32–9 | 20–21 | 15–5 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 8 | 29–12 | 15–26 | 14–6 |
| x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 9 | 27–14 | 16–25 | 9–11 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 41 | 41 | .500 | 11 | 29–12 | 12–29 | 8–12 |
| New Orleans Jazz | 39 | 43 | .476 | 13 | 27–14 | 12–29 | 8–12 |
| Houston Rockets | 28 | 54 | .341 | 24 | 21-20 | 7-34 | 6–14 |
| Midwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Denver Nuggets | 48 | 34 | .585 | – | 33–8 | 15–26 | 11–9 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 4 | 28–13 | 16–25 | 14–6 |
| Chicago Bulls | 40 | 42 | .488 | 8 | 29–12 | 11–30 | 8–12 |
| Detroit Pistons | 38 | 44 | .463 | 10 | 24–17 | 14–27 | 8–12 |
| Indiana Pacers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 17 | 21–20 | 10–31 | 8–12 |
| Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 17 | 22–19 | 9–32 | 11–9 |
| Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Portland Trail Blazers | 58 | 24 | .707 | – | 36–5 | 22–19 | 13–3 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 | 9 | 34–7 | 15–26 | 8–8 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 11 | 31–10 | 16–25 | 8–8 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 | 29–12 | 16–25 | 6–10 |
| Golden State Warriors | 43 | 39 | .524 | 15 | 30–11 | 13–28 | 5–11 |
By conference
| # | Eastern Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Philadelphia 76ers | 55 | 27 | .671 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 52 | 30 | .634 | 3 |
| 3 | x-Washington Bullets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 11 |
| 4 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 12 |
| 5 | x-New York Knicks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 12 |
| 6 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 41 | 41 | .500 | 14 |
| 7 | New Orleans Jazz | 39 | 43 | .476 | 16 |
| 8 | Boston Celtics | 32 | 50 | .390 | 23 |
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 28 | 54 | .341 | 27 |
| 10 | Buffalo Braves | 27 | 55 | .329 | 28 |
| 11 | New Jersey Nets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 31 |
| # | Western Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Portland Trail Blazers | 58 | 24 | .707 | – |
| 2 | y-Denver Nuggets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 10 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 | 9 |
| 4 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 11 |
| 5 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 |
| 6 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 44 | 38 | .537 | 14 |
| 7 | Golden State Warriors | 43 | 39 | .524 | 15 |
| 8 | Chicago Bulls | 40 | 42 | .488 | 18 |
| 9 | Detroit Pistons | 38 | 44 | .463 | 20 |
| 10 | Indiana Pacers | 31 | 51 | .378 | 27 |
| 11 | Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 27 |
Notes
- z, y – division champions
- x – clinched playoff spot
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | George Gervin | San Antonio Spurs | 27.2 |
| Rebounds per game | Truck Robinson | New Orleans Jazz | 15.7 |
| Assists per game | Kevin Porter | Detroit–New Jersey | 10.2 |
| Steals per game | Ron Lee | Phoenix Suns | 2.74 |
| Blocks per game | George Johnson | New Jersey Nets | 3.38 |
| FG% | Bobby Jones | Denver Nuggets | .578 |
| FT% | Rick Barry | Golden State Warriors | .924 |
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers
- Rookie of the Year: Walter Davis, Phoenix Suns
- Coach of the Year: Hubie Brown, Atlanta Hawks
- All-NBA First Team:
- All-NBA Rookie Team:
- NBA All-Defensive First Team:
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com
References
This article is issued from
Wikipedia.
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