1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season

1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season
Conference champions
Head coach Bob Hopkins,
Lenny Wilkens
General manager Zollie Volchok
Owner(s) Sam Schulman
Arena Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record 47–35 (.573)
Place Division: 3rd (Pacific)
Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(Lost to Bullets 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television KTNT-TV
Radio KOMO

The 1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 11th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). With a disappointing 5–17 start, the Sonics replaced coach Bob Hopkins with future Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who led the team to a 47–35 finish. In the playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in three games in the First Round, then upset the defending NBA champions Portland Trail Blazers in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals, before finally defeating the Denver Nuggets in six games in the Conference Finals, making their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history, where they lost the series to the Washington Bullets in 7 games.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 8 Jack Sikma Forward/Center  United States Illinois Wesleyan
3 52 Joe Hassett Guard  United States Providence
4 74 Jim Cooper  United States Alabama
5 96 Dale Haberman  United States McKendree
6 118 Bucky O'Brien  United States Seattle
7 138 Billy Reynolds  United States Northwestern State
8 158 Jeff Frey  United States Evansville

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 32 Brown, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa
F 30 Fleming, Al 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954–04–05 Arizona
G 10 Hassett, Joe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–09–11 Providence
G 24 Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954–09–18 Pepperdine
F 27 Johnson, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1947–10–18 Iowa
F 45 Seals, Bruce 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–06–18 Xavier (Louisiana)
F/C 43 Sikma, Jack 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1955–11–14 Illinois Wesleyan
F/C 35 Silas, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943–07–12 Creighton
F 42 Walker, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–07–18 Virginia
C 40 Webster, Marvin 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1952–04–13 Morgan State
G 1 Williams, Gus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–10 Southern California
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers 5824.707–36–522–1913–3
x-Phoenix Suns 4933.598934–715–268–8
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4735.5731131–1016–258–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers 4537.5491329–1216–256–10
Golden State Warriors 4339.5241530–1113–285–11
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers5824.707–
2 y-Denver Nuggets4834.58510
3 x-Phoenix Suns4933.5989
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics4735.57311
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers4537.54913
6 x-Milwaukee Bucks4438.53714
7 Golden State Warriors4339.52415
8 Chicago Bulls4042.48818
9 Detroit Pistons3844.46320
10 Indiana Pacers3151.37827
11 Kansas City Kings3151.37827


Record vs. opponents

1977–78 NBA records
Team ATL BOS BUF CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SEA WAS
Atlanta —2–23–11–31–31–32–21–33–13–12–13–12–23–12–22–22–23–11–31–32–11–3
Boston 2–2—3–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–12–21–23–13–12–22–20–42–21–30–40–41–3
Buffalo 1–31–3—3–11–31–31–30–33–11–31–21–31–32–22–23–11–30–41–31–31–31–3
Chicago 3–13–11–3—3–12–22–21–33–13–10–42–21–31–22–21–33–02–21–32–22–22–1
Cleveland 3–13–13–11–3—3–12–22–22–22–12–22–23–13–12–23–11–31–20–40–43–12–2
Denver 3–13–13–12–21–3—2–22–23–02–22–23–13–13–13–11–31–32–23–12–11–33–1
Detroit 2–23–13–12–22–22–2—2–23–11–31–32–22–23–13–00–40–42–21–31–31–32–2
Golden State 3–12–23–03–12–22–22–2—2–13–13–10–42–23–10–42–21–32–21–33–12–22–2
Houston 1–32–21–31–32–20–31–31–2—3–12–21–31–32–21–32–22–21–32–21–30–41–3
Indiana 1–31–23–11–31–22–23–11–31–3—2–21–30–42–22–21–32–21–31–31–31–33–1
Kansas City 1–22–22–14–02–22–23–11–32–22–2—2–20–42–22–20–41–30–40–40–41–32–2
Los Angeles 1–32–13–12–22–21–32–24–03–13–12–2—3–14–02–13–12–21–30–42–21–32–2
Milwaukee 2–21–33–13–11–31–32–22–23–14–04–01–3—3–12–13–11–21–31–32–21–33–1
New Jersey 1–31–32–22–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–20–41–3—0–41–30–42–20–30–42–22–2
New Orleans 2–22–22–22–22–21–31–34–03–12–22–21–21–24–0—1–32–21–33–11–32–20–4
New York 2–22–21–33–11–33–13–02–22–23–14–01–31–33–13–1—1–31–31–32–22–12–2
Philadelphia 2–24–03–11–33–13–14–03–12–22–23–12–22–14–02–23–1—2–12–23–13–12–2
Phoenix 1–32–24–02–22–12–22–22–23–13–14–03–13–12–23–13–11–2—1–32–22–22–2
Portland 3–13–13–13–14–01–33–13–12–23–14–04–03–13–11–33–02–23–1—2–23–12–1
San Antonio 3–14–03–12–24–01–22–11–33–13–14–02–22–24–03–12–21–32–22–2—2–22–2
Seattle 1–24–03–12–21–33–13–12–24–03–13–13–13–12–22–11–31–32–21–32–2—1–3
Washington 3–13–13–11–22–21–32–22–23–11–32–22–21–32–24–02–22–22–21–22–23–1—

Game log

1977–78 game log
Total: 47–35 (Home: 31–10; Road: 16–25)
October : 1–6 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–4)
November : 5–11 (Home: 3–5; Road: 2–6)
December : 11–3 (Home: 7–1; Road: 4–2)
January : 10–2 (Home: 8–1; Road: 2–1)
February : 7–5 (Home: 3–1; Road: 4–4)
March : 9–7 (Home: 5–0; Road: 4–7)
April : 4–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–1)
1977–78 season schedule

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers: Sonics win series 2–1

  • Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 102, Los Angeles 90
  • Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 105, Seattle 99
  • Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 111, Los Angeles 102

West Conference Semifinals

The Seattle SuperSonics playing the Portland Trail Blazers during the 1978 NBA playoffs.

(1) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ Portland: Seattle 104, Portland 95
  • Game 2 @ Portland: Portland 96, Seattle 93
  • Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 99, Portland 84
  • Game 4 @ Seattle: Seattle 100, Portland 98
  • Game 5 @ Portland: Portland 113, Seattle 89
  • Game 6 @ Seattle: Seattle 105, Portland 94

West Conference Finals

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ Denver: Denver 116, Seattle 107
  • Game 2 @ Denver: Seattle 121, Denver 111
  • Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 105, Denver 91
  • Game 4 @ Seattle: Seattle 100, Denver 94
  • Game 5 @ Denver: Denver 123, Seattle 114
  • Game 6 @ Seattle: Seattle 123, Denver 108

NBA Finals

(3) Washington Bullets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Bullets win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 106, Washington 102
  • Game 2 @ Washington: Washington 106, Seattle 98
  • Game 3 @ Washington: Seattle 93, Washington 92
  • Game 4 @ Seattle: Washington 120, Seattle 116 (OT)
  • Game 5 @ Seattle: Seattle 98, Washington 94
  • Game 6 @ Washington: Washington 117, Seattle 82
  • Game 7 @ Seattle: Washington 105, Seattle 99

Awards and honors

References

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