1978–79 NBA season

1978–79 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 13, 1978 – April 8, 1979; April 10–May 18, 1979 (Playoffs); May 20–June 1, 1979 (Finals)
Number of games	82
Number of teams	22
TV partner(s)	CBS
Draft
Top draft pick	Mychal Thompson
Picked by	Portland Trail Blazers
Regular season
Season MVP	Moses Malone (Houston)
Top scorer	George Gervin (San Antonio)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Washington Bullets
Eastern runners-up	San Antonio Spurs
Western champions	Seattle SuperSonics
Western runners-up	Phoenix Suns
Finals
Champions	Seattle SuperSonics
Runners-up	Washington Bullets
Finals MVP	Dennis Johnson (Seattle)

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

The Buffalo Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California and became the San Diego Clippers, shifting from the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference to the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.
The Detroit Pistons changed conferences, moving from the Midwest Division of the Western Conference to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, where they remain today.
The Washington Bullets shifted from the Central Division to the Atlantic Division. The franchise also won its last division title until the 2016-17 season.
The NBA adopted a three-official system similar to the one used in college basketball on a one-year trial basis. The experiment is scrapped for the 1979–80 season, but returns permanently in 1988–89.
The 1979 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, with the West defeating the East 134–129 in overtime. David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets won the game's MVP award.
The Jazz played their final season in New Orleans, Louisiana, before moving to Salt Lake City. It would be 23 years before New Orleans received another NBA franchise.
The Los Angeles Lakers play their final season under the ownership of Jack Kent Cooke.
This was the last time both conference finals went to a deciding Game 7 until 2018.

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team	1977–78 coach	1978–79 coach
Chicago Bulls	Ed Badger	Larry Costello Scotty Robertson
Detroit Pistons	Bob Kauffman	Dick Vitale
Indiana Pacers	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

Atlantic 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

Central Division	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

Midwest Division	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

Pacific Division	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

Notes


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

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

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