1978–79 Washington Bullets season

1978–79 Washington Bullets season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach Dick Motta
Arena Capital Centre
Results
Record 54–28 (.659)
Place Division: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(Lost to SuperSonics 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television WDCA
Radio WTOP

The 1978–79 Washington Bullets won their second consecutive Eastern Conference Championship, making it to the NBA Finals before losing to the Seattle SuperSonics. They finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, at 54-28.

Coming off of their NBA Championship the previous season, the Bullets were transferred to the Atlantic Division.[1] The Bullets would continue to remain one of the top teams in the league, as they captured the Atlantic Division championship with a league best record of 54–28. The Bullets ended the regular season losing 8 of their last 11 games, but rebounded in the playoffs with victories in both the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Eastern Conference Finals over the Atlanta Hawks and the San Antonio Spurs, respectively. This was the last time Washington had won a division title. The Bullets went through a 38-year drought without a division title until 2017 when they're named the Wizards.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Roster

Washington Bullets roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 42 Ballard, Greg 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Oregon
C 40 Corzine, Dave 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) DePaul
G 45 Chenier, Phil 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) California
SF 10 Dandridge, Bob 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Norfolk State
F 35 Grevey, Kevin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Kentucky
G 14 Henderson, Tom 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Hawaiʻi
C 11 Hayes, Elvin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Houston
PF 25 Kupchak, Mitch 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina
G 15 Johnson, Charles 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) California
G 22 Phegley, Roger 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Bradley
F 41 Unseld, Wes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Louisville
G 32 Wright, Larry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Grambling State
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Washington Bullets 5428.659–31–1023–1811–5
x-Philadelphia 76ers 4735.573731–1016–259–7
x-New Jersey Nets 3745.4511725–1612–297–9
New York Knicks 3151.3782323–188–337–9
Boston Celtics 2953.3542521–208–336–10
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Washington Bullets5428.659–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs4834.5856
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers4735.5737
4 x-Houston Rockets4735.5737
5 x-Atlanta Hawks4636.5618
6 x-New Jersey Nets3745.45117
7 New York Knicks3151.37823
8 Cleveland Cavaliers3052.36624
8 Detroit Pistons3052.36624
10 Boston Celtics2953.35425
11 New Orleans Jazz2656.31728

Record vs. opponents

1978-79 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA WAS
Atlanta —2–23–13–13–13–11–33–11–32–21–33–02–22–22–22–22–12–23–13–11–32–2
Boston 2–2—1–22–21–32–22–11–33–11–31–31–31–32–23–12–20–41–30–41–32–20–4
Chicago 1–32–1—1–32–22–23–12–22–20–41–31–32–22–23–11–31–34–00–30–40–41–3
Cleveland 1–32–23–1—1–21–32–12–21–31–32–21–33–12–22–22–20–40–40–42–22–20–4
Denver 1–33–12–22–1—2–24–01–33–11–33–12–24–03–13–10–33–11–33–12–23–11–3
Detroit 1–32–22–23–12–2—1–32–22–22–22–22–10–42–21–31–30–41–31–32–20–31–3
Golden State 3–11–21–31–20–43–1—2–22–22–21–32–21–33–13–13–11–32–21–31–33–12–2
Houston 1–33–12–22–23–12–22–2—0–43–12–12–23–14–04–00–42–23–13–12–12–22–2
Indiana 3–11–32–23–11–32–22–24–0—1–30–42–21–22–12–22–22–23–13–11–30–41–3
Kansas City 2–23–14–03–13–12–22–21–33–1—2–22–23–13–12–12–22–21–31–32–22–23–0
Los Angeles 3–13–13–12–21–32–23–11–24–02–2—3–12–22–23–01–32–22–22–22–22–22–2
Milwaukee 0–33–13–13–12–21–22–22–22–22–21–3—2–23–11–32–22–22–21–31–32–21–3
New Jersey 2–23–12–21–30–44–03–11–32–11–32–22–2—3–11–32–23–02–20–42–20–41–3
New Orleans 2–22–22–22–21–32–21–30–41–21–32–21–31–3—2–22–21–31–32–20–40–30–4
New York 2–21–31–32–21–33–11–30–42–21–20–33–13–12–2—2–20–41–31–32–22–21–3
Philadelphia 2–22–23–12–23–03–11–34–02–22–23–12–22–22–22–2—1–31–23–13–11–33–1
Phoenix 1–24–03–14–01–34–03–12–22–22–22–22–20–33–14–03–1—3–13–12–21–31–3
Portland 2–23–10–44–03–13–12–21–31–33–12–22–22–23–13–12–11–3—2–12–21–33–1
San Antonio 1–34–03–04–01–33–13–11–31–33–12–23–14–02–23–11–31–31–2—4–02–21–3
San Diego 1–33–14–02–22–22–23–11–23–12–22–23–12–24–02–21–32–22–20–4—2–20–3
Seattle 3–12–24–02–21–33–01–32–24–02–22–22–24–03–02–23–13–13–12–22–2—2–2
Washington 2–24–03–14–03–13–12–22–23–10–32–23–13–14–03–11–33–11–33–13–02–2—

Playoffs

East First Round

The Bullets had a first round bye.

East Conference Semifinals

In the conference semifinal round of the playoffs, the Bullets needed 7 games to beat the Atlanta Hawks. The Bullets nearly lost the series as they had a 3–1 series lead.[1]

(1) Washington Bullets vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks: Bullets win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ Washington: Washington 103, Atlanta 89
  • Game 2 @ Washington: Atlanta 107, Washington 99
  • Game 3 @ Atlanta: Washington 89, Atlanta 77
  • Game 4 @ Atlanta: Washington 120, Atlanta 118 (OT)
  • Game 5 @ Washington: Atlanta 107, Washington 103
  • Game 6 @ Atlanta: Atlanta 104, Washington 86
  • Game 7 @ Washington: Washington 100, Atlanta 94

East Conference Finals

In the Eastern Finals, the Bullets would find themselves down 3 games to 1 facing the San Antonio Spurs. The Bullets would rally to win the next 2 games and force a 7th game at home. In Game 7 the Bullets would rally again. They overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Spurs 107–105.[1]

(1) Washington Bullets vs. (2) San Antonio Spurs: Bullets win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ Washington: San Antonio 118, Washington 97
  • Game 2 @ Washington: Washington 115, San Antonio 95
  • Game 3 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 116, Washington 114
  • Game 4 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 118, Washington 102
  • Game 5 @ Washington: Washington 107, San Antonio 103
  • Game 6 @ San Antonio: Washington 108, San Antonio 100
  • Game 7 @ Washington: Washington 107, San Antonio 105

NBA Finals

The triumph would set up a rematch with the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Bullets would squeak out a close victory in Game 1 by a score of 99–97. However, the Sonics would rally to win the next 4 and take the series in 5 games.[1]

GameDateHome TeamResultRoad Team
Game 1May 20Washington99–97Seattle
Game 2May 24Washington82–92Seattle
Game 3May 27Seattle105–95Washington
Game 4May 29Seattle114–112Washington
Game 5June 1Washington93–97Seattle

SuperSonics win series 4–1

Victory Parade

On June 9, 1978, the Bullets were feted with a Victory Parade in downtown Washington, DC. The event led to a single-day ridership record on Metrorail of 198,339 trips, but the record only lasted a week.[2]

Awards and honors

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Washington Wizards (1963–Present)
  2. ↑ "Higher Metro Fares?". The Washington Evening Star. 15 June 1978.
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