1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season

1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach Lenny Wilkens
General manager Zollie Volchok
Owner(s) Sam Schulman
Arena Kingdome
Results
Record 52–30 (.634)
Place Division: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish NBA Champions
(Defeated Bullets 4–1)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television KTNT-TV
Radio KIRO

The 1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season was the team's 12th since the franchise began, and their most successful, winning their only NBA title.

In the playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Semifinals, then defeated the Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a second consecutive season, in a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Washington Bullets, whom they had lost to in seven games. The Sonics would go on to avenge their NBA Finals loss and defeat the Bullets in five games, winning their first and only NBA championship. Dennis Johnson was named the NBA Finals MVP.

This was Seattle's first professional sports championship since the Seattle Metropolitans victory in the Stanley Cup in 1917.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Club Team
2 39 James Lee  United States Kentucky
2 42 Kevin McDonald  United States Pennsylvania
3 61 Dave Baxter  United States Michigan
4 83 Billy Lewis  United States Illinois State University
5 105 Ralph Drollinger  United States UCLA

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics 1978–79 roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHt.Wt.DOBFrom
C 21 United States Awtrey, Dennis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948–02–22 Santa Clara
G 32 United States Brown, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa
G 10 United States Hassett, Joe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–09–11 Providence
G 24 United States Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954–09–18 Pepperdine
F 27 United States Johnson, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1947–10–18 Iowa
F/C 23 United States LaGarde, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1955–02–10 North Carolina
F 22 United States Robinson, Jackie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1955–05–20 UNLV
F 8 United States Shelton, Lonnie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1955–10–19 Oregon State
F/C 43 United States Sikma, Jack 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1955–11–14 Illinois Wesleyan
F/C 35 United States Silas, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943–07–12 Creighton
G/F 11 United States Snyder, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1944–02–01 Davidson
F 42 United States Walker, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–07–18 Virginia
G 1 United States 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

Roster
Last transaction: 1979–06–26

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 5230.634–31-1021-2011–9
x-Phoenix Suns 5032.610232–918–2311–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers 4735.573531–1016–2511–9
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4537.549733–812–298–12
San Diego Clippers 4339.524929–1214–2711–9
Golden State Warriors 3844.4631423–1815–268–12

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

West First Round

The SuperSonics had a first round bye.

West Conference Semifinals

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

  • Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 112, Los Angeles 101
  • Game 2 @ Seattle: Seattle 108, Los Angeles 103 (OT)
  • Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 118, Seattle 112 (OT)
  • Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Seattle 117, Los Angeles 115
  • Game 5 @ Seattle: Seattle 106, Los Angeles 100

West Conference Finals

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Phoenix Suns: Sonics win series 4-3

  • Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 108, Phoenix 93
  • Game 2 @ Seattle: Seattle 103, Phoenix 97
  • Game 3 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 113, Seattle 103
  • Game 4 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 100, Seattle 91
  • Game 5 @ Seattle: Phoenix 99, Seattle 93
  • Game 6 @ Phoenix: Seattle 106, Phoenix 105
  • Game 7 @ Seattle: Seattle 114, Phoenix 110

NBA finals

Dennis Johnson of the SuperSonics was the Most Valuable Player of the finals while teammate Gus Williams was the leading scorer, averaging 28.6 points per game.

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

Awards and records

References

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