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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) |
NBA seasons | |
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.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1976–77 coach | 1977–78 coach |
Buffalo Braves | Joe Mullaney (interim) | Cotton Fitzsimmons |
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 |
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
# |
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
# |
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E4 | Cleveland | 0 | E5 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||||
E5 | New York | 2 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Philadelphia* | 2 | |||||||||||||
E3 | Washington | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | Washington | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | Washington | 2 | E2 | San Antonio* | 2 | ||||||||||||||
E6 | Atlanta | 0 | E3 | Washington | 4 | ||||||||||||||
W4 | Seattle | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | Portland* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W4 | Seattle | 2 | W4 | Seattle | 4 | ||||||||||||||
W5 | Los Angeles | 1 | Western Conference | W4 | Seattle | 4 | |||||||||||||
W2 | Denver* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W6 | Milwaukee | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W3 | Phoenix | 0 | W2 | Denver* | 4 | ||||||||||||||
W6 | Milwaukee | 2 |
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 |
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