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1978–79 Washington Bullets season

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.

1978–79 Washington Bullets season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachDick Motta
ArenaCapital Centre
Results
Record54–28 (.659)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(lost to SuperSonics 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWDCA
RadioWTOP
< 1977–78 1979–80 >

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. The Bullets would proceed to have a 38-year drought without a division title until 2017; by then they had been renamed the Washington Wizards. This is the most recent appearance in the conference finals or NBA Finals for the franchise.

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Washington Bullets roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
F42Ballard, Greg6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg)Oregon
C40Corzine, Dave6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)250 lb (113 kg)DePaul
G45Chenier, Phil6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg)California
SF10Dandridge, Bob6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg)Norfolk State
F35Grevey, Kevin6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg)Kentucky
G14Henderson, Tom6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg)Hawaiʻi
C11Hayes, Elvin6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)235 lb (107 kg)Houston
PF25Kupchak, Mitch6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg)North Carolina
G15Johnson, Charles6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg)California
G22Phegley, Roger6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg)Bradley
F41Unseld, Wes6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)245 lb (111 kg)Louisville
G32Wright, Larry6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)160 lb (73 kg)Grambling State
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
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 Bullets5428.659–31–1023–1811–5
x-Philadelphia 76ers4735.573731–1016–259–7
x-New Jersey Nets3745.4511725–1612–297–9
New York Knicks3151.3782323–188–337–9
Boston Celtics2953.3542521–208–336–10
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1z-Washington Bullets5428.659–
2y-San Antonio Spurs4834.5856
3x-Philadelphia 76ers4735.5737
4x-Houston Rockets4735.5737
5x-Atlanta Hawks4636.5618
6x-New Jersey Nets3745.45117
7New York Knicks3151.37823
8Cleveland Cavaliers3052.36624
8Detroit Pistons3052.36624
10Boston Celtics2953.35425
11New Orleans Jazz2656.31728

Record vs. opponents

1978-79 NBA Records
TeamATLBOSCHICLEDENDETGSWHOUINDKCKLALMILNJNNOJNYKPHIPHOPORSASSDCSEAWAS
Atlanta—2–23–13–13–13–11–33–11–32–21–33–02–22–22–22–22–12–23–13–11–32–2
Boston2–2—1–22–21–32–22–11–33–11–31–31–31–32–23–12–20–41–30–41–32–20–4
Chicago1–32–1—1–32–22–23–12–22–20–41–31–32–22–23–11–31–34–00–30–40–41–3
Cleveland1–32–23–1—1–21–32–12–21–31–32–21–33–12–22–22–20–40–40–42–22–20–4
Denver1–33–12–22–1—2–24–01–33–11–33–12–24–03–13–10–33–11–33–12–23–11–3
Detroit1–32–22–23–12–2—1–32–22–22–22–22–10–42–21–31–30–41–31–32–20–31–3
Golden State3–11–21–31–20–43–1—2–22–22–21–32–21–33–13–13–11–32–21–31–33–12–2
Houston1–33–12–22–23–12–22–2—0–43–12–12–23–14–04–00–42–23–13–12–12–22–2
Indiana3–11–32–23–11–32–22–24–0—1–30–42–21–22–12–22–22–23–13–11–30–41–3
Kansas City2–23–14–03–13–12–22–21–33–1—2–22–23–13–12–12–22–21–31–32–22–23–0
Los Angeles3–13–13–12–21–32–23–11–24–02–2—3–12–22–23–01–32–22–22–22–22–22–2
Milwaukee0–33–13–13–12–21–22–22–22–22–21–3—2–23–11–32–22–22–21–31–32–21–3
New Jersey2–23–12–21–30–44–03–11–32–11–32–22–2—3–11–32–23–02–20–42–20–41–3
New Orleans2–22–22–22–21–32–21–30–41–21–32–21–31–3—2–22–21–31–32–20–40–30–4
New York2–21–31–32–21–33–11–30–42–21–20–33–13–12–2—2–20–41–31–32–22–21–3
Philadelphia2–22–23–12–23–03–11–34–02–22–23–12–22–22–22–2—1–31–23–13–11–33–1
Phoenix1–24–03–14–01–34–03–12–22–22–22–22–20–33–14–03–1—3–13–12–21–31–3
Portland2–23–10–44–03–13–12–21–31–33–12–22–22–23–13–12–11–3—2–12–21–33–1
San Antonio1–34–03–04–01–33–13–11–31–33–12–23–14–02–23–11–31–31–2—4–02–21–3
San Diego1–33–14–02–22–22–23–11–23–12–22–23–12–24–02–21–32–22–20–4—2–20–3
Seattle3–12–24–02–21–33–01–32–24–02–22–22–24–03–02–23–13–13–12–22–2—2–2
Washington2–24–03–14–03–13–12–22–23–10–32–23–13–14–03–11–33–11–33–13–02–2—

Playoffs

1979 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1April 15AtlantaW 103–89Elvin Hayes (31)Elvin Hayes (15)Larry Wright (6)Capital Centre
15,721		1–0
2April 17AtlantaL 99–107Bob Dandridge (36)Wes Unseld (10)Tom Henderson (8)Capital Centre
19,035		1–1
3April 20@ AtlantaW 89–77Elvin Hayes (19)Wes Unseld (16)Wes Unseld (8)Omni Coliseum
15,798		2–1
4April 22@ AtlantaW 120–115 (OT)Elvin Hayes (29)Elvin Hayes (17)Bob Dandridge (5)Omni Coliseum
15,798		3–1
5April 24AtlantaL 103–107Elvin Hayes (26)Elvin Hayes (14)Tom Henderson (11)Capital Centre
19,035		3–2
6April 26@ AtlantaL 86–104Elvin Hayes (24)Wes Unseld (12)Wes Unseld (6)Omni Coliseum
15,978		3–3
7April 29AtlantaW 100–94Elvin Hayes (39)Elvin Hayes (15)Bob Dandridge (8)Capital Centre
19,035		4–3
Conference finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1May 4San AntonioL 97–118Bob Dandridge (25)Elvin Hayes (20)Tom Henderson (5)Capital Centre
19,035		0–1
2May 6San AntonioW 115–95Wes Unseld (26)Wes Unseld (22)Tom Henderson (9)Capital Centre
19,035		1–1
3May 9@ San AntonioL 114–116Bob Dandridge (28)Elvin Hayes (23)Wes Unseld (8)HemisFair Arena
15,318		1–2
4May 11@ San AntonioL 102–118Elvin Hayes (23)Wes Unseld (21)Bob Dandridge (9)HemisFair Arena
16,055		1–3
5May 13San AntonioW 107–103Elvin Hayes (24)Elvin Hayes (22)Tom Henderson (9)Capital Centre
19,035		2–3
6May 16@ San AntonioW 108–100Elvin Hayes (25)Elvin Hayes (14)Dandridge, Henderson (8)HemisFair Arena
16,055		3–3
7May 18San AntonioW 107–105Bob Dandridge (37)Elvin Hayes (15)Larry Wright (7)Capital Centre
19,035		4–3
NBA Finals: 1–4 (home: 1–2; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1May 20SeattleW 99–97Larry Wright (26)Wes Unseld (12)Tom Henderson (6)Capital Centre
19,035		1–0
2May 24SeattleL 82–92Bob Dandridge (21)Elvin Hayes (14)Bob Dandridge (5)Capital Centre
19,035		1–1
3May 27@ SeattleL 95–105Bob Dandridge (28)Unseld, Hayes (14)Bob Dandridge (5)Kingdome
35,928		1–2
4May 29@ SeattleL 112–114 (OT)three players tied (18)Wes Unseld (16)Tom Henderson (8)Seattle Center Coliseum
14,098		1–3
5June 1SeattleL 93–97Elvin Hayes (29)Elvin Hayes (14)Bob Dandridge (7)Capital Centre
19,035		1–4
1979 schedule

Awards and honors

References

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