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1978–79 NBA season

The1978–79 NBA seasonwas the 33rd season of theNational 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.

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)

Notable occurrences

  • TheBuffalo Bravesmoved 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 inNew Orleans,Louisiana, before moving toSalt Lake City. It would be 23 years before New Orleans received another NBA franchise.

  • TheLos Angeles Lakersplay their final season under the ownership ofJack 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
Kansas City Kings 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

Final standings

By division

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

          By conference

          		 Eastern Conference
            Team W L PCT GB
            1 z-Washington Bullets 54 28 .659 –
            2 y-San Antonio Spurs 48 34 .585 6
            3 x-Philadelphia 76ers 47 35 .573 7
            4 x-Houston Rockets 47 35 .573 7
            5 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 8
            6 x-New Jersey Nets 37 45 .451 17
            7 New York Knicks 31 51 .378 23
            8 Cleveland Cavaliers 30 52 .366 24
            8 Detroit Pistons 30 52 .366 24
            10 Boston Celtics 29 53 .354 25
            11 New Orleans Jazz 26 56 .317 28

            		Western Conference
              Team W L PCT GB
              1 z-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 .634 –
              2 y-Kansas City Kings 48 34 .585 4
              3 x-Phoenix Suns 50 32 .610 2
              4 x-Denver Nuggets 47 35 .573 5
              5 x-Los Angeles Lakers 47 35 .573 5
              6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 45 37 .549 7
              7 San Diego Clippers 43 39 .524 9
              8 Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 14
              9 Milwaukee Bucks 38 44 .463 14
              10 Golden State Warriors 38 44 .463 14
              11 Chicago Bulls 31 51 .378 21

              Notes

              • z,y– division champions

              • x– clinched playoff spot

              Statistics leaders

              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

              NBA awards

              • Most Valuable Player:Moses Malone, Houston Rockets

              • Rookie of the Year:Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings

              • Coach of the Year:Cotton Fitzsimmons, Kansas City Kings

              • All-NBA First Team:Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs Moses Malone, Houston Rockets Marques Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks Elvin Hayes, Washington Bullets

              • All-NBA Second Team:Walter Davis, Phoenix Suns Bob Dandridge, Washington Bullets Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,Los Angeles LakersLloyd Free, San Diego Clippers Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings

              • All-NBA Rookie Team:Mychal Thompson, Portland Trail Blazers Terry Tyler, Detroit Pistons Ron Brewer, Portland Trail Blazers Reggie Theus, Chicago Bulls Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings

              • NBA All-Defensive First Team:Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers Bobby Dandridge, Washington Bullets Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,Los Angeles LakersDennis Johnson, Seattle SuperSonics Don Buse, Phoenix Suns

              • NBA All-Defensive Second Team:Maurice Lucas, Portland Trail Blazers M. L. Carr, Detroit Pistons Moses Malone, Houston Rockets Lionel Hollins, Portland Trail Blazers Eddie Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

              *Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com[1]*

              References

              [1]

              Citation Linkwww.nba.comNBA.com

              Sep 25, 2019, 1:49 AM
              [2]

              Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).

              Sep 25, 2019, 1:49 AM