# 1977–78 NBA season

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.

## Notable occurrences

* On October 10, 1977, and in a shocking moment to Knicks fans, the New York Knicks traded Walt Frazier to the Cleveland Cavaliers as compensation for a free agent signing. That free agent the Knicks got was Jim Cleamons.
* The New York Nets moved from Uniondale, New York to Piscataway, New Jersey, and were renamed the New Jersey Nets. The New York Knicks, who forced the Nets to pay $4.8 million for invading the New York area prior to the previous season, remained the only NBA team in New York City for 35 years, until the Nets moved to Brooklyn in the 2012–13 season.
* The 1978 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, with the East beating the West 133–125. Randy Smith of the Buffalo Braves won the game's MVP award.
* The defending champion Portland Trail Blazers started with a 50–10 record and looked poised to repeat, but Bill Walton broke his foot and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. The Blazers, hurt by Walton's absence and by other key injuries, faded to an 8–14 finish and lost to the Sonics in the Western Conference semifinals.
* On December 9, 1977, Kermit Washington punched Houston Rockets player Rudy Tomjanovich in the face during an NBA game. Tomjanovich sustained serious injuries and missed the rest of the season. The NBA fined Washington $10,000 and suspended him for 26 games.
* Throughout the 1977–78 season, CBS broadcast NBA games during the regular season and the playoffs. During halftime of those games, they showed a pre-taped H–O–R–S–E tournament pitting players from the NBA against each other. It featured, among others, Pete Maravich, Paul Westphal, Bob McAdoo, Kevin Grevey, and George Gervin. Maravich and Westphal made it to the final, and CBS originally planned to hold their match at halftime during an NBA Finals game. However, Maravich was injured and could not participate, so CBS decided to have Westphal compete against "Bag-Man" (who was actually analyst Rick Barry with a bag covering his head) by letting them both shoot a free throw. Westphal, blindfolded, went first and hit his. Barry missed, and Westphal was awarded the trophy. The NBA H–O–R–S–E competition would not be re-instituted for 31 more years, returning for the 2009 All-Star Weekend.
* This was the first season since the 1949–50 season that no Boston Celtics player was named to either the First or Second All-NBA Team.
* This was also the last season for longtime Boston Celtics' player John Havlicek, who retired at the end of the season after sixteen years in the NBA all with the legendary franchise.
* Also retiring this season were Dave Bing, Cazzie Russell and George Karl, though Karl would later become an NBA coach.
* With 8 minutes and 43 seconds of the final quarter remaining in the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks on the 25th of November, the Hawks were leading by 29 points, and looked set for an easy win. The Bucks then outscored the Hawks 35–4 to win the game by two points, 117–115. The Bucks' victory is still the biggest fourth quarter comeback in NBA history.
Coaching changes :
| 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 |

## Teams

1977-78 National Basketball Association :
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 |
| Atlantic | Buffalo Braves | Buffalo, New York | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | 15,280 |
| Atlantic | New Jersey Nets | Piscataway, New Jersey | Rutgers Athletic Center | 8,500 |
| Atlantic | New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 19,812 |
| Atlantic | Philadelphia 76ers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | 18,176 |
| Central | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta, Georgia | Omni Coliseum | 16,378 |
| Central | Cleveland Cavaliers | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | 20,900 |
| Central | Houston Rockets | Houston, Texas | The Summit | 16,285 |
| Central | New Orleans Jazz | New Orleans, Louisiana | Louisiana Superdome | 55,675 |
| Central | San Antonio Spurs | San Antonio, Texas | HemisFair Arena | 16,057 |
| Central | Washington Bullets | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | 18,756 |
| Western Conference |||||
| Midwest | Chicago Bulls | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 18,676 |
| Midwest | Denver Nuggets | Denver, Colorado | McNichols Sports Arena | 17,171 |
| Midwest | Detroit Pistons | Detroit, Michigan | Cobo Arena | 12,191 |
| Midwest | Indiana Pacers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | 17,171 |
| Midwest | Kansas City Kings | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena | 16,700 |
| Midwest | Milwaukee Bucks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | MECCA Arena | 10,783 |
| Pacific | Golden State Warriors | Oakland, California | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 13,155 |
| Pacific | Los Angeles Lakers | Inglewood, California | The Forum | 17,505 |
| Pacific | Phoenix Suns | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 14,870 |
| Pacific | Portland Trail Blazers | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | 12,888 |
| Pacific | Seattle SuperSonics | Seattle, Washington | Seattle Center Coliseum | 17,072 |

## Final standings
### By division

| Atlantic Divisionvte | 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 |
| Central Divisionvte | 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 |
| Midwest Divisionvte | 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 |
| Pacific Divisionvte | 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 |

### By conference

| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | 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 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | 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
* z, y – division champions
* x – clinched playoff spot

## Playoffs

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 | First Round | First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Cleveland | 0 | E5 | New York | 0 | | | | | | |
| E5 | New York | 2 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Philadelphia* | 2 | | | |
| | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | 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 | Western Conference | Western Conference | W4 | Seattle | 4 | | | |
| | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Denver* | 2 | | | |
| | | | W6 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | |
| W3 | Phoenix | 0 | W2 | Denver* | 4 | | | | | | |
| W6 | Milwaukee | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## Statistics leaders

| 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 |

## NBA awards

* Most Valuable Player: Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers
* Rookie of the Year: Walter Davis, Phoenix Suns
* Coach of the Year: Hubie Brown, Atlanta Hawks