1978–79 Washington Bullets season

1978–79 Washington Bullets season
1978–79 Washington Bullets season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	Dick Motta
Arena	Capital Centre
Results
Record	54–28 (.659)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic); Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals; (lost to SuperSonics 1–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WDCA
Radio	WTOP
< 1977–78	1979–80 >

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.

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[edit]

NBA draft[edit]

Round 1: Roger Phegley, Dave Corzine
Round 2: Terry Sykes (Never played in the NBA)
Round 4: Lawrence Boston

Roster[edit]

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
F	42	Ballard, Greg	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Oregon
C	40	Corzine, Dave	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	DePaul
G	45	Chenier, Phil	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	California
SF	10	Dandridge, Bob	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Norfolk State
F	35	Grevey, Kevin	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Kentucky
G	14	Henderson, Tom	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Hawaiʻi
C	11	Hayes, Elvin	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Houston
PF	25	Kupchak, Mitch	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	North Carolina
G	15	Johnson, Charles	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	California
G	22	Phegley, Roger	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Bradley
F	41	Unseld, Wes	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Louisville
G	32	Wright, Larry	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Grambling State

Head coach

Dick Motta

Assistant coach(es)

Bernie Bickerstaff

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season[edit]

Season standings[edit]

Atlantic Division v t e	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

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	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

Record vs. opponents[edit]

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	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2
Boston	2–2	—	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–4
Chicago	1–3	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Cleveland	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	1–2	1–3	2–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4
Denver	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	0–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3
Detroit	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3
Golden State	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–2	0–4	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2
Houston	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	0–4	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2
Indiana	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	4–0	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3
Kansas City	2–2	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–0
Los Angeles	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2
Milwaukee	0–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3
New Jersey	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	4–0	3–1	1–3	2–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–0	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–4	1–3
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–3	0–4
New York	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	0–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	1–3	1–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1
Phoenix	1–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–3	3–1	4–0	3–1	—	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3
Portland	2–2	3–1	0–4	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–3	—	2–1	2–2	1–3	3–1
San Antonio	1–3	4–0	3–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–2	—	4–0	2–2	1–3
San Diego	1–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	0–4	—	2–2	0–3
Seattle	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	2–2
Washington	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	—

Playoffs[edit]

1979 playoff game log

Conference semifinals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 15	Atlanta	W 103–89	Elvin Hayes (31)	Elvin Hayes (15)	Larry Wright (6)	Capital Centre 15,721	1–0
2	April 17	Atlanta	L 99–107	Bob Dandridge (36)	Wes Unseld (10)	Tom Henderson (8)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–1
3	April 20	@ Atlanta	W 89–77	Elvin Hayes (19)	Wes Unseld (16)	Wes Unseld (8)	Omni Coliseum 15,798	2–1
4	April 22	@ Atlanta	W 120–115 (OT)	Elvin Hayes (29)	Elvin Hayes (17)	Bob Dandridge (5)	Omni Coliseum 15,798	3–1
5	April 24	Atlanta	L 103–107	Elvin Hayes (26)	Elvin Hayes (14)	Tom Henderson (11)	Capital Centre 19,035	3–2
6	April 26	@ Atlanta	L 86–104	Elvin Hayes (24)	Wes Unseld (12)	Wes Unseld (6)	Omni Coliseum 15,978	3–3
7	April 29	Atlanta	W 100–94	Elvin Hayes (39)	Elvin Hayes (15)	Bob Dandridge (8)	Capital Centre 19,035	4–3

Conference finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 4	San Antonio	L 97–118	Bob Dandridge (25)	Elvin Hayes (20)	Tom Henderson (5)	Capital Centre 19,035	0–1
2	May 6	San Antonio	W 115–95	Wes Unseld (26)	Wes Unseld (22)	Tom Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–1
3	May 9	@ San Antonio	L 114–116	Bob Dandridge (28)	Elvin Hayes (23)	Wes Unseld (8)	HemisFair Arena 15,318	1–2
4	May 11	@ San Antonio	L 102–118	Elvin Hayes (23)	Wes Unseld (21)	Bob Dandridge (9)	HemisFair Arena 16,055	1–3
5	May 13	San Antonio	W 107–103	Elvin Hayes (24)	Elvin Hayes (22)	Tom Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 19,035	2–3
6	May 16	@ San Antonio	W 108–100	Elvin Hayes (25)	Elvin Hayes (14)	Dandridge, Henderson (8)	HemisFair Arena 16,055	3–3
7	May 18	San Antonio	W 107–105	Bob Dandridge (37)	Elvin Hayes (15)	Larry Wright (7)	Capital Centre 19,035	4–3

NBA Finals: 1–4 (home: 1–2; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 20	Seattle	W 99–97	Larry Wright (26)	Wes Unseld (12)	Tom Henderson (6)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–0
2	May 24	Seattle	L 82–92	Bob Dandridge (21)	Elvin Hayes (14)	Bob Dandridge (5)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–1
3	May 27	@ Seattle	L 95–105	Bob Dandridge (28)	Unseld, Hayes (14)	Bob Dandridge (5)	Kingdome 35,928	1–2
4	May 29	@ Seattle	L 112–114 (OT)	three players tied (18)	Wes Unseld (16)	Tom Henderson (8)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098	1–3
5	June 1	Seattle	L 93–97	Elvin Hayes (29)	Elvin Hayes (14)	Bob Dandridge (7)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–4