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
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. This also remains the last 50 win for Washington.

Offseason

NBA draft

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

Roster

Players

Coaches

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

Head coach

Dick Motta

Assistant(s)

Bernie Bickerstaff

Legend

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

Regular season

Season standings

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

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	—

Game log

Regular season

1978–79 game log
Total: 54–28 (home: 31–10; road: 23–18)

October: 4–5 (home: 3–1; road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
3	October 18	@ Philadelphia	W 121–111	Johnson (19)	Unseld (11)	Henderson, Unseld (6)	The Spectrum 12,065	3–0
6	October 25	@ Seattle	L 92–121	Dandridge (16)	Ballard (9)	Dandridge (6)	Kingdome 15,089	4–2
9	October 31	Atlanta	L 108–110	Dandridge (26)	Kupchak (10)	Unseld (10)	Capital Centre 5,487	4–5

November: 11–2 (home: 6–1; road: 5–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
11	November 4	San Antonio	W 124–119	Hayes (28)	Hayes (14)	Henderson (11)	Capital Centre 12,619	6–5
13	November 10	Philadelphia	L 122–123	Hayes (36)	Unseld (17)	Dandridge, Grevey, Henderson (5)	Capital Centre 14,697	7–6
14	November 11	@ San Antonio	L 124–143	Kupchak (27)	Hayes (11)	Henderson (8)	HemisFair Arena 12,363	7–7

December: 9–5 (home: 5–2; road: 4–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
24	December 2	Kansas City	L 109–110				Capital Centre 14,297	16–8
28	December 9	Phoenix	W 101–98	Dandridge (23)	Unseld (20)	Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 17,438	19–9
32	December 20	@ Phoenix	W 137–129	Dandridge (36)	Hayes (11)	Henderson (13)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,789	23–9

January: 10–3 (home: 7–1; road: 3–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
38	January 5	Phoenix	W 104–94	Kupchak (25)	Hayes (26)	Henderson (10)	Capital Centre 14,929	26–12
39	January 6	@ Atlanta	W 106–102	Hayes (26)	Hayes (13)	Wright (6)	The Omni 9,105	27–12
45	January 23	Seattle	L 100–103	Dandridge (23)	Unseld (13)	Dandridge (7)	Capital Centre 15,232	31–14
47	January 26	@ Kansas City	L 128–142				Kemper Arena 10,301	32–15
49	January 30	Atlanta	W 109–105	Hayes (23)	Hayes (18)	Dandridge (6)	Capital Centre 14,398	34–15

February: 8–4 (home: 3–1; road: 5–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
50	February 1	@ San Antonio	W 123–122	Dandridge (36)	Unseld (19)	Henderson (10)	HemisFair Arena 12,516	35–15
All-Star Break
53	February 11	@ Philadelphia	L 99–107	Dandridge (29)	Dandridge (17)	Dandridge (6)	The Spectrum 15,151	37–16
55	February 15	@ Phoenix	L 108–119	Dandridge (30)	Hayes (13)	Henderson (6)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660	38–17
57	February 18	@ Seattle	W 105–94	Hayes (33)	Hayes (16)	Dandridge (7)	Kingdome 21,935	39–18
59	February 23	Seattle	W 132–110	Hayes (32)	Unseld (13)	Henderson, Unseld (7)	Capital Centre 19,035	40–19

March: 9–6 (home: 5–3; road: 4–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
62	March 4	San Antonio	W 129–128	Hayes (32)	Hayes (20)	Henderson (10)	Capital Centre 17,181	43–19
64	March 9	@ Kansas City	L 116–121				Kemper Arena 13,681	43–21
74	March 27	Philadelphia	L 97–100	Hayes (23)	Unseld (16)	Unseld (7)	Capital Centre 18,741	50–24

April: 3–3 (home: 2–1; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
81	April 7	@ Atlanta	L 102–103	Hayes (29)	Unseld (15)	Unseld (7)	The Omni 15,641	54–27

1978–79 schedule

Playoffs

1979 playoff game log

Eastern 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	Hayes (31)	Hayes (15)	Wright (6)	Capital Centre 15,721	1–0
2	April 17	Atlanta	L 99–107	Dandridge (36)	Unseld (10)	Henderson (8)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–1
3	April 20	@ Atlanta	W 89–77	Hayes (19)	Unseld (16)	Unseld (8)	The Omni 15,798	2–1
4	April 22	@ Atlanta	W 120–115 (OT)	Hayes (29)	Hayes (17)	Dandridge (5)	The Omni 15,798	3–1
5	April 24	Atlanta	L 103–107	Hayes (26)	Hayes (14)	Henderson (11)	Capital Centre 19,035	3–2
6	April 26	@ Atlanta	L 86–104	Hayes (24)	Unseld (12)	Unseld (6)	The Omni 15,978	3–3
7	April 29	Atlanta	W 100–94	Hayes (39)	Hayes (15)	Dandridge (8)	Capital Centre 19,035	4–3

Eastern 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	Dandridge (25)	Hayes (20)	Henderson (5)	Capital Centre 19,035	0–1
2	May 6	San Antonio	W 115–95	Unseld (26)	Unseld (22)	Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–1
3	May 9	@ San Antonio	L 114–116	Dandridge (28)	Hayes (23)	Unseld (8)	HemisFair Arena 15,318	1–2
4	May 11	@ San Antonio	L 102–118	Hayes (23)	Unseld (21)	Dandridge (9)	HemisFair Arena 16,055	1–3
5	May 13	San Antonio	W 107–103	Hayes (24)	Hayes (22)	Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 19,035	2–3
6	May 16	@ San Antonio	W 108–100	Hayes (25)	Hayes (14)	Dandridge, Henderson (8)	HemisFair Arena 16,055	3–3
7	May 18	San Antonio	W 107–105	Dandridge (37)	Hayes (15)	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	Wright (26)	Unseld (12)	Henderson (6)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–0
2	May 24	Seattle	L 82–92	Dandridge (21)	Hayes (14)	Dandridge (5)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–1
3	May 27	@ Seattle	L 95–105	Dandridge (28)	Hayes, Unseld (14)	Dandridge (5)	Kingdome 35,928	1–2
4	May 29	@ Seattle	L 112–114 (OT)	Grevey, Hayes, Johnson (18)	Unseld (16)	Henderson (8)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098	1–3
5	June 1	Seattle	L 93–97	Hayes (29)	Hayes (14)	Dandridge (7)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–4