1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season

1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season
1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	Lenny Wilkens
General manager	Zollie Volchok
Owners	Sam Schulman
Arena	Kingdome
Results
Record	52–30 (.634)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific); Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions; (Defeated Bullets 4–1)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTNT-TV
Radio	KIRO
< 1977–78	1979–80 >

The 1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season was the team's 12th since the franchise began, and their most successful, winning their only NBA title.

In the playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Semi-finals, then defeated the Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a second consecutive season in a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Washington Bullets whom they had lost to in seven games. The Sonics would go on to avenge their NBA Finals loss and defeat the Bullets in five games, winning their first and only NBA championship. Dennis Johnson was named the NBA Finals MVP.

They wouldn't reach another NBA Finals Until 1996 in which they were led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp.

This was Seattle's first professional sports championship since the Seattle Metropolitans victory in the Stanley Cup in 1917.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	39	James Lee	United States	Kentucky
5	105	Ralph Drollinger	United States	UCLA

Roster

1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
C	21	Awtrey, Dennis	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1948–02–22	Santa Clara
G	32	Brown, Fred	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1948–08–07	Iowa
G	10	Hassett, Joe	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1955–09–11	Providence
G	24	Johnson, Dennis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1954–09–18	Pepperdine
F	27	Johnson, John	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1947–10–18	Iowa
F/C	23	LaGarde, Tom	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1955–02–10	North Carolina
F	22	Robinson, Jackie	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1955–05–20	UNLV
F	8	Shelton, Lonnie	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1955–10–19	Oregon State
F/C	43	Sikma, Jack	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1955–11–14	Illinois Wesleyan
F/C	35	Silas, Paul	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1943–07–12	Creighton
G/F	11	Snyder, Dick	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	1944–02–01	Davidson
F	42	Walker, Wally	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1954–07–18	Virginia
G	1	Williams, Gus	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1953–10–10	USC

Head coach

Lenny Wilkens (Providence)

Legend

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

Roster
Last transaction: 1979–06–26

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	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

#	Western Conference v t e
#	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

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

#	Date	City	@	Opponent	Sonics score	Opponent score	OT	Record
1	October 13	Seattle		Chicago Bulls	104	86		1-0
2	October 15	Seattle		Kansas City Kings	115	105		2-0
3	October 17	Manhattan	@	New York Knicks	120	109		3-0
4	October 18	Indianapolis	@	Indiana Pacers	99	92		4-0
5	October 20	Seattle		San Antonio Spurs	133	117		5-0
6	October 25	Seattle		Washington Bullets	121	92		6-0
7	October 27	Seattle		Milwaukee Bucks	80	79		7-0
8	October 29	San Diego	@	San Diego Clippers	100	103		7-1
9	November 2	Detroit	@	Detroit Pistons	95	94		8-1
10	November 3	New Jersey	@	New Jersey Nets	102	81		9-1
11	November 8	Seattle		New York Knicks	100	104		9-2
12	November 10	Seattle		Cleveland Cavs	109	95		10-2
13	November 15	Seattle		New Orleans Jazz	135	118		11-2
14	November 17	Seattle		Indiana Pacers	126	115		12-2
15	November 18	Oakland	@	Golden State Warriors	104	112		12-3
16	November 19	Seattle		Portland Trail Blazers	88	85		13-3
17	November 22	Seattle		Chicago Bulls	98	96		14-3
18	November 24	Seattle		Denver Nuggets	100	103		14-4
19	November 25	Denver	@	Denver Nuggets	110	104		15-4
20	November 26	Seattle		Houston Rockets	103	108		15-5
21	November 29	Seattle		New Jersey Nets	125	111		16-5
22	December 1	Boston	@	Boston Celtics	80	87		16-6
23	December 2	Philadelphia	@	Philadelphia 76ers	100	97		17-6
24	December 8	Seattle		Atlanta Hawks	107	106		18-6
25	December 10	Seattle		San Antonio Spurs	112	99		19-6
26	December 13	Seattle		Los Angeles Lakers	117	107		20-6
27	December 15	Los Angeles	@	Los Angeles Lakers	98	100		20-7
28	December 17	Cleveland	@	Cleveland Cavs	91	101		20-8
29	December 19	Milwaukee	@	Milwaukee Bucks	99	128		20-9
30	December 20	Kansas City	@	Kansas City Kings	95	114		20-10
31	December 22	Seattle		Philadelphia 76ers	95	103		20-11
32	December 25	Seattle		San Diego Clippers	118	123		20-12
33	December 27	Seattle		New Orleans Jazz	122	103		21-12
34	December 29	Seattle		Phoenix Suns	119	92		22-12
35	January 1	Seattle		Golden State Warriors	97	110		22-13
36	January 2	Portland	@	Portland Trail Blazers	109	108		23-13
37	January 3	Seattle		Boston Celtics	123	116		24-13
38	January 5	Seattle		Denver Nuggets	92	95		24-14
39	January 10	Seattle		Indiana Pacers	118	98		25-14
40	January 11	Phoenix	@	Phoenix Suns	109	106		26-14
41	January 14	Seattle		Los Angeles Lakers	99	108		26-15
42	January 17	Indianapolis	@	Indiana Pacers	112	102		27-15
43	January 20	Chicago	@	Chicago Bulls	107	101		28-15
44	January 23	Washington D.C.	@	Washington Bullets	103	100		29-15
45	January 25	Atlanta	@	Atlanta Hawks	100	98		30-15
46	January 26	San Antonio	@	San Antonio Spurs	108	125		30-16
47	January 27	Houston	@	Houston Rockets	99	94		31-16
48	January 31	Seattle		Portland Trail Blazers	115	112		32-16
49	February 1	Seattle		New Jersey Nets	107	102		33-16
50	February 2	Seattle		Milwaukee Bucks	104	102		34-16
51	February 6	Manhattan	@	New York Knicks	99	108		34-17
52	February 7	Boston	@	Boston Celtics	100	107		34-18
53	February 9	Milwaukee	@	Milwaukee Bucks	116	118	OT	34-19
54	February 10	Houston	@	Houston Rockets	101	113		34-20
55	February 14	Seattle		Atlanta Hawks	116	104		35-20
56	February 16	Seattle		Phoenix Suns	119	104		36-20
57	February 18	Seattle		Washington Bullets	94	105		36-21
58	February 20	San Antonio	@	San Antonio Spurs	102	118		36-22
59	February 21	New Orleans	@	New Orleans Jazz	96	94		37-22
60	February 23	Washington D.C.	@	Washington Bullets	110	132		37-23
61	February 25	Kansas City	@	Kansas City Kings	106	114		37-24
62	February 27	Denver	@	Denver Nuggets	106	121		37-25
63	February 28	Seattle		Philadelphia 76ers	97	93		38-25
64	March 2	Seattle		Cleveland Cavs	109	111		38-26
65	March 4	Seattle		Houston Rockets	119	109		39-26
66	March 7	Detroit	@	Detroit Pistons	99	93		40-26
67	March 9	New Jersey	@	New Jersey Nets	108	100		41-26
68	March 11	Atlanta	@	Atlanta Hawks	111	113	OT	41-27
69	March 14	Philadelphia	@	Philadelphia 76ers	99	96		42-27
70	March 15	Cleveland	@	Cleveland Cavs	104	98		43-27
71	March 17	Chicago	@	Chicago Bulls	106	88		44-27
72	March 22	Seattle		Boston Celtics	112	110		45-27
73	March 25	Seattle		Kansas City Kings	111	101		46-27
74	March 27	Seattle		San Diego Clippers	115	109		47-27
75	March 28	Seattle		New York Knicks	111	105		48-27
76	March 30	Phoenix	@	Phoenix Suns	111	113	OT	48-28
77	March 31	Seattle		Detroit Pistons	123	102		49-28
78	April 1	Seattle		Golden State Warriors	102	97		50-28
79	April 3	Portland	@	Portland Trail Blazers	106	102		50-29
80	April 4	San Diego	@	San Diego Clippers	115	107		51-29
81	April 6	Los Angeles	@	Los Angeles Lakers	113	93		52-29
82	April 8	Oakland	@	Golden State Warriors	86	89		52-30

Playoffs

The SuperSonics had a first round bye, then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, and the Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals. Dennis Johnson of the SuperSonics was the Most Valuable Player of the Finals while teammate Gus Williams was the leading scorer, averaging 28.6 points per game.

Game log

1979 playoff game log

Conference Semi-finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 17	Los Angeles	W 112–101	Dennis Johnson (26)	Lonnie Shelton (12)	John Johnson (9)	Kingdome 26,377	1–0
2	April 18	Los Angeles	W 108–103 (OT)	Gus Williams (38)	Jack Sikma (10)	Jack Sikma (8)	Kingdome 26,862	2–0
3	April 20	@ Los Angeles	L 112–118 (OT)	Gus Williams (29)	Paul Silas (13)	Paul Silas (4)	The Forum 17,505	2–1
4	April 22	@ Los Angeles	W 117–115	Gus Williams (30)	D. Johnson, Sikma (11)	Dennis Johnson (7)	The Forum 17,505	3–1
5	April 25	Los Angeles	W 106–100	Gus Williams (30)	Jack Sikma (10)	Jack Sikma (6)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098	4–1

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 1	Phoenix	W 108–93	Gus Williams (27)	Jack Sikma (10)	John Johnson (9)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098	1–0
2	May 4	Phoenix	W 103–97	John Johnson (21)	Lonnie Shelton (15)	Gus Williams (6)	Kingdome 31,964	2–0
3	May 6	@ Phoenix	L 103–113	Gus Williams (22)	J. Johnson, Sikma (9)	Gus Williams (6)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660	2–1
4	May 8	@ Phoenix	L 100–91	Gus Williams (22)	Lonnie Shelton (10)	three players tied (3)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660	2–2
5	May 11	Phoenix	L 93–99	Dennis Johnson (24)	Jack Sikma (12)	John Johnson (5)	Kingdome 28,935	2–3
6	May 13	@ Phoenix	W 106–105	Dennis Johnson (23)	Jack Sikma (10)	Dennis Johnson (6)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660	3–3
7	May 17	Phoenix	W 114–110	Jack Sikma (33)	Jack Sikma (11)	Fred Brown (5)	Kingdome 37,552	4–3

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

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 20	@ Washington	L 97–99	Gus Williams (32)	John Johnson (11)	Dennis Johnson (7)	Capital Centre 19,035	0–1
2	May 24	@ Washington	W 92–82	Gus Williams (23)	Jack Sikma (13)	D. Johnson, J. Johnson (6)	Capital Centre 19,035	1–1
3	May 27	Washington	W 105–95	Gus Williams (31)	Jack Sikma (17)	Dennis Johnson (9)	Kingdome 35,928	2–1
4	May 29	Washington	W 114–112 (OT)	Gus Williams (36)	Jack Sikma (17)	John Johnson (13)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098	3–1
5	June 1	@ Washington	W 97–93	Gus Williams (23)	Jack Sikma (17)	John Johnson (6)	Capital Centre 19,035	4–1

1979 schedule

Awards and records

Dennis Johnson, NBA All-Defensive First Team
Dennis Johnson, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player

References

External links

Seattle PI: Photos | 1979 National Champion Seattle SuperSonics