| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
To use the update on any article, insert:
{{1977–78 NBA East standings}}
To highlight the New York Knicks, insert:
{{1977–78 NBA East standings|team=NYK}}
For the other teams, use:
- Washington Bullets - WSB
- Boston Celtics - BOS
- Houston Rockets - HOU
- Cleveland Cavaliers - CLE
- Buffalo Braves - BUF
- Atlanta Hawks - ATL
- Philadelphia 76ers - PHI
- New Orleans Jazz - NOJ
- New Jersey Nets - NJN
- San Antonio Spurs - SAS