1978–79 Washington Bullets season

Eastern Conference Champions

Head coach

Arena

Results
Record	54–28 (.659)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (Eliminated 1-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WDCA
Radio	WJMD
< 1977–78	1979–80 >

Coming off their NBA Championship, 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. Despite their league best record, the Bullets would end the season on a sour note losing 8 of their last 11.

Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve
C	Wes Unseld		Dave Corzine
PF	Elvin Hayes	Mitch Kupchak
SF	Bob Dandridge	Greg Ballard
SG	Kevin Grevey	Charles Johnson	Roger Phegley
PG	Tom Henderson	Larry Wright	Phil Chenier

Regular season

Season standings

**Atlantic Division**
Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Washington Bullets	54	28	.659	-
Philadelphia 76ers	47	35	.573	7
New Jersey Nets	37	45	.451	17
New York Knicks	31	51	.378	23
Boston Celtics	29	53	.354	25

^[2]

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG

Playoffs

East First Round

The Bullets had a first round bye.

East Conference Semifinals

In the conference semifinal round of the playoffs, the Bullets needed 7 games to beat the Atlanta Hawks. The Bullets nearly lost the series as they had a 3-1 series lead.^[1]

(1) Washington Bullets vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks: Bullets win series 4-3

Game 1 @ Washington: Washington 103, Atlanta 89
Game 2 @ Washington: Atlanta 107, Washington 99
Game 3 @ Atlanta: Washington 89, Atlanta 77
Game 4 @ Atlanta: Washington 120, Atlanta 118 (OT)
Game 5 @ Washington: Atlanta 107, Washington 103
Game 6 @ Atlanta: Atlanta 104, Washington 86
Game 7 @ Washington: Washington 100, Atlanta 94

East Conference Finals

In the Eastern Finals, the Bullets would find themselves down 3 games to 1 facing the San Antonio Spurs. The Bullets would rally to win the next 2 games and force a 7th game at home. In Game 7 the Bullets would rally again. They overcame a 4th Quarter deficit to beat the Spurs 107-105.^[1]

(1) Washington Bullets vs. (2) San Antonio Spurs: Bullets win series 4-3

Game 1 @ Washington: San Antonio 118, Washington 97
Game 2 @ Washington: Washington 115, San Antonio 95
Game 3 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 116, Washington 114
Game 4 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 118, Washington 102
Game 5 @ Washington: Washington 107, San Antonio 103
Game 6 @ San Antonio: Washington 108, San Antonio 100
Game 7 @ Washington: Washington 107, San Antonio 105

NBA Finals

The triumph would set up a rematch with the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Bullets would squeak out a close victory in Game 1 by a score of 99-97. However, the Sonics would rally to win the next 4 and take the series in 5 games.^[1]

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	May 20	Washington	99-97	Seattle
Game 2	May 24	Washington	82-92	Seattle
Game 3	May 27	Seattle	105-95	Washington
Game 4	May 29	Seattle	114-112	Washington
Game 5	June 1	Washington	93-97	Seattle

SuperSonics win series 4-1

Awards and honors

Bob Ferry, NBA Executive of the Year Award
Elvin Hayes, All-NBA First Team
Bob Dandridge, All-NBA Second Team
Bob Dandridge, NBA All-Defensive First Team

References

Bullets on Basketball Reference

1978–79 NBA season by team

1978 NBA Draft
All-Star Game
Playoffs
Finals
Transactions

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston New Jersey New York Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Cleveland Detroit Houston New Orleans San Antonio

Western

Midwest	Chicago Denver Indiana Kansas City Milwaukee

Pacific	Golden State Los Angeles Phoenix Portland San Diego Seattle

Chicago Packers/Zephyrs-Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets-Washington Wizards seasons

1960s

1970s

1977–78

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

Washington Wizards

Formerly the Chicago Packers, the Chicago Zephyrs, the Baltimore Bullets, the Capital Bullets, and the Washington Bullets Founded in 1961 Based in Washington, D.C.

The Franchise	Franchise Expansion Draft Head coaches Seasons Current season

Arenas	International Amphitheatre Chicago Coliseum Baltimore Civic Center Cole Field House Capital Centre/US Airways Arena Verizon Center

General Managers	Ferry Nash Unseld Grunfeld

D-League Affiliate	Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Administration	Ted Leonsis (Owner) Ernie Grunfeld (President & GM of Basketball Ops.) Randy Wittman (Head Coach)

Retired Numbers	10 11 25 41

NBA Championships (1)	1978

Conference Championships (4)	1971 1975 1978 1979

Culture and lore	Wes Unseld 1975 championship upset It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings The Big E Abe Pollin Washington Bullets Earl the Pearl The Phone Booth Agent Zero Robin Ficker

Media	TV WDCW Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic The Comcast Network Radio WJFK-FM Announcers Steve Buckhantz Phil Chenier Dave Johnson Glenn Consor

Sports teams based in the Washington, D.C. area

Baseball	MLB Washington Nationals EL Bowie Baysox CL Frederick Keys Potomac Nationals ALPB Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

Basketball	NBA Washington Wizards WNBA Washington Mystics

Football	NFL Washington Redskins WFA D.C. Divas

Hockey	NHL Washington Capitals

Soccer	MLS D.C. United NWSL Washington Spirit PDL Northern Virginia Royals Fredericksburg Hotspur W-League Fredericksburg Lady Gunners Northern Virginia Majestics

Roller derby	WFTDA DC Rollergirls

Rugby League	USA Rugby League Washington D.C. Slayers

Tennis	WTT Washington Kastles

College athletics	NCAA Div. I American Georgetown George Mason George Washington Howard Maryland Mount St. Mary's Navy NCAA Div. II UDC NCAA Div. III Gallaudet University Marymount University

Main article: Sports in Washington, D.C.