1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season

1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season
Conference Champions
Head coach	Bob Hopkins, Lenny Wilkens
General manager	Zollie Volchok
Owner(s)	Sam Schulman
Arena	Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (lost 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KIRO-TV
Radio	KOMO–AM

The 1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 11th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). With a disappointing 5–17 start, the Sonics replaced coach Bob Hopkins with future Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who led the team to a 47–35 finish. After upsetting the defending champions Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Sonics made their first trip to the NBA Finals, where they lost the series to the Washington Bullets in 7 games.

Draft picks

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	8	Jack Sikma	Forward/Center	United States	Illinois Wesleyan
3	52	Joe Hassett	Guard	United States	Providence
4	74	Jim Cooper		United States	Alabama
5	96	Dale Haberman		United States	McKendree
6	118	Bucky O'Brien		United States	Seattle
7	138	Billy Reynolds		United States	Northwestern State
8	158	Jeff Frey		United States	Evansville

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	DOB	From
1.5 !G	32	USA !	Brown, Fred	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1948–08–07	Iowa
4.0 !F	30	USA !	Fleming, Al	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1954–04–05	Arizona
1.5 !G	10	USA !	Hassett, Joe	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1955–09–11	Providence
1.5 !G	24	USA !	Johnson, Dennis	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1954–09–18	Pepperdine
4.0 !F	27	USA !	Johnson, John	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1947–10–18	Iowa
4.0 !F	45	USA !	Seals, Bruce	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1953–06–18	Xavier (Louisiana)
5.5 !F/C	43	USA !	Sikma, Jack	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1955–11–14	Illinois Wesleyan
5.5 !F/C	35	USA !	Silas, Paul	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1943–07–12	Creighton
4.0 !F	42	USA !	Walker, Wally	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1954–07–18	Dayton
6.0 !C	40	USA !	Webster, Marvin	7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1952–04–13	Morgan State
1.5 !G	1	USA !	Williams, Gus	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1953–10–10	South Carolina

Head coach

Lenny Wilkens (Providence)

Legend

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

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–	36–5	22–19	13–3
x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9	34–7	15–26	8–8
x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11	31–10	16–25	8–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13	29–12	16–25	6–10
Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15	30–11	13–28	5–11

#	Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	48	34	.585	10
3	x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	14

7	Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15
8	Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	18
9	Detroit Pistons	38	44	.463	20
10	Indiana Pacers	31	51	.378	27
10	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	27

Record vs. opponents

1977–78 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–1	1–3
Boston	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Buffalo	1–3	1–3	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–3	3–1	1–3	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3
Chicago	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–2	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1
Cleveland	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	2–2
Denver	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–1	1–3	3–1
Detroit	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–0	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2
Golden State	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–1	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2
Houston	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3	1–2	—	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3
Indiana	1–3	1–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–1
Kansas City	1–2	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2
Los Angeles	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	1–3	—	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	2–2	0–3	0–4	2–2	2–2
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–2	4–0	—	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	0–4
New York	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	—	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–2
Philadelphia	2–2	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2
Phoenix	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2
Portland	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	3–1	2–1
San Antonio	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	2–2
Seattle	1–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	—	1–3
Washington	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	2–2	3–1	—

Game log

1977–78 game log
Total: 47–35 (Home: 31–10; Road: 16–25)

October : 1–6 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–4)

November : 5–11 (Home: 3–5; Road: 2–6)

December : 11–3 (Home: 7–1; Road: 4–2)

January : 10–2 (Home: 8–1; Road: 2–1)

February : 7–5 (Home: 3–1; Road: 4–4)

March : 9–7 (Home: 5–0; Road: 4–7)

April : 4–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–1)

1977–78 season schedule

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers: Sonics win series 2-1

Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 102, Los Angeles 90
Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 105, Seattle 99
Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 111, Los Angeles 102

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Portland: Seattle 104, Portland 95
Game 2 @ Portland: Portland 96, Seattle 93
Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 99, Portland 84
Game 4 @ Seattle: Seattle 100, Portland 98
Game 5 @ Portland: Portland 113, Seattle 89
Game 6 @ Seattle: Seattle 105, Portland 94

West Conference Finals

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Denver: Denver 116, Seattle 107
Game 2 @ Denver: Seattle 121, Denver 111
Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 105, Denver 91
Game 4 @ Seattle: Seattle 100, Denver 94
Game 5 @ Denver: Denver 123, Seattle 114
Game 6 @ Seattle: Seattle 123, Denver 108

NBA Finals

(3) Washington Bullets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Bullets win series 4-3

Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 106, Washington 102
Game 2 @ Washington: Washington 106, Seattle 98
Game 3 @ Washington: Seattle 93, Washington 92
Game 4 @ Seattle: Washington 120, Seattle 116 (OT)
Game 5 @ Seattle: Seattle 98, Washington 94
Game 6 @ Washington: Washington 117, Seattle 82
Game 7 @ Seattle: Washington 105, Seattle 99

Awards and honors

NBA All-Rookie First Team: Jack Sikma

References

SuperSonics on Basketball Reference

1977–78 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Buffalo New Jersey New York Philadelphia

Central	Atlanta Cleveland Houston New Orleans San Antonio Washington

Western

Midwest	Chicago Denver Detroit Indiana Kansas City Milwaukee

Pacific	Golden State Los Angeles Phoenix Portland Seattle

Seattle SuperSonics seasons

1960s

1970s

1978–79

1980s

1990s

2000s

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

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