1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season

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. In the playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in three games in the First Round, then upset the defending NBA champions Portland Trail Blazers in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals, before finally defeating the Denver Nuggets in six games in the Conference Finals, making their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history, where they lost the series to the Washington Bullets in 7 games.

1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season
Conference champions
Head coachBob Hopkins,
Lenny Wilkens
General managerZollie Volchok
OwnersSam Schulman
ArenaSeattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record47–35 (.573)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Pacific)
Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Bullets 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTNT-TV
RadioKOMO

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

Roster
Roster listing
1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 32 Brown, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa
F 30 Fleming, Al 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954–04–05 Arizona
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
SF 27 Johnson, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1947–10–18 Iowa
F 45 Seals, Bruce 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–06–18 Xavier (Louisiana)
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
SF 42 Walker, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–07–18 Virginia
C 40 Webster, Marvin 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1952–04–13 Morgan State
PG 1 Williams, Gus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–10 Southern California
Head coach
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 5824.707–36–522–1913–3
x-Phoenix Suns 4933.598934–715–268–8
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4735.5731131–1016–258–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers 4537.5491329–1216–256–10
Golden State Warriors 4339.5241530–1113–285–11
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers5824.707–
2 y-Denver Nuggets4834.58510
3 x-Phoenix Suns4933.5989
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics4735.57311
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers4537.54913
6 x-Milwaukee Bucks4438.53714
7 Golden State Warriors4339.52415
8 Chicago Bulls4042.48818
9 Detroit Pistons3844.46320
10 Indiana Pacers3151.37827
11 Kansas City Kings3151.37827


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 —2–23–11–31–31–32–21–33–13–12–13–12–23–12–22–22–23–11–31–32–11–3
Boston 2–2—3–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–12–21–23–13–12–22–20–42–21–30–40–41–3
Buffalo 1–31–3—3–11–31–31–30–33–11–31–21–31–32–22–23–11–30–41–31–31–31–3
Chicago 3–13–11–3—3–12–22–21–33–13–10–42–21–31–22–21–33–02–21–32–22–22–1
Cleveland 3–13–13–11–3—3–12–22–22–22–12–22–23–13–12–23–11–31–20–40–43–12–2
Denver 3–13–13–12–21–3—2–22–23–02–22–23–13–13–13–11–31–32–23–12–11–33–1
Detroit 2–23–13–12–22–22–2—2–23–11–31–32–22–23–13–00–40–42–21–31–31–32–2
Golden State 3–12–23–03–12–22–22–2—2–13–13–10–42–23–10–42–21–32–21–33–12–22–2
Houston 1–32–21–31–32–20–31–31–2—3–12–21–31–32–21–32–22–21–32–21–30–41–3
Indiana 1–31–23–11–31–22–23–11–31–3—2–21–30–42–22–21–32–21–31–31–31–33–1
Kansas City 1–22–22–14–02–22–23–11–32–22–2—2–20–42–22–20–41–30–40–40–41–32–2
Los Angeles 1–32–13–12–22–21–32–24–03–13–12–2—3–14–02–13–12–21–30–42–21–32–2
Milwaukee 2–21–33–13–11–31–32–22–23–14–04–01–3—3–12–13–11–21–31–32–21–33–1
New Jersey 1–31–32–22–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–20–41–3—0–41–30–42–20–30–42–22–2
New Orleans 2–22–22–22–22–21–31–34–03–12–22–21–21–24–0—1–32–21–33–11–32–20–4
New York 2–22–21–33–11–33–13–02–22–23–14–01–31–33–13–1—1–31–31–32–22–12–2
Philadelphia 2–24–03–11–33–13–14–03–12–22–23–12–22–14–02–23–1—2–12–23–13–12–2
Phoenix 1–32–24–02–22–12–22–22–23–13–14–03–13–12–23–13–11–2—1–32–22–22–2
Portland 3–13–13–13–14–01–33–13–12–23–14–04–03–13–11–33–02–23–1—2–23–12–1
San Antonio 3–14–03–12–24–01–22–11–33–13–14–02–22–24–03–12–21–32–22–2—2–22–2
Seattle 1–24–03–12–21–33–13–12–24–03–13–13–13–12–22–11–31–32–21–32–2—1–3
Washington 3–13–13–11–22–21–32–22–23–11–32–22–21–32–24–02–22–22–21–22–23–1—

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
The Seattle SuperSonics playing the Portland Trail Blazers during the 1978 NBA playoffs.

(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

Player statistics
Legend
GP Games played RPG Rebounds per game BPG Blocks per game
MIN Minutes played APG Assists per game TPG Turnovers per game
PPG Points per game SPG Steals per game FPG Field goals per game



Regular season
Seattle SuperSonics Stats - 1977-78
Player GP MIN PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TPG FPG
Fred Brown 72 27.3 16.6 2.6 3.3 1.5 0.3 2.3 7.1
Al Fleming 20 4.9 2.0 1.5 0.4 0.0 0.3 0.8 0.8
Joe Hassett 48 8.4 4.0 0.8 0.9 0.4 0.0 0.7 1.9
Dennis Johnson 81 27.3 12.7 3.6 2.8 1.5 0.6 2.0 4.5
John Johnson 76 23.8 10.7 4.0 2.8 0.6 0.3 2.2 4.5
Bruce Seals 73 18.1 7.8 3.1 1.1 0.6 0.5 1.4 3.2
Jack Sikma 82 27.3 10.7 8.3 1.6 0.8 0.5 2.3 4.2
Paul Silas 82 26.5 5.8 8.1 1.8 0.8 0.2 1.9 2.2
Wally Walker 68 14.8 6.5 3.0 1.0 0.4 0.1 1.0 2.7
Marvin Webster 82 35.5 14.0 12.6 2.5 0.6 2.0 3.1 5.2
Gus Williams 79 32.6 18.1 3.2 3.7 2.3 0.5 2.4 7.6

Playoffs
Seattle SuperSonics Stats - 1977-78
Player GP MIN PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TPG FPG
Fred Brown 22 26.1 17.3 2.1 2.4 1.0 0.1 1.4 7.0
Al Fleming 5 4.2 1.4 0.8 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.4 0.4
Joe Hassett 8 2.8 1.8 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.9
Dennis Johnson 22 37.6 16.1 4.6 3.3 1.0 1.0 2.5 5.5
John Johnson 22 27.1 10.1 4.5 2.5 0.4 0.3 2.4 4.3
Bruce Seals 9 10.2 3.0 2.2 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.7 1.3
Jack Sikma 22 31.9 13.7 8.1 1.2 0.8 0.5 1.6 5.2
Paul Silas 22 27.5 4.9 8.5 1.6 0.5 0.3 1.4 1.5
Wally Walker 20 13.1 4.7 1.9 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.9 1.8
Marvin Webster 22 41.1 16.1 13.1 2.6 0.3 2.6 3.4 6.2
Gus Williams 22 31.9 18.3 3.9 4.0 2.0 0.5 2.5 7.4

References
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