1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season
NBA professional basketball team season (won Championship)
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The 1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season was the team's 12th since the franchise began, and their most successful, winning their only NBA title while being based in Seattle.
| 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 | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KIRO-TV 7 (Wayne Cody, Steve Jones) |
| Radio | KIRO–AM 710 (Bob Blackburn) |
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 would not reach another NBA Finals until 1996 in which they were led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. They also would not win another until 2025 as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This was Seattle's first professional sports championship since the Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917.
Off-season
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 39 | James Lee |  United States |
Kentucky |
| 5 | 105 | Ralph Drollinger | United States |
UCLA |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Head coach
Legend
Roster |
Season standings
| 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 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Game log
Regular season
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.[1] 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.
| 1979 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conference Semifinals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
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Conference Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
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NBA Finals: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1)
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| 1979 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||