Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

1977–78 Washington Bullets season

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Head coach
  
Dick Motta

Record
  
44–38 (.537)

Arena
  
Capital Centre

Place
  
Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)

Playoff finish
  
NBA Champions (Defeated SuperSonics 4–3)

Television
  
WDCA–TV 20 (Jim Karvellas, Gus Johnson)

The 1977–78 Washington Bullets were the world champions of professional basketball, beating the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals, 4 games to 3.

Contents

The Bullets got off to a slow start in the regular season, losing 6 of their first 10 games. On January 13, the Bullets beat the defending Champion Portland Trail Blazers to improve to 24–15, capping an 18–5 run over 23 games. Injuries would begin to have an effect on the team as the Bullets struggled, as they would lose 13 of their next 18 games. Hovering a few games above .500 for the rest of the season, the Bullets managed to make the playoffs with a 44–38 record.

Game log

Key:      Win      Loss

Notes:

Game Officials

Player stats

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

Opponents Note: G= Games; W= Wins; L= Losses; FG%= Field Goal Percentage; FT%= Free Throw Percentage; FTA%= Free Throw Attempts Percentage; AVG = Average

East First Round

As the playoffs began, the Bullets began to get healthy. They started to play solid basketball at the right time as they swept the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

(3) Washington Bullets vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks: Bullets win series 2–0

  • Game 1 @ Washington: Washington 103, Atlanta 94
  • Game 2 @ Atlanta: Washington 107, Atlanta 103 (OT)

    • East Conference Semifinals

    In the second round, the Bullets stunned the Central Division champion San Antonio Spurs in 6 games. Game 6 started out oddly as Spurs guard Mike Gale was forced to a wear an inside out Bullets uniform after losing his uniform at the airport. In the 3rd period the Spurs would make a run and take a 62–61 lead when the lights went out at the Cap Centre. When the lights came back on the Bullets would come out shooting on the way to a 103–100 win.

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

  • Game 1 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 114, Washington 103
  • Game 2 @ San Antonio: Washington 121, San Antonio 117
  • Game 3 @ Washington: Washington 118, San Antonio 105
  • Game 4 @ Washington: Washington 98, San Antonio 95
  • Game 5 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 116, Washington 105
  • Game 6 @ Washington: Washington 103, San Antonio 100

    • East Conference Finals

    In the Eastern Finals, the Bullets took a 3–1 series lead against the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers. The Bullets lost Game 5 on the road and returned home to play Game 6. In the closing seconds, Wes Unseld would rebound a shot of his own miss to give the Bullets a dramatic 101–99 victory.

    (1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (3) Washington Bullets: Bullets win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Washington 122, Philadelphia 117 (OT)
  • Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 110, Washington 104
  • Game 3 @ Washington: Washington 123, Philadelphia 108
  • Game 4 @ Washington: Washington 121, Philadelphia 105
  • Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 107, Washington 94
  • Game 6 @ Washington: Washington 101, Philadelphia 99

    • NBA Finals

    After being swept in their previous two trips to the NBA Finals (by Milwaukee in 1971 and Golden State in 1975), the Bullets lost Game 1 on the road against the Seattle SuperSonics, and a 19-point lead vanished in the process. In Game 4, the Bullets rose to the occasion beating the Sonics 120–116 to even the series at 2 games apiece. After losing Game 5 in Seattle, the Bullets kept their hopes alive with a dominating 117–82 win at the Capital Centre. Game 7 returned to Seattle and the Bullets were a heavy underdog. Kevin Grevey suffered a sprained wrist above his shooting hand, and Bob Dandridge was forced to see some action at guard. Dandridge would play strongly and scored 19 points to tie with Charles Johnson, who hit a half court shot at the end of the 3rd quarter, for the team high. Wes Unseld scored 15 points while pulling down 9 rebounds as the Bullets emerged with a 105–99 victory to win their first NBA Championship.

    (E3) Washington Bullets vs. (W4) 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

    • Game Log

    Key:      Win      Loss

    Notes:

    Game Officials

    Playoffs player stats

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

    Opponents Note: G= Games; W= Wins; L= Losses; FG%= Field Goal Percentage; FT%= Free Throw Percentage; FTA%= Free Throw Attempts Percentage; AVG = Average

    Awards and honors

  • Wes Unseld, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award

    • References

    1977–78 Washington Bullets season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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