1977–78 Washington Bullets season

Updated on Nov 10, 2023

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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.

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