Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

1978–79 NBA season

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Sport
  
Basketball

Picked by
  
Portland Trail Blazers

Champion
  
Seattle Supersonics

Number of games
  
82

Top draft pick
  
Mychal Thompson

TV partner(s)
  
CBS

Eastern champions
  
Washington Bullets

Start date
  
1978

Number of teams
  
22

League
  
National Basketball Association

Duration
  
October 13, 1978 – April 8, 1979

Top scorer
  
George Gervin (San Antonio Spurs)

Season MVP
  
Moses Malone (Houston Rockets)

The 1978–79 NBA season was the 33rd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Seattle SuperSonics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Washington Bullets 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals, a rematch of the previous year's Finals, but with the opposite result.

Contents

Notable occurrences

  • The Buffalo Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California and became the San Diego Clippers, shifting from the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference to the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.
  • The Detroit Pistons changed conferences, moving from the Midwest Division of the Western Conference to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, where they remain today.
  • The Washington Bullets shifted from the Central Division to the Atlantic Division.
  • The NBA adopted a three-official system similar to the one used in college basketball on a one-year trial basis. The experiment is scrapped for the 1979–80 season, but returns permanently in 1988–89.
  • The 1979 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, with the West defeating the East 134–129 in overtime. David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets won the game's MVP award.
  • The Jazz played their final season in New Orleans, Louisiana, before moving to Salt Lake City. It would be 23 years before New Orleans received another NBA franchise.
  • The Los Angeles Lakers play their final season under the ownership of Jack Kent Cooke.

  • Notes

  • z, y – division champions
  • x – clinched playoff spot
  • NBA awards

  • Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
  • Rookie of the Year: Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings
  • Coach of the Year: Cotton Fitzsimmons, Kansas City Kings
  • All-NBA First Team:
  • Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns
  • George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
  • Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
  • Marques Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Elvin Hayes, Washington Bullets
  • All-NBA Rookie Team:
  • Mychal Thompson, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Terry Tyler, Detroit Pistons
  • Ron Brewer, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Reggie Theus, Chicago Bulls
  • Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings
  • NBA All-Defensive First Team:
  • Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Bobby Dandridge, Washington Bullets
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Dennis Johnson, Seattle SuperSonics
  • Don Buse, Phoenix Suns
  • NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
  • Maurice Lucas, Portland Trail Blazers
  • M. L. Carr, Detroit Pistons
  • Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
  • Lionel Hollins, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Eddie Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
  • Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

    References

    1978–79 NBA season Wikipedia