1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season

1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season
NBA Champions
Conference Champions
Division Champions
First NBA Championship
Head coach	Lenny Wilkens
General manager	Zollie Volchok
Owner(s)	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 @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KIRO-TV
Radio	KIRO-AM and FM

The 1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season was the team's 12th since the franchise began, and their most successful, winning their only NBA title. This was Seattle's first professional sports championship since the Seattle Metropolitans victory in the Stanley Cup in 1917.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	39	James Lee	United States	Kentucky
2	42	Kevin McDonald	United States	Pennsylvania
3	61	Dave Baxter	United States	Michigan
4	83	Billy Lewis	United States	Illinois State University
5	105	Ralph Drollinger	United States	UCLA

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics 1978–79 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. DOB From C 21 Awtrey, Dennis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948–02–22 Santa Clara G 32 Brown, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa 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 F 27 Johnson, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1947–10–18 Iowa F/C 23 LaGarde, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1955–02–10 North Carolina F 22 Robinson, Jackie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1955–05–20 UNLV F 8 Shelton, Lonnie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1955–10–19 Oregon State 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 G/F 11 Snyder, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1944–02–01 Davidson F 42 Walker, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–07–18 Virginia G 1 Williams, Gus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–10 Southern California	Head coach Lenny Wilkens (Providence) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 1979–06–26

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Jack Sikma	Dennis Awtrey	Tom LaGarde
PF	Lonnie Shelton	Paul Silas
SF	John Johnson	Wally Walker		Jackie Robinson
SG	Dennis Johnson	Dick Snyder	Joe Hassett
PG	Gus Williams	Fred Brown

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	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

Record vs. opponents

1978-79 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2
Boston	2–2	—	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–4
Chicago	1–3	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Cleveland	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	1–2	1–3	2–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4
Denver	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	0–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3
Detroit	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3
Golden State	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–2	0–4	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2
Houston	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	0–4	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2
Indiana	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	4–0	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3
Kansas City	2–2	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–0
Los Angeles	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2
Milwaukee	0–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3
New Jersey	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	4–0	3–1	1–3	2–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–0	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–4	1–3
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–3	0–4
New York	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	0–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	1–3	1–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1
Phoenix	1–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–3	3–1	4–0	3–1	—	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3
Portland	2–2	3–1	0–4	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–3	—	2–1	2–2	1–3	3–1
San Antonio	1–3	4–0	3–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–2	—	4–0	2–2	1–3
San Diego	1–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	0–4	—	2–2	0–3
Seattle	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	2–2
Washington	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	—

Playoffs

West First Round

The SuperSonics had a first round bye.

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers: Sonics win series 4-1

• Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 112, Los Angeles 101
• Game 2 @ Seattle: Seattle 108, Los Angeles 103 (OT)
• Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 118, Seattle 112 (OT)
• Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Seattle 117, Los Angeles 115
• Game 5 @ Seattle: Seattle 106, Los Angeles 100

West Conference Finals

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Phoenix Suns: Sonics win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 108, Phoenix 93
• Game 2 @ Seattle: Seattle 103, Phoenix 97
• Game 3 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 113, Seattle 103
• Game 4 @ Phoenix: Phoenix 100, Seattle 91
• Game 5 @ Seattle: Phoenix 99, Seattle 93
• Game 6 @ Phoenix: Seattle 106, Phoenix 105
• Game 7 @ Seattle: Seattle 114, Phoenix 110

NBA finals

Dennis Johnson of the SuperSonics was the Most Valuable Player of the Finals while Gus Williams of the SuperSonics was the top scorer, averaging 28.6 points per game.

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	May 20	Washington	99-97	Seattle
Game 2	May 24	Washington	82-92	Seattle
Game 3	May 27	Seattle	105-95	Washington
Game 4	May 29	Seattle	114-112	Washington
Game 5	June 1	Washington	93-97	Seattle

SuperSonics win series 4-1

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dennis Awtrey
Fred Brown
Lars Hansen
Joe Hassett
Dennis Johnson
John Johnson
Tom LaGarde
Jackie Robinson
Lonnie Shelton
Jack Sikma
Paul Silas
Dick Snyder
Wally Walker
Gus Williams

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dennis Awtrey
Fred Brown
Joe Hassett
Dennis Johnson
John Johnson
Lonnie Shelton
Jack Sikma
Paul Silas
Dick Snyder
Wally Walker
Gus Williams

Awards and records

• Dennis Johnson, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Dennis Johnson, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player

References

• SuperSonics on Database Basketball
• SuperSonics on Basketball Reference

External links

• Seattle PI: Photos | 1979 National Champion Seattle SuperSonics