1977–78 Denver Nuggets season

The 1977–78 NBA season was the Nuggets' 2nd season in the NBA and 11th season as a franchise.^[1]

1977–78 Denver Nuggets season
Division champions
Head coach	Larry Brown
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	48–34 (.585)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	West Conference finals (lost to SuperSonics 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KWGN-TV
Radio	KOA
< 1976–77 1978–79 >

In the playoffs, the Nuggets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games in the Semifinals, winning their first playoff series in the NBA, before losing to the Seattle SuperSonics in six games in the conference finals.

Draft picks

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	9	Tom LaGarde	C	United States	North Carolina
1	21	Anthony Roberts	SF	United States	Oral Roberts
3	65	Robert Smith	PG	United States	Nevada-Las Vegas
5	109	John Billups		United States	Mississippi
6	130	Jim Town		United States	Massachusetts Amherst
7	150	Willie High		United States	Alabama State
8	169	Len Saunders		United States	Florida

Roster

1977–78 Denver Nuggets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PG 20 Mack Calvin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1947–07–27 USC F 55 Norm Cook 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Kansas F 30 Jacky Dorsey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Georgia PF 31 Bo Ellis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Marquette F/C 30 Darnell Hillman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) San José State C 44 Dan Issel 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Kentucky PF 24 Bobby Jones 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) North Carolina C 45 Tom LaGarde 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) North Carolina PG 15 Jim Price 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Louisville SF 21 Anthony Roberts 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Oral Roberts G/F 10 Ralph Simpson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Michigan State PG 5 Robert Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) UNLV PG 14 Brian Taylor 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Princeton G/F 33 David Thompson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) NC State G/F 32 Bob Wilkerson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Indiana

Head coach Larry Brown Assistant(s) Donnie Walsh Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Denver Nuggets	48	34	.585	–	33–8	15–26	11–9
x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	4	28–13	16–25	14–6
Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	8	29–12	11–30	8–12
Detroit Pistons	38	44	.463	10	24–17	14–27	8–12
Indiana Pacers	31	51	.378	17	21–20	10–31	8–12
Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	17	22–19	9–32	11–9

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	48	34	.585	10
3	x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	14
7	Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15
8	Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	18
9	Detroit Pistons	38	44	.463	20
10	Indiana Pacers	31	51	.378	27
11	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	27

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1977–78 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–1	1–3
Boston	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Buffalo	1–3	1–3	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–3	3–1	1–3	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3
Chicago	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–2	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1
Cleveland	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	2–2
Denver	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–1	1–3	3–1
Detroit	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–0	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2
Golden State	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–1	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2
Houston	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3	1–2	—	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3
Indiana	1–3	1–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–1
Kansas City	1–2	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2
Los Angeles	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	1–3	—	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	2–2	0–3	0–4	2–2	2–2
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–2	4–0	—	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	0–4
New York	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	—	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–2
Philadelphia	2–2	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2
Phoenix	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2
Portland	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	3–1	2–1
San Antonio	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	2–2
Seattle	1–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	—	1–3
Washington	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	2–2	3–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1977–78 game log Total: 48–34 (home: 33–8; road: 15–26)
October: 4–2 (home: 4–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
November: 10–6 (home: 6–0; road: 4–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 November 23 @ Atlanta L 104–105 The Omni 12–6
December: 7–5 (home: 5–1; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 25 December 7 Atlanta W 123–116 McNichols Sports Arena 17–8 34 December 30 @ Atlanta W 106–104 The Omni 21–13
January: 10–4 (home: 6–2; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 8–6 (home: 6–1; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 51 February 8 Atlanta W 114–109 McNichols Sports Arena 33–18
March: 5–9 (home: 4–4; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 4–2 (home: 2–0; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1977–78 schedule

Playoffs

1978 playoff game log
Western Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 18 Milwaukee W 119–103 David Thompson (27) Dan Issel (12) David Thompson (6) McNichols Sports Arena 17,297 1–0 2 April 21 Milwaukee W 127–111 Dan Issel (22) Dan Issel (14) Issel, Calvin (6) McNichols Sports Arena 17,838 2–0 3 April 23 @ Milwaukee L 112–143 three players tied (16) Anthony Roberts (8) David Thompson (5) MECCA Arena 10,938 2–1 4 April 25 @ Milwaukee W 118–104 David Thompson (34) Dan Issel (14) Wilkerson, Sampson (5) MECCA Arena 10,938 3–1 5 April 28 Milwaukee L 112–117 Bobby Jones (25) Dan Issel (15) Bob Wilkerson (8) McNichols Sports Arena 17,838 3–2 6 April 30 @ Milwaukee L 91–119 David Thompson (28) Bobby Jones (10) Bob Wilkerson (6) MECCA Arena 10,938 3–3 7 May 3 Milwaukee W 116–110 David Thompson (37) Bob Wilkerson (12) David Thompson (6) McNichols Sports Arena 17,838 4–3
Western Conference Finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 Seattle W 116–107 Dan Issel (25) Issel, Hillman (11) Bob Wilkerson (10) McNichols Sports Arena 17,387 1–0 2 May 7 Seattle L 111–121 Dan Issel (29) Dan Issel (14) Ralph Sampson (7) McNichols Sports Arena 17,838 1–1 3 May 10 @ Seattle L 91–105 David Thompson (21) Anthony Roberts (8) Jones, Webster (3) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–2 4 May 12 @ Seattle L 94–100 Dan Issel (27) Darnell Hillman (11) Bob Wilkerson (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–3 5 May 14 Seattle W 123–114 David Thompson (35) Bobby Jones (11) Bob Wilkerson (10) McNichols Sports Arena 17,006 2–3 6 May 17 @ Seattle L 108–123 David Thompson (21) Anthony Roberts (16) Bob Wilkerson (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 2–4
1978 schedule

Awards and records

• David Thompson, All-NBA First Team
• Bobby Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team