1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 11th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). With a disappointing 5–17 start, the Sonics replaced coach Bob Hopkins with future Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who led the team to a 47–35 finish. In the playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in three games in the First Round, then upset the defending NBA champions Portland Trail Blazers in six games in the Western Conference semifinals, before finally defeating the Denver Nuggets in six games in the conference finals, making their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history, where they lost the series to the Washington Bullets in 7 games.

1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season
Conference champions
Head coach	Bob Hopkins, Lenny Wilkens
General manager	Zollie Volchok
Owners	Sam Schulman
Arena	Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (lost to Bullets 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KTNT-TV
Radio	KOMO
< 1976–77 1978–79 >

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	8	Jack Sikma	Forward/Center	United States	Illinois Wesleyan
3	52	Joe Hassett	Guard	United States	Providence

Roster

1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 32 Fred Brown 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa F 30 Al Fleming 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954–04–05 Arizona G 10 Joe Hassett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–09–11 Providence G 24 Dennis Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954–09–18 Pepperdine SF 27 John Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1947–10–18 Iowa F 45 Bruce Seals 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–06–18 Xavier (LA) F/C 43 Jack Sikma 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1955–11–14 Illinois Wesleyan F/C 35 Paul Silas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943–07–12 Creighton SF 42 Wally Walker 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–07–18 Virginia C 40 Marvin Webster 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1952–04–13 Morgan State PG 1 Gus Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–10 USC

Head coach Lenny Wilkens (Providence) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–	36–5	22–19	13–3
x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9	34–7	15–26	8–8
x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11	31–10	16–25	8–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13	29–12	16–25	6–10
Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15	30–11	13–28	5–11

#	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

Game log

Regular season

1977–78 game log Total: 47–35 (home: 31–10; road: 16–25)
October: 1–6 (home: 1–2; road: 0–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 19 @ Golden State L 84–116 Fred Brown 21 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,871 0–1 2 October 21 Portland L 99–106 Bruce Seals 28 Seattle Center Coliseum 12,156 0–2 3 October 23 San Antonio L 94–112 Bruce Seals 19 Seattle Center Coliseum 10,422 0–3 4 October 25 @ Phoenix L 86–93 Bruce Seals 20 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,917 0–4 5 October 26 Buffalo W 97–92 Fred Brown 37 Seattle Center Coliseum 8,689 1–4 6 October 29 @ Chicago L 97–101 Slick Watts 16 Chicago Stadium 12,871 1–5 7 October 30 @ Milwaukee L 95–108 Gus Williams 21 MECCA Arena 10,107 1–6
November : 5–11 (home: 3–5; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 8 November 1 @ Atlanta L 99–102 Mike Green 17 Omni Coliseum 7,782 1–7 9 November 2 @ Indiana W 106–104 (OT) Gus Williams 27 Market Square Arena 11,753 2–7 10 November 4 New York L 92–95 Fred Brown 31 Seattle Center Coliseum 13,895 2–8 11 November 5 @ Portland L 94–116 Marvin Webster 23 Memorial Coliseum 12,666 2–9 12 November 6 Kansas City L 83–99 Fred Brown 14 Seattle Center Coliseum 11,276 2–10 13 November 11 Indiana W 117–111 Fred Brown, Gus Williams 20 Seattle Center Coliseum 9,349 3 10 14 November 13 New Orleans W 117–83 Three players 20 Seattle Center Coliseum 9,637 4–10 15 November 15 @ Washington L 109–111 Gus Williams (23) Marvin Webster (13) Slick Watts, Marvin Webster (3) Capital Centre 5,593 4–11 16 November 16 @ Philadelphia L 96–101 Slick Watts, Marvin Webster (17) Marvin Webster (19) Fred Brown, John Johnson (5) The Spectrum 13,314 4–12 17 November 17 @ New Orleans L 116–127 Slick Watts 18 Louisiana Superdome 8,112 4–13 18 November 20 Cleveland L 108–115 Fred Brown 31 Seattle Center Coliseum 10,005 4–14 19 November 23 L. A. Lakers W 113–89 Fred Brown 21 Seattle Center Coliseum 9,373 5–14 20 November 25 Chicago L 89–106 Gus Williams 20 Seattle Center Coliseum 9,384 5–15 21 November 27 New Jersey L 96–99 Gus Williams 36 Seattle Center Coliseum 9,475 5–16 22 November 29 @ Denver L 99–115 Wally Walker (18) Jack Sikma, Marvin Webster (8) Slick Watts (7) McNichols Sports Arena 13,122 5–17 23 November 30 @ Kansas City W 86–84 Gus Williams 24 Kemper Arena 7,692 6–17
December : 11–3 (home: 7–1; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 24 December 2 @ Boston W 111–89 Dennis Johnson 24 Boston Garden 11,101 7–17 25 December 3 @ Buffalo W 102–95 Gus Williams 29 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 6,841 8–17 26 December 5 Atlanta W 99–88 Gus Williams 26 Seattle Center Coliseum 10,285 9–17 27 December 9 Milwaukee W 136–123 Gus Williams 33 Seattle Center Coliseum 12,946 10–17 28 December 11 Houston W 116–84 Marvin Webster 17 Seattle Center Coliseum 12,154 11–17 29 December 13 @ Cleveland L 104–116 Fred Brown 23 Coliseum at Richfield 6,666 11–18 30 December 14 @ Detroit W 102–92 Gus Williams 37 Cobo Arena 4,503 12–18 31 December 16 @ L. A. Lakers W 98–90 Fred Brown 24 The Forum 10,029 13–18 32 December 18 Washington W 111–109 (OT) Marvin Webster (21) Marvin Webster (23) Marvin Webster (7) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,563 14–18 33 December 20, 1977 Denver W 93–88 Fred Brown, Dennis Johnson (18) Marvin Webster (15) John Johnson (6) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,825 15–18 34 December 22 Boston W 132–99 Bruce Seals, Jack Sikma 21 Seattle Center Coliseum 11,970 16–18 35 December 25 L. A. Lakers L 96–111 John Johnson 22 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 16–19 36 December 27 @ Phoenix L 105–131 Fred Brown 28 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,543 16–20 37 December 30 Phoenix W 121–110 Dennis Johnson Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 17–20
January : 10–2 (home: 8–1; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 38 January 1 Chicago W 114–96 Gus Williams 32 Seattle Center Coliseum 11,419 18–20 39 January 4 Kansas City W 116–110 Fred Brown 20 Seattle Center Coliseum 9,979 19–20 40 January 8 Golden State W 99–91 Marvin Webster 17 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 20–20 41 January 11 Detroit W 106–100 Marvin Webster 21 Seattle Center Coliseum 10,127 21–20 42 January 13 Cleveland W 104–98 Fred Brown 23 Seattle Center Coliseum 12,683 22–20 43 January 15 New York W 108–102 Gus Williams 30 Seattle Center Coliseum 12,538 23–20 44 January 17 @ San Antonio L 113–119 Jack Sikma 26 HemisFair Arena 8,677 23–21 45 January 18 @ Houston W 106–104 Fred Brown 23 The Summit 7,046 24–21 46 January 22 @ Boston W 103–92 Gus Williams 29 Boston Garden 12,058 25–21 47 January 25 Philadelphia L 125–128 John Johnson (23) Jack Sikma (15) Three players (6) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 25–22 48 January 27 New Jersey W 95–90 Fred Brown 25 Seattle Center Coliseum 13,013 26–22 49 January 29 Milwaukee W 103–101 Gus Williams 22 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 27–22
February : 7–5 (home: 3–1; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 50 February 8 Washington L 100–106 Gus Williams (21) Paul Silas (13) Paul Silas (4) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,126 27–23 51 February 10 Denver W 126–123 (OT) Marvin Webster (26) Marvin Webster (14) Three players (4) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,795 28–23 52 February 12 @ Philadelphia L 99–109 Gus Williams (28) Marvin Webster (21) Fred Brown (4) The Spectrum 16,101 28–24 53 February 14 @ Buffalo L 100–101 Fred Brown 20 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 4,127 28–25 54 February 16 @ New Jersey L 92–101 Gus Williams 24 Rutgers Athletic Center 3,117 28–26 55 February 17 @ Chicago W 106–98 Gus Williams 23 Chicago Stadium 17,211 29–26 56 February 19 @ Milwaukee W 108–103 Gus Williams 23 MECCA Arena 10,938 30–26 57 February 21 @ New York L 120–122 Gus Williams 24 Madison Square Garden 12,287 30–27 58 February 22 @ New Jersey W 94–83 Gus Williams 31 Rutgers Athletic Center 2,789 31–27 59 February 25 Detroit W 118–104 Gus Williams 22 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 32–27 60 February 26 Philadelphia W 99–97 Fred Brown (32) Marvin Webster (11) Three players (4) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 33–27 61 February 28 @ Kansas City W 114–107 (OT) Gus Williams 27 Kemper Arena 5,371 34–27
March : 9–7 (home: 5–0; road: 4–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 62 March 3 @ Indiana L 111–115 Gus Williams 20 Market Square Arena 10,087 34–28 63 March 4 @ New Orleans L 104–113 Dennis Johnson 23 Louisiana Superdome 16,232 34–29 64 March 5 @ Atlanta L 94–101 Fred Brown, Jack Sikma 20 Omni Coliseum 3,018 34–30 65 March 8 @ San Antonio W 95–94 Dennis Johnson 27 HemisFair Arena 9,113 35–30 66 March 11 @ Houston W 93–91 Fred Brown 25 The Summit 7,144 36–30 67 March 14 @ Washington L 115–120 Dennis Johnson (26) Marvin Webster (13) Gus Williams (6) Capital Centre 7,804 36–31 68 March 16 New Orleans W 123–98 Gus Williams 19 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 37–31 69 March 17 @ L. A. Lakers W 105–98 Dennis Johnson 23 The Forum 12,997 38–31 70 March 19 San Antonio W 116–98 Fred Brown 20 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 39–31 71 March 21 @ Portland L 96–102 John Johnson 26 Memorial Coliseum 12,666 39–32 72 March 22 Buffalo W 97–92 Gus Williams 25 Seattle Center Coliseum 13,179 40–32 73 March 24 Indiana W 104–102 Jack Sikma 28 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 41–32 74 March 26 Boston W 112–101 Gus Williams 34 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 42–32 75 March 28 @ Cleveland L 100–112 Dennis Johnson 21 Coliseum at Richfield 9,765 42–33 76 March 29 @ Detroit L 116–121 Gus Williams 32 Cobo Arena 4,620 42–34 77 March 31 @ Denver W 111–109 John Johnson (25) Paul Silas (12) Gus Williams (8) McNichols Sports Arena 17,270 43–34
April : 4–1 (home: 4–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 78 April 2 Portland W 101–86 Gus Williams 29 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 44–34 79 April 5 Houston W 113–100 Gus Williams 22 Seattle Center Coliseum 12,846 45–34 80 April 7 Phoenix W 95–83 Fred Brown 16 Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 46–34 81 April 8 @ Golden State L 87–102 Gus Williams 20 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,327 46–35 82 April 9 Golden State W 111–105 Fred Brown 24 Seattle Center Coliseum 13,285 47–35
1977–78 season schedule

Playoffs

1978 playoff game log
First Round: 2–1 (home: 2–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 12 Los Angeles W 102–90 Gus Williams (23) Marvin Webster (14) Fred Brown (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–0 2 April 14 @ Los Angeles L 99–105 Dennis Johnson (21) Marvin Webster (10) Sikma, Williams (4) The Forum 15,051 1–1 3 April 16 Los Angeles W 111–102 Jack Sikma (24) Marvin Webster (18) Gus Williams (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 2–1
Conference semifinals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 18 @ Portland W 104–95 Marvin Webster (24) Jack Sikma (11) Dennis Johnson (4) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 1–0 2 April 21 @ Portland L 93–96 Gus Williams (31) Marvin Webster (15) Marvin Webster (7) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 1–1 3 April 23 Portland W 99–84 J. Johnson, Brown (18) Marvin Webster (23) Fred Brown (4) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 2–1 4 April 26 Portland W 100–98 Jack Sikma (28) Jack Sikma (10) Dennis Johnson (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 3–1 5 April 30 @ Portland L 89–113 Marvin Webster (16) Paul Silas (10) Gus Williams (4) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 3–2 6 May 1 Portland W 105–94 Dennis Johnson (20) Marvin Webster (11) Gus Williams (7) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 4–2
Conference finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 @ Denver L 107–116 Marvin Webster (28) Marvin Webster (16) Gus Williams (8) McNichols Sports Arena 17,387 0–1 2 May 7 @ Denver W 121–111 Fred Brown (26) Paul Silas (12) Fred Brown (6) McNichols Sports Arena 17,838 1–1 3 May 10 Denver W 105–91 John Johnson (20) Marvin Webster (16) Dennis Johnson, Marvin Webster (3) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 2–1 4 May 12 Denver W 100–94 Dennis Johnson (31) Paul Silas (14) John Johnson (7) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 3–1 5 May 14 @ Denver L 114–123 Gus Williams (31) Marvin Webster (12) John Johnson, Gus Williams (6) McNichols Sports Arena 17,006 3–2 6 May 17 Denver W 123–108 Fred Brown (26) Paul Silas (13) Dennis Johnson (7) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 4–2
NBA finals: 3–4 (home: 2–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 21 Washington W 106–102 Fred Brown (30) Marvin Webster (14) Dennis Johnson (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–0 2 May 25 @ Washington L 98–106 Gus Williams (24) Marvin Webster (12) Three players (4) Capital Centre 19,035 1–1 3 May 28 @ Washington W 93–92 Marvin Webster, Gus Williams (20) Paul Silas (14) Five players (2) Capital Centre 19,035 2–1 4 May 30 Washington L 116–120 (OT) Dennis Johnson (33) Marvin Webster (15) Paul Silas (6) Kingdome 39,457 2–2 5 June 2 Washington W 98–94 Fred Brown (26) Marvin Webster (13) John Johnson (7) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 3–2 6 June 4 @ Washington L 82–117 Fred Brown (17) Marvin Webster (12) Gus Williams (6) Capital Centre 19,035 3–3 7 June 7 Washington L 99–105 Marvin Webster (27) Marvin Webster (19) Gus Williams (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 3–4
1978 schedule

The Seattle SuperSonics playing the Portland Trail Blazers during the 1978 NBA playoffs.

Awards and honors

• NBA All-Rookie First Team: Jack Sikma

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	RPG	Rebounds per game	BPG	Blocks per game
MIN	Minutes played	APG	Assists per game	TPG	Turnovers per game
PPG	Points per game	SPG	Steals per game	FPG	Field goals per game

Regular season

Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
Fred Brown	72	27.3	16.6	2.6	3.3	1.5	0.3	2.3	7.1
Al Fleming	20	4.9	2.0	1.5	0.4	0.0	0.3	0.8	0.8
Joe Hassett	48	8.4	4.0	0.8	0.9	0.4	0.0	0.7	1.9
Dennis Johnson	81	27.3	12.7	3.6	2.8	1.5	0.6	2.0	4.5
John Johnson	76	23.8	10.7	4.0	2.8	0.6	0.3	2.2	4.5
Bruce Seals	73	18.1	7.8	3.1	1.1	0.6	0.5	1.4	3.2
Jack Sikma	82	27.3	10.7	8.3	1.6	0.8	0.5	2.3	4.2
Paul Silas	82	26.5	5.8	8.1	1.8	0.8	0.2	1.9	2.2
Wally Walker	68	14.8	6.5	3.0	1.0	0.4	0.1	1.0	2.7
Marvin Webster	82	35.5	14.0	12.6	2.5	0.6	2.0	3.1	5.2
Gus Williams	79	32.6	18.1	3.2	3.7	2.3	0.5	2.4	7.6

Playoffs

Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
Fred Brown	22	26.1	17.3	2.1	2.4	1.0	0.1	1.4	7.0
Al Fleming	5	4.2	1.4	0.8	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.4	0.4
Joe Hassett	8	2.8	1.8	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.9
Dennis Johnson	22	37.6	16.1	4.6	3.3	1.0	1.0	2.5	5.5
John Johnson	22	27.1	10.1	4.5	2.5	0.4	0.3	2.4	4.3
Bruce Seals	9	10.2	3.0	2.2	0.9	0.2	0.2	0.7	1.3
Jack Sikma	22	31.9	13.7	8.1	1.2	0.8	0.5	1.6	5.2
Paul Silas	22	27.5	4.9	8.5	1.6	0.5	0.3	1.4	1.5
Wally Walker	20	13.1	4.7	1.9	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.9	1.8
Marvin Webster	22	41.1	16.1	13.1	2.6	0.3	2.6	3.4	6.2
Gus Williams	22	31.9	18.3	3.9	4.0	2.0	0.5	2.5	7.4