1979–80 Kansas City Kings season

The 1979–80 NBA season was the Kings 31st season in the NBA and their eighth season in Kansas City.^[1]

1979–80 Kansas City Kings season
Head coach	Cotton Fitzsimmons
General manager	John Begzos
Owners	Leon Karosen Robert Margolin H. Paul Rosenberg
Arena	Municipal Auditorium Kemper Arena
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (eliminated 1-2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KBMA-TV
Radio	KCMO
< 1978–79 1980–81 >

Due to a June 1979 storm which caused the collapse of Kemper Arena's roof, the Kings were forced to play most of their home games at Municipal Auditorium, their Kansas City home during their first two seasons in the Midwest (the Kings split their home schedule between Kansas City and Omaha during the 1972–73, 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons before settling in Kansas City full-time). The Kings were able to return to Kemper late in the season.

Draft picks

Main article: 1979 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Roster

1979–80 Kansas City Kings roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SG 10 Otis Birdsong 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Houston C 16 Tommy Burleson 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) NC State C 41 Len Elmore 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Maryland PG 1 Phil Ford 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) North Carolina F 22 Gus Gerard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Virginia SG 20 Ernie Grunfeld 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Tennessee F 51 Reggie King 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Alabama C 44 Sam Lacey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) New Mexico State G 25 Billy McKinney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Northwestern F 52 Bill Robinzine 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) DePaul G 15 Scott Wedman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Colorado

Head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons Assistant(s) Frank Hamblen 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-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	–	28–12	21–21	15–9
x-Kansas City Kings	47	35	.573	2	30–11	17–24	18–6
Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	19	21–20	9–32	8–16
Denver Nuggets	30	52	.366	19	24–17	6–35	10–14
Utah Jazz	24	58	.293	25	17–24	7–34	9–15

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	60	22	.732	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	11
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	56	26	.683	4
4	x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	5
5	x-Kansas City Kings	47	35	.573	13
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	22
7	San Diego Clippers	35	47	.427	25
8	Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	30
9	Denver Nuggets	30	52	.366	30
10	Utah Jazz	24	58	.293	36
11	Golden State Warriors	24	58	.293	36

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Regular season

1979–80 game log Total: 47–35 (Home: 29–12; Road: 18–23)
October: 5–5 (home: 2–2; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 October 26 @ Los Angeles L 104–116 The Forum 3–4
November: 8–9 (home: 5–3; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 14 November 7 @ Philadelphia L 102–110 The Spectrum 5–9 17 November 13 Philadelphia W 110–103 Municipal Auditorium 6–11 18 November 15 Los Angeles W 114–108 Municipal Auditorium 7–11 24 November 25 @ Los Angeles L 110–111 The Forum 11–13
December: 9–4 (home: 7–1; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 38 December 26 Los Angeles W 118–111 Municipal Auditorium 22–16
January: 13–5 (home: 7–1; road: 6–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 6–4 (home: 4–2; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break 63 February 15 @ Los Angeles L 100–114 The Forum 37–26
March: 6–8 (home: 4–3; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 70 March 5 Los Angeles L 101–117 Kemper Arena 42–28
1979–80 schedule

Playoffs

1980 playoff game log
First round: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 2 @ Phoenix L 93–96 Otis Birdsong (23) Reggie King (10) Phil Ford (7) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 0–1 2 April 4 Phoenix W 106–96 Scott Wedman (32) Scott Wedman (9) Phil Ford (13) Kemper Arena 9,637 1–1 3 April 6 @ Phoenix L 99–114 Scott Wedman (24) Reggie King (11) Phil Ford (6) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,306 1–2
1980 schedule

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

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

• Scott Wedman, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions