1979–80 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1979–80 NBA season was the SuperSonics' 13th season in the NBA.^[1] The SuperSonics entered the season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Washington Bullets in five games in the 1979 NBA Finals, winning their first NBA championship.

1979–80 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coach	Lenny Wilkens
General manager	Zollie Volchok
Owner(s)	Sam Schulman
Arena	Kingdome Seattle Center Coliseum (playoffs) Hec Edmundson Pavilion (playoffs)
Results
Record	56–26 (.683)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference finals (lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KIRO-TV
Radio	KIRO
< 1978–79 1980–81 >

In the playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in three games in the First Round, then defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games in the Semi-finals, before losing to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the conference finals.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1979 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	6	James Bailey	PF/C	United States	Rutgers
1	7	Vinnie Johnson	SG	United States	Baylor
2	43	Johnny Moore	PG	United States	Texas
4	73	James Donaldson	C	United States	Washington State

Roster

1979–80 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PF 20 James Bailey 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1957–05–21 Rutgers SG 32 Fred Brown 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa SG 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 SG 15 Vinnie Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1956–09–01 Baylor C 23 Tom LaGarde 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1955–02–10 North Carolina PF 8 Lonnie Shelton 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1955–10–19 Oregon State C 43 Jack Sikma 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1955–11–14 Illinois Wesleyan PF 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 PG 1 Gus Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–10 USC

Head coach Lenny Wilkens Assistant(s) Les Habegger Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: October 11, 1979

Standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	60	22	.732	–	37–4	23–18	19–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics	56	26	.683	4	33–8	23–18	18–12
x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	5	37–5	18–22	19–11
x-Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	22	26–15	12–29	13–17
San Diego Clippers	35	47	.427	25	24–17	11–30	13–17
Golden State Warriors	24	58	.293	36	15–26	9–32	8–22

#	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

Game log

Regular season

G	Date	Opponent	Score	Record
1	October 14	@ San Diego	L 93–98	0–1
2	October 16	@ Phoenix	L 86–102	0–2
3	October 17	Los Angeles	W 112–110	1–2
4	October 19	San Diego	W 106–98	2–2
5	October 21	@ Los Angeles	L 97–106	2–3
6	October 24	Kansas City	W 105–92	3–3
7	October 26	Phoenix	L 86–92	3–4
8	October 27	@ San Diego	L 105–110	3–5
9	October 28	Chicago	W 108–97	4–5
10	October 31	Denver	W 97–89	5–5
11	November 2	San Antonio	W 117–107	6–5
12	November 4	@ Milwaukee	W 114–101	7–5
13	November 6	@ Chicago	W 114–97	8–5
14	November 7	@ Denver	L 92–113	8–6
15	November 10	@ Utah	W 88–87	9–6
16	November 14	Milwaukee	W 136–117	10–6
17	November 16	Cleveland	W 108–100	11–6
18	November 17	@ Golden State	W 108–103	12–6
19	November 18	@ Portland	L 95–100	12–7
20	November 21	Los Angeles	W 119–110	13–7
21	November 23	Portland	W 94–90	14–7
22	November 28	Phoenix	W 127–116	15–7
23	November 30	@ Kansas City	W 107–102 (OT)	16–7
24	December 1	@ Utah	L 95–97	16–8
25	December 2	Golden State	W 111–98	17–8
26	December 5	Utah	W 115–96	18–8
27	December 8	@ Golden State	W 125–100	19–8
28	December 9	Chicago	L 112–121	19–9
29	December 11	@ Milwaukee	W 103–99	20–9
30	December 12	@ Indiana	W 112–107	21–9
31	December 14	Houston	W 109–101	22–9
32	December 16	Denver	W 123–121	23–9
33	December 19	New Jersey	L 114–122	23–10
34	December 21	New York	W 121–102	24–10
35	December 23	@ Los Angeles	L 97–102	24–11
36	December 26	San Diego	W 124–104	25–11
37	December 28	Portland	W 126–97	26–11
38	December 30	@ Portland	W 107–100	27–11
39	January 2	Washington	L 134–139 (2OT)	27–12
40	January 4	Detroit	W 123–105	28–12
41	January 5	@ Golden State	W 121–112	29–12
42	January 6	@ San Diego	L 103–105	29–13
43	January 8	Indiana	W 120–111	30–13
44	January 11	Utah	W 100–90	31–13
45	January 12	@ Denver	W 105–102	32–13
46	January 13	Golden State	W 109–101	33–13
47	January 15	@ Washington	W 120-100	34–13
48	January 18	@ New York	W 124–117	35–13
49	January 20	@ Boston	W 108–106 (2OT)	36–13
50	January 23	@ Atlanta	W 98–96	37–13
51	January 25	@ San Antonio	L 116–125	37–14
52	January 26	@ Houston	L 111–123	37–15
53	January 30	Kansas City	L 97–99	37–16
54	January 31	Milwaukee	W 105–101	38–16
55	February 5	@ Cleveland	W 123–121	39–16
56	February 7	@ Detroit	W 119–102	40–16
57	February 8	@Philadelphia	W 109–94	41–16
58	February 10	@ New Jersey	W 122–107	42–16
59	February 13	Atlanta	W 93–86	43–16
60	February 14	Denver	W 93–84	44–16
61	February 17	Boston	W 109–108	45–16
62	February 19	@ Chicago	L 106–115	45–17
63	February 20	@ Kansas City	L 105–107	45–18
64	February 23	@ Utah	W 105–95	46–18
65	February 26	@ Los Angeles	L 108–131	46–19
66	February 27	Philadelphia	L 98–101 (OT)	46–20
67	February 29	Chicago	W 108–101	47–20
68	March 2	Utah	W 103–91	48–20
69	March 4	@ Portland	W 98–97	49–20
70	March 5	@ Phoenix	L 111–127	49–21
71	March 8	@ Denver	W 104–97	50–21
72	March 9	@ Kansas City	L 93–113	50–22
73	March 12	@ Milwaukee	L 103–112	50–23
74	March 14	@ Chicago	W 122–101	51–23
75	March 19	Milwaukee	L 106–108	51–24
76	March 21	San Diego	W 107–104	52–24
77	March 22	Los Angeles	L 92–97	52–25
78	March 23	Kansas City	W 112–90	53–25
79	March 25	Phoenix	W 104–95	54–25
80	March 26	@ Phoenix	L 99–109	54–26
81	March 28	Golden State	W 108–82	55–26
82	March 30	Portland	W 135–104	56–26

Playoffs

1980 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 2 Portland W 120–110 Gus Williams (35) three players tied (8) Gus Williams (6) Kingdome 26,412 1–0 2 April 4 @ Portland L 95–105 (OT) Dennis Johnson (24) Lonnie Shelton (12) Gus Williams (8) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 1–1 3 April 6 Portland W 103–86 Gus Williams (21) John Johnson (8) Williams, D. Johnson (6) Kingdome 23,546 2–1
Conference Semi-finals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 8 Milwaukee W 114–113 (OT) Gus Williams (30) Jack Sikma (11) John Johnson (6) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,648 1–0 2 April 9 Milwaukee L 112–114 (OT) Lonnie Shelton (25) Lonnie Shelton (9) Williams, J. Johnson (7) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,050 1–1 3 April 11 @ Milwaukee L 91–95 Jack Sikma (20) Jack Sikma (13) Williams, J. Johnson (7) MECCA Arena 10,938 1–2 4 April 13 @ Milwaukee W 112–107 Gus Williams (32) Lonnie Shelton (15) John Johnson (7) MECCA Arena 10,938 2–2 5 April 15 Milwaukee L 97–108 Gus Williams (22) Jack Sikma (9) Dennis Johnson (7) Kingdome 40,172 2–3 6 April 18 @ Milwaukee W 86–85 Dennis Johnson (18) Paul Silas (14) John Johnson (7) MECCA Arena 10,938 3–3 7 April 20 Milwaukee W 98–94 Gus Williams (33) Lonnie Shelton (15) Dennis Johnson (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,050 4–3
Conference finals: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 22 @ Los Angeles W 108–107 Gus Williams (28) Lonnie Shelton (9) John Johnson (9) The Forum 17,505 1–0 2 April 23 @ Los Angeles L 99–108 Gus Williams (24) Jack Sikma (11) Jack Sikma (8) The Forum 17,505 1–1 3 April 25 Los Angeles L 100–104 Gus Williams (23) John Johnson (9) Gus Williams (11) Hec Edmundson Pavilion 8,524 1–2 4 April 27 Los Angeles L 93–98 Gus Williams (25) Dennis Johnson (9) Gus Williams (7) Hec Edmundson Pavilion 8,524 1–3 5 April 30 @ Los Angeles L 105–111 Dennis Johnson (29) Jack Sikma (9) Williams, J. Johnson (6) The Forum 17,505 1–4
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

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
James Bailey	67		10.8	.450		.673	2.9	.4	.3	.8	4.7
Fred Brown	80		21.3	.479	.443	.837	1.9	2.2	.8	.2	12.0
Dennis Johnson	81		36.3	.422	.207	.780	5.1	4.1	1.8	1.0	19.0
John Johnson	81		31.3	.488		.801	5.3	5.2	.9	.4	11.3
Vinnie Johnson	38		8.6	.391	.000	.795	1.4	1.4	.5	.1	3.2
Tom LaGarde	82		14.2	.477		.657	3.8	1.1	.2	.4	4.7
Lonnie Shelton	76		29.5	.530	.200	.763	7.7	1.9	1.2	1.0	13.6
Jack Sikma	82		34.1	.475	.000	.805	11.1	3.4	.8	.9	14.3
Paul Silas	82		19.5	.378		.654	5.3	.8	.3	.1	3.8
Wally Walker	70		12.1	.507		.750	2.4	.8	.3	.1	4.7
Gus Williams	82		36.2	.482	.194	.788	3.4	4.8	2.4	.5	22.1

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
James Bailey	12		11.5	.477	.000	.650	2.1	.4	.8	.8	4.6
Fred Brown	15		20.9	.440	.294	.857	2.5	2.1	.1	.1	12.5
Dennis Johnson	15		38.8	.410	.333	.839	4.3	3.8	1.8	.7	17.1
John Johnson	15		32.4	.494	.000	.811	6.8	5.7	.5	.2	12.4
Vinnie Johnson	5		2.4	.333			.4	.4	.2	.0	.4
Tom LaGarde	14		11.6	.370		.818	2.9	.9	.1	.0	3.1
Lonnie Shelton	15		31.3	.507	.000	.627	8.3	1.7	1.5	.8	12.0
Jack Sikma	15		35.6	.399	.000	.852	8.4	3.7	1.1	.3	11.7
Paul Silas	15		17.1	.302		.846	5.0	1.0	.6	.1	2.5
Wally Walker	13		12.1	.514		.750	2.2	.5	.1	.2	4.2
Gus Williams	15		37.6	.514	.200	.721	4.0	5.6	2.3	.5	23.7

Awards and records

• Dennis Johnson, All-NBA Second Team
• Gus Williams, All-NBA Second Team
• Dennis Johnson, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Transactions

October 19, 1979

• Waived Joe Hassett.
• Waived Jackie Robinson.

October 11, 1979

• Waived Dennis Awtrey.

See also

• 1979-80 NBA season