1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season

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

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. After upsetting the defending champions Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Sonics made their first trip to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Washington Bullets in 7 games.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	8	Jack Sikma	Forward/Center	United States	Illinois Wesleyan
3	52	Joe Hassett	Guard	United States	Providence
4	74	Jim Cooper		United States	Alabama
5	96	Dale Haberman		United States	McKendree
6	118	Bucky O'Brien		United States	Seattle
7	138	Billy Reynolds		United States	Northwestern State
8	158	Jeff Frey		United States	Evansville

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Ht.	Wt.	DOB	From
G	32	Brown, Fred	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1948–08–07	Iowa
F	30	Fleming, Al	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1954–04–05	Arizona
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	45	Seals, Bruce	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1953–06–18	Xavier (Louisiana)
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
F	42	Walker, Wally	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1954–07–18	Dayton
C	40	Webster, Marvin	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1952–04–13	Morgan State
G	1	Williams, Gus	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1953–10–10	South Carolina

Head coach

Lenny Wilkens (Providence)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve
C	Marvin Webster	Paul Silas
PF	Jack Sikma	Bruce Seals	Al Fleming
SF	John Johnson	Wally Walker
SG	Dennis Johnson		Joe Hassett
PG	Gus Williams	Fred Brown

Regular season

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
10	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	27

Game log

1977–78 game log
Total: 47–35 (Home: 31–10; Road: 16–25)

October : 1–6 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–4)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	High points	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 Time	Team	Score	High points	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	Capital Centre 5,593	4–11
16	November 16	@ Philadelphia	L 96–101	Marvin Webster, Slick Watts 17	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	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 Time	Team	Score	High points	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	Seattle Center Coliseum 13,563	14–18
33	December 20	Denver	W 93–88	Dennis Johnson, Fred Brown 18	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 Time	Team	Score	High points	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	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 Time	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Record
50	February 8	Washington	L 100–106	Gus Williams 21	Seattle Center Coliseum 12,126	27–23
51	February 10	Denver	W 126–123 (OT)	Marvin Webster 26	Seattle Center Coliseum 13,795	28–23
52	February 12	@ Philadelphia	L 99–109	Gus Williams 28	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	[[Louis Fred Brown Athletic Center\|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	[[Louis Fred Brown Athletic Center\|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	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 Time	Team	Score	High points	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	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	McNichols Sports Arena 17,270	43–34

April : 4–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–1)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	High points	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

West First Round

(4) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers: Sonics win series 2-1

Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 102, Los Angeles 90
Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 105, Seattle 99
Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 111, Los Angeles 102

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Portland: Seattle 104, Portland 95
Game 2 @ Portland: Portland 96, Seattle 93
Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 99, Portland 84
Game 4 @ Seattle: Seattle 100, Portland 98
Game 5 @ Portland: Portland 113, Seattle 89
Game 6 @ Seattle: Seattle 105, Portland 94

West Conference Finals

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Denver: Denver 116, Seattle 107
Game 2 @ Denver: Seattle 121, Denver 111
Game 3 @ Seattle: Seattle 105, Denver 91
Game 4 @ Seattle: Seattle 100, Denver 94
Game 5 @ Denver: Denver 123, Seattle 114
Game 6 @ Seattle: Seattle 123, Denver 108

NBA Finals

(3) Washington Bullets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Bullets win series 4-3

Game 1 @ Seattle: Seattle 106, Washington 102
Game 2 @ Washington: Washington 106, Seattle 98
Game 3 @ Washington: Seattle 93, Washington 92
Game 4 @ Seattle: Washington 120, Seattle 116 (OT)
Game 5 @ Seattle: Seattle 98, Washington 94
Game 6 @ Washington: Washington 117, Seattle 82
Game 7 @ Seattle: Washington 105, Seattle 99

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
Fred Brown
Al Fleming
Mike Green
Joe Hassett
Dennis Johnson
John Johnson
Bruce Seals
Jack Sikma
Paul Silas
Dean Tolson
Wally Walker
Slick Watts
Marvin Webster
Gus Williams
Willie Wise

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Fred Brown
Al Fleming
Joe Hassett
Dennis Johnson
John Johnson
Bruce Seals
Jack Sikma
Paul Silas
Wally Walker
Marvin Webster
Gus Williams

Awards and honors

All-Rookie First Team: Jack Sikma

Transactions

Trades

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References

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SuperSonics on Basketball Reference

v t e Oklahoma City Thunder
Formerly the Seattle SuperSonics (1967–2008) Founded in 1967 Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Franchise	Franchise 1967 Expansion Draft Team history All-time rosters SuperSonics Thunder Draft history Franchise achievements Seasons Head coaches Current season
Arenas	KeyArena at Seattle Center Kingdome Tacoma Dome Chesapeake Energy Arena
General Managers	Richman Vertlieb Houbregs Russell Volchok Wilkens Whitsitt Walker Sund Presti
D-League affiliate	Oklahoma City Blue
Administration	Owner Professional Basketball Club LLC (Clayton Bennett, Chairman) Executive Vice President & General Manager Sam Presti Head coach Billy Donovan
Retired numbers	1 10 19 24 32 43 MIC
NBA Championships (1)	1979
Conference Championships (4)	1978 1979 1996 2012
Culture and lore	Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City Howard Schultz Wheedle Squatch Rumble the Bison "Supersonics" Sonicsgate Thunderstruck "Thunder Up"
Media	TV Fox Sports Oklahoma Radio The Sports Animal (98.1 FM) 640 ESPN Radio Announcers Brian Davis Michael Cage Matt Pinto

1977–78 Seattle SuperSonics season

Contents

Draft picks

Roster

Depth chart

Regular season

Standings

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

West Conference Semifinals

West Conference Finals

NBA Finals

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and honors

Transactions

Trades

References

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