1978–79 Washington Bullets season


The 1978–79 Washington Bullets won their second consecutive Eastern Conference Championship, making it to the NBA Finals before losing to the Seattle SuperSonics. They finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, at 54-28.
Coming off of their NBA Championship the previous season, the Bullets were transferred to the Atlantic Division. The Bullets would continue to remain one of the top teams in the league, as they captured the Atlantic Division championship with a league best record of 54–28. The Bullets ended the regular season losing 8 of their last 11 games, but rebounded in the playoffs with victories in both the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Eastern Conference Finals over the Atlanta Hawks and the San Antonio Spurs, respectively. The Bullets would proceed to have a 38-year drought without a division title until 2017; by then they had been renamed the Washington Wizards.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

East First Round

The Bullets had a first round bye.

East Conference Semifinals

In the conference semifinal round of the playoffs, the Bullets needed 7 games to beat the Atlanta Hawks. The Bullets nearly lost the series as they had a 3–1 series lead.
Washington Bullets vs. Atlanta Hawks: Bullets win series 4–3
In the Eastern Finals, the Bullets would find themselves down 3 games to 1 facing the San Antonio Spurs. The Bullets would rally to win the next 2 games and force a 7th game at home. In Game 7 the Bullets would rally again. They overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Spurs 107–105.
Washington Bullets vs. San Antonio Spurs: Bullets win series 4–3
The triumph would set up a rematch with the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Bullets would squeak out a close victory in Game 1 by a score of 99–97. However, the Sonics would rally to win the next 4 and take the series in 5 games.
GameDateHome TeamResultRoad Team
Game 1May 20Washington99–97Seattle
Game 2May 24Washington82–92Seattle
Game 3May 27Seattle105–95Washington
Game 4May 29Seattle114–112Washington
Game 5June 1Washington93–97Seattle

SuperSonics win series 4–1

Victory Parade

On June 9, 1978, the Bullets were feted with a Victory Parade in downtown Washington, DC. The event led to a single-day ridership record on Metrorail of 198,339 trips, but the record only lasted a week.

Awards and honors