1978 NBA playoffs


The 1978 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1977-78 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets defeating the Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Wes Unseld was named NBA Finals MVP. To date, it remains the only NBA title that the Bullets have won.
It was the third NBA Finals appearance and first title for the Bullets, founded in 1961. The Sonics made the Finals for the first time in their 11-year existence. This would be the first of two straight meetings in the Finals between the Bullets and Sonics, with Seattle winning the title the next year.
This was the first time since the expansion of the playoff field to 10 teams in 1975 that neither conference champion had the benefit of a first-round bye by being one of the top two teams in the conference during the regular season. The 1979 Finals rematch between the Sonics and Bullets took place with both teams as the #1 seed in their respective conference.
The Denver Nuggets, one of the four former American Basketball Association teams to join the NBA the previous season, became the first of them to win an NBA playoff series, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in a 7-game conference semifinal.

Bracket

Western Conference

Champion: Seattle SuperSonics
1st Round
Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets have first-round byes.
Phoenix Suns vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Bucks win series 2-0
Seattle SuperSonics vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Sonics win series 2-1
Conference Semifinals
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2
Denver Nuggets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Nuggets win series 4-3
Conference Finals
Denver Nuggets vs. Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2
Champion: Washington Bullets
1st Round
Philadelphia 76ers & San Antonio Spurs have first round byes.
Washington Bullets vs. Atlanta Hawks: Bullets win series 2-0
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks: Knicks win series 2-0
Last playoff meeting: This the first meeting between the Knicks and the Cavaliers
Conference Semifinals
Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks: 76ers win series 4-0
Last playoff meeting: 1968 Eastern division Semifinals
San Antonio Spurs vs. Washington Bullets: Bullets win series 4-2
Conference Finals
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Bullets: Bullets win series 4-2
Washington Bullets vs. Seattle SuperSonics: Bullets win series 4-3
Note: The 'Game 7' played marked the last time until the 2016 NBA Finals, that a road team defeated the home team.