1979 NBA Finals
Updated: 12/11/2025, 2:54:32 PM Wikipedia source
The 1979 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series played at the conclusion of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1978–79 season. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics played the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets, with the Bullets holding home-court advantage, due to a better regular season record. The SuperSonics defeated the Bullets in five quick games for their first championship in franchise history. The series was a rematch of the previous year’s NBA Finals, which the Bullets won in seven games. Dennis Johnson of the SuperSonics was named as the NBA Finals MVP, while Gus Williams of the SuperSonics was the top scorer, averaging 28.6 points per game. This was Seattle's second men's professional sports championship, following the Seattle Metropolitans' victory in the 1917 Stanley Cup Finals. The city's next title wouldn't be until 2014 when the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII. This was the franchise's only championship until the 2025 NBA Finals, when they were the Oklahoma City Thunder. It is also, to date, the last time the Bullets/Wizards have appeared in the Finals. Both the 1978 and 1979 NBA Finals were informally dubbed the "George Washington series", because both teams were playing in places named after the first President of the United States (the SuperSonics represented Seattle, Washington while the Bullets represented Washington, D.C., albeit playing in nearby Landover, Maryland).
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| Seattle SuperSonics (Western Conference champion) | Washington Bullets (Eastern Conference champion) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.mw- Western Conference hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output inline dl,.mw-parser-output inline ol,.mw-parser-output inline ul,.mw-parser-output dl dl,.mw-parser-output dl ol,.mw-parser-output dl ul,.mw-parser-output ol dl,.mw-parser-output ol ol,.mw- .mw- hlist dd:last-child ,.mw- hlist dd dd:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dd dt:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dd li:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dd:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dt:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dt li:first-child ,.mw-parser-output li dd:first-child ,.mw- hlist dd dd:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dd dt:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dd li:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dd:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dt:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dt li:last-child ,.mw-parser-output li dd:last-child ,.mw- .mw- hlist dd ol>li:first-child ,.mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- } }vte Team W L PCT GB 1 z-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 – 2 y-Kansas City Kings 48 34 4 3 x-Phoenix Suns 50 32 2 4 x-Denver Nuggets 47 35 5 5 x-Los Angeles Lakers 47 35 5 6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 45 37 7 7 San Diego Clippers 43 39 9 8 Indiana Pacers 38 44 14 9 Milwaukee Bucks 38 44 14 10 Golden State Warriors 38 44 14 11 Chicago Bulls 31 51 21 1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record
| Regular season | # Eastern Conferencevte Team W L PCT GB 1 z-Washington Bullets 54 28 – 2 y-San Antonio Spurs 48 34 6 3 x-Philadelphia 76ers 47 35 7 4 x-Houston Rockets 47 35 7 5 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 8 6 x-New Jersey Nets 37 45 17 7 New York Knicks 31 51 23 8 Cleveland Cavaliers 30 52 24 8 Detroit Pistons 30 52 24 10 Boston Celtics 29 53 25 11 New Orleans Jazz 26 56 28 1st seed in the East, best league record
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| Earned first-round bye | First round | Earned first-round bye | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defeated the (5) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1 | Conference semifinals | Defeated the (5) Atlanta Hawks, 4–3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defeated the (3) Phoenix Suns, 4–3 | Conference finals | Defeated the (2) San Antonio Spurs, 4–3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| # | mw- Western Conference hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output inline dl,.mw-parser-output inline ol,.mw-parser-output inline ul,.mw-parser-output dl dl,.mw-parser-output dl ol,.mw-parser-output dl ul,.mw-parser-output ol dl,.mw-parser-output ol ol,.mw- .mw- hlist dd:last-child ,.mw- hlist dd dd:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dd dt:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dd li:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dd:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dt:first-child ,.mw-parser-output dt li:first-child ,.mw-parser-output li dd:first-child ,.mw- hlist dd dd:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dd dt:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dd li:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dd:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dt dt:last-child ,.mw-parser-output dt li:last-child ,.mw-parser-output li dd:last-child ,.mw- .mw- hlist dd ol>li:first-child ,.mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- } }vte | ||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Seattle SuperSonics | 52 | 30 | 634 | – |
| 2 | y-Kansas City Kings | 48 | 34 | 585 | 4 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 50 | 32 | 610 | 2 |
| 4 | x-Denver Nuggets | 47 | 35 | 573 | 5 |
| 5 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | 573 | 5 |
| 6 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 45 | 37 | 549 | 7 |
| 7 | San Diego Clippers | 43 | 39 | 524 | 9 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 38 | 44 | 463 | 14 |
| 9 | Milwaukee Bucks | 38 | 44 | 463 | 14 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 38 | 44 | 463 | 14 |
| 11 | Chicago Bulls | 31 | 51 | 378 | 21 |
| # | Eastern Conferencevte | ||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Washington Bullets | 54 | 28 | 659 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 48 | 34 | 585 | 6 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 47 | 35 | 573 | 7 |
| 4 | x-Houston Rockets | 47 | 35 | 573 | 7 |
| 5 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 46 | 36 | 561 | 8 |
| 6 | x-New Jersey Nets | 37 | 45 | 451 | 17 |
| 7 | New York Knicks | 31 | 51 | 378 | 23 |
| 8 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 30 | 52 | 366 | 24 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 30 | 52 | 366 | 24 |
| 10 | Boston Celtics | 29 | 53 | 354 | 25 |
| 11 | New Orleans Jazz | 26 | 56 | 317 | 28 |
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
| Game 1 | May 20 | Washington Bullets | 99–97 (1–0) | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Game 2 | May 24 | Washington Bullets | 82–92 (1–1) | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Game 3 | May 27 | Seattle SuperSonics | 105–95 (2–1) | Washington Bullets |
| Game 4 | May 29 | Seattle SuperSonics | 114–112 (3–1) | Washington Bullets |
| Game 5 | June 1 | Washington Bullets | 93–97 (1–4) | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
References
- By comparison, the longest divisional title drought in the National Football League is sixteen seasons by the AFC South;
- Eight Eastern Conference teams from seven US states and Canada have won NBA Championships since 1980: Chicago Bulls (six
- "Seattle SuperSonics at Washington Bullets Box Score, May 20, 1979"https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197905200WSB.html
- St Petersburg Times (page 21)https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=feST4K8J0scC&dat=19790521&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
- "Washington Bullets at Seattle SuperSonics Box Score, May 29, 1979"https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197905290SEA.html
- "Seattle SuperSonics at Washington Bullets Box Score, June 1, 1979"https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197906010WSB.html
- St Petersburg Times (page 23)https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=feST4K8J0scC&dat=19790602&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
- Basketball-Reference.comhttps://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1979.html
- The Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/04/01/the-wizardss-50-win-drought-is-absurd/