1979 NBA Finals

1979 NBA Finals
Dates	May 20–June 1
MVP	Dennis Johnson; (Seattle SuperSonics)
Hall of Famers	SuperSonics:; Dennis Johnson (2010); Jack Sikma (2019); Bullets:; Bob Dandridge (2021); Elvin Hayes (1990); Wes Unseld (1988); Coaches:; Lenny Wilkens (1998); Officials:; Hugh Evans (2022); Darell Garretson (2016)
Eastern finals	Bullets defeated Spurs, 4–3
Western finals	SuperSonics defeated Suns, 4–3

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 4 games to 1. The series was a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals, which the Washington Bullets had won 4–3.

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 Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII.

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).

Until 2023, this was the most recent time that a Western Conference team not based in Texas or California has won an NBA title, and the last of only two occasions alongside the 1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers when a team from the present-day Northwest Division has won the league title, which is by 27 years the longest league championship drought for any division of the four major North American sports leagues. ^{[note 1]} Since then, the following Western teams have gone on to win an NBA title: the Los Angeles Lakers (eleven times), the San Antonio Spurs (five times), the Golden State Warriors (four times), the Houston Rockets (twice), and the Dallas Mavericks (once). The remaining twenty-one titles since 1980 have been won by Eastern Conference teams.^{[note 2]}

Background

This was a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals, which the Bullets won 4–3. Seattle lost Marvin Webster to the New York Knicks but acquired Lonnie Shelton in exchange. Other than that, both teams' rosters stayed virtually intact. Unlike the previous year, both teams finished 1–2 in the NBA, with the Bullets topping the league at 54 wins; the Sonics with 52 wins. In the playoffs, Seattle defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 and the Phoenix Suns 4–3, while Washington had a much tougher road, eliminating the Atlanta Hawks in an unexpectedly tough seven-game series and coming back from a 3–1 deficit to eliminate the San Antonio Spurs in seven. Both earned a first-round bye.

Television

The Finals were carried by CBS television (the network's NBA on CBS aired league games from 1973 to 1990), with Brent Musburger as the lead announcer. The 1979 Finals has been preserved in full, unlike the previous year's, in which Games 2, 3 and 4 are missing. (Except for 1978, all NBA Finals since 1975 have been completely preserved.)

Road to the Finals

Seattle SuperSonics (Western Conference champion)

Washington Bullets (Eastern Conference champion)

#	Western Conference v t e
#	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

1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record

Regular season

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	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

1st seed in the East, best league record

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

Regular season series

The teams split the four-game series in the regular season:

October 25, 1978

Washington Bullets 92, Seattle SuperSonics 121

Kingdome, Seattle

January 23, 1979

Seattle SuperSonics 103, Washington Bullets 100

Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland

February 18, 1979

Washington Bullets 105, Seattle SuperSonics 94

Kingdome, Seattle

February 23, 1979

Seattle SuperSonics 110, Washington Bullets 132

Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland

Series summary

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

Game summaries

Game 1

May 20

Seattle SuperSonics 97, Washington Bullets 99
Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 25–33, 21–23, 26–17
Pts: Gus Williams 32 Rebs: John Johnson 11 Asts: Dennis Johnson 7		Pts: Larry Wright 26 Rebs: Wes Unseld 12 Asts: Tom Henderson 6
Washington leads the series, 1–0

Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035
Referees:

No. 10 Darell Garreson,
No. 4 Ed T. Rush
No. 18 Ed Middleton

^[1]

The Bullets controlled the game and led by 18 in the fourth, but Seattle mounted a furious comeback to tie it at 97. Larry Wright, who had 26 points off the bench, drove to the basket as time ran down and had his shot blocked by Dennis Johnson, but the referees called a foul on Johnson. Wright went to the line with one second left and hit two of three foul shots (NBA rules at the time awarded an extra free throw attempt when a team was in the penalty foul situation) to win the game.^[2]

Game 2

May 24
9 p.m. EDT

Seattle SuperSonics 92, Washington Bullets 82
Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 21–29, 19–14, 24–16
Pts: Gus Williams 23 Rebs: Jack Sikma 13 Asts: Dennis Johnson, John Johnson 6 each		Pts: Bob Dandridge 21 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 14 Asts: Bob Dandridge 5
Series tied, 1–1

Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035
Referees:

No. 9 John Vanak
No. 14 Jack Madden
No. 19 Jim Capers

Elvin Hayes had 11 points in the first quarter, but only nine the rest of the way as Seattle turned its defense up a notch, holding the Bullets to 30 points in the second half.

Outside of the two metropolitan areas of the competing teams, as well as Baltimore and Portland, the game was shown on tape delay beginning at 11:35 Eastern and Pacific/10:35 p.m. Central and Mountain. This was the first of six championship series games shown by CBS on tape delay over a three-season span. Four of the six games in the championship series two years later were shown on tape delay outside of the markets of the competing clubs.

Game 3

May 27

Washington Bullets 95, Seattle SuperSonics 105
Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 19–24, 22–26, 29–24
Pts: Bob Dandridge 28 Rebs: Unseld, Hayes 14 each Asts: Bob Dandridge 5		Pts: Gus Williams 31 Rebs: Jack Sikma 17 Asts: Dennis Johnson 9
Seattle leads the series, 2–1

Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 35,928
Referees:

No. 11 Jake O'Donnell
No. 7 Joe Gushue
No. 25 Hugh Evans

Seattle dominated this game, which wasn't as close as the final margin indicated. Gus Williams scored 31 points, Jack Sikma had 21 and 17 rebounds, and Dennis Johnson had a fine all-around game with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and two blocked shots.

Game 4

May 29

Washington Bullets 112, Seattle SuperSonics 114 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 37–28, 28–32, 23–20, Overtime: 8–10
Pts: Hayes, Grevey, Charles Johnson 18 each Rebs: Wes Unseld 16 Asts: Tom Henderson 8		Pts: Gus Williams 36 Rebs: Jack Sikma 17 Asts: John Johnson 13
Seattle leads the series, 3–1

Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 14,098
Referees:

No. 15 Bob Rakel
No. 8 Lee Jones
No. 10 Darell Garretson

^[3] The Sonics won a close one in OT 114–112, staving off a late Bullets comeback behind 36 points by Gus Williams and 32 by Dennis Johnson. Williams and Johnson dominated the Bullets' guards all series, as they were plagued by poor shooting. Johnson also had four blocks in the game, the last on Kevin Grevey with 4 seconds left to ensure the Seattle victory.

Game 5

June 1

Seattle SuperSonics 97, Washington Bullets 93
Scoring by quarter: 19–30, 24–21, 23–18, 31–24
Pts: Gus Williams 23 Rebs: Jack Sikma 17 Asts: John Johnson 6		Pts: Elvin Hayes 29 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 14 Asts: Bob Dandridge 7
Seattle wins the series, 4–1

Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035
Referees:

No. 11 Jake O'Donnell
No. 7 Joe Gushue
No. 22 Paul Mihalak

^[4] Back home, Elvin Hayes had a hot first half, scoring 20, but injuries to starting guards Tom Henderson, Kevin Grevey and prolonged poor shooting by their replacements took their toll. Hayes had only nine points in the second half as Seattle closed out the series.^[5]

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

Seattle SuperSonics

Seattle SuperSonics statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Washington Bullets

Washington Wizards statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Team rosters

Seattle SuperSonics

1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
C	21	Awtrey, Dennis	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Santa Clara
SG	32	Brown, Fred	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	Iowa
SG	10	Hassett, Joe	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Providence
SG	24	Johnson, Dennis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Pepperdine
SF	27	Johnson, John	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Iowa
C	23	LaGarde, Tom	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	North Carolina
SF	22	Robinson, Jackie	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	UNLV
PF	8	Shelton, Lonnie	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Oregon State
C	43	Sikma, Jack	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Illinois Wesleyan
PF	35	Silas, Paul	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Creighton
SG	11	Snyder, Dick	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Davidson
SF	42	Walker, Wally	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Virginia
PG	1	Williams, Gus	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	USC

Head coach

Lenny Wilkens

Legend

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

^[6]

Washington Bullets

1978–79 Washington Bullets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
SF	42	Ballard, Greg	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Oregon
SG	45	Chenier, Phil	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	California
C	40	Corzine, Dave	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	DePaul
SF	10	Dandridge, Bob	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Norfolk State
SF	35	Grevey, Kevin	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Kentucky
PG	14	Henderson, Tom	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Hawaiʻi
PF	11	Hayes, Elvin	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Houston
PF	25	Kupchak, Mitch	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	North Carolina
SG	15	Johnson, Charles	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	California
SG	22	Phegley, Roger	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Bradley
C	41	Unseld, Wes	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Louisville
PG	32	Wright, Larry	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Grambling State

Head coach

Dick Motta

Legend

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

Notes

^ By comparison, the longest divisional title drought in the National Football League is sixteen seasons by the AFC South; every division has won at least one championship since 2015 in Major League Baseball; and in the National Hockey League the longest drought is seven seasons by the Pacific Division.
^ Eight Eastern Conference teams from seven different states and Canada have won NBA Championships since 1980: Chicago Bulls (six times), Boston Celtics (four times), Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat (thrice each), and Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors (once each).