1978–79 NBA season

1978–79 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
TV partner/s	CBS
Regular season
Season MVP	Moses Malone (Houston)
Top scorer	George Gervin (San Antonio)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Washington Bullets
Eastern runners-up	San Antonio Spurs
Western champions	Seattle SuperSonics
Western runners-up	Phoenix Suns
Finals
Finals champions	Seattle SuperSonics
Runners-up	Washington Bullets
Finals MVP	Dennis Johnson (Seattle)
NBA seasons
← 1977–78	1979–80 →

The 1978–79 NBA season was the 33rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Seattle SuperSonics winning the NBA championship, beating the Washington Bullets 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals, a rematch of the previous year's Finals, but with the opposite result.

Notable occurrences

• The Buffalo Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California and became the San Diego Clippers.
• The Detroit Pistons changed conferences, moving from the Midwest Division of the Western Conference to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, where they remain today.
• The NBA adopts a three–official system similar to the one used in college basketball on a one-year trial basis. The experiment is scrapped for the 1979–80 season, but returns permanently in 1988–89.
• The 1979 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, with the West defeating the East 134–129 in overtime. David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets wins the game's MVP Award.
• The Jazz play their final season in New Orleans, Louisiana, before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah. It would be 23 years before New Orleans received another NBA franchise.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division Team W L PCT. GB Washington Bullets 54 28 .659 - Philadelphia 76ers 47 35 .573 7 New Jersey Nets 37 45 .451 17 New York Knicks 31 51 .378 23 Boston Celtics 29 53 .354 25

Central Division Team W L PCT. GB San Antonio Spurs 48 34 .585 - Houston Rockets 47 35 .573 1 Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 2 Detroit Pistons 30 52 .366 18 Cleveland Cavaliers 30 52 .366 18 New Orleans Jazz 26 56 .317 22

Western Conference

Midwest Division Team W L PCT. GB Kansas City Kings 48 34 .585 - Denver Nuggets 47 35 .573 1 Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 10 Milwaukee Bucks 38 44 .463 10 Chicago Bulls 31 51 .378 17

Pacific Division Team W L PCT. GB Seattle SuperSonics C 52 30 .634 - Phoenix Suns 50 32 .610 2 Los Angeles Lakers 47 35 .573 5 Portland Trail Blazers 45 37 .549 7 San Diego Clippers 43 39 .524 9 Golden State Warriors 38 44 .463 14

C - NBA Champions

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	George Gervin	San Antonio Spurs	29.6
Rebounds per game	Moses Malone	Houston Rockets	17.6
Assists per game	Kevin Porter	Detroit Pistons	13.4
Steals per game	M.L. Carr	Detroit Pistons	2.5
Blocks per game	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Los Angeles Lakers	4.0
FG%	Cedric Maxwell	Boston Celtics	58.4
FT%	Rick Barry	Houston Rockets	94.7

NBA Awards

• Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
• Rookie of the Year: Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings
• Coach of the Year: Cotton Fitzsimmons, Kansas City Kings
• All–NBA First Team:
  • Paul Westphal, Phoenix Suns
  • George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
  • Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
  • Marques Johnson, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Elvin Hayes, Washington Bullets
• All–NBA Rookie Team:
  • Mychal Thompson, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Terry Tyler, Detroit Pistons
  • Ron Brewer, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Reggie Theus, Chicago Bulls
  • Phil Ford, Kansas City Kings
• NBA All–Defensive First Team:
  • Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Bobby Dandridge, Washington Bullets
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
  • Dennis Johnson, Seattle SuperSonics
  • Don Buse, Phoenix Suns
• NBA All–Defensive Second Team:
  • Maurice Lucas, Portland Trail Blazers
  • M. L. Carr, Detroit Pistons
  • Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
  • Lionel Hollins, Portland Trail Blazers
  • Eddie Johnson, Atlanta Hawks