1977–78 Washington Bullets season

The 1977–78 NBA season was the team's 17th season in the NBA and their 5th season in the city of Washington, D.C. It would prove to be their most successful season, as they would win their first and only NBA championship as of 2024. In the NBA Finals, they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games.

The Bullets got off to a slow start in the regular season, losing 6 of their first 10 games. On January 13, the Bullets beat the defending Champion Portland Trail Blazers to improve to 24–15, capping an 18–5 run over 23 games. Injuries would begin to have an effect on the team as the Bullets struggled, as they would lose 13 of their next 18 games. Hovering a few games above .500 for the rest of the season, the Bullets managed to make the playoffs with a 44–38 record. They hold the record for the lowest win total of any NBA Championship winning team. The 1968–69 Boston Celtics, 1974–75 Golden State Warriors, 1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers, and 1994–95 Houston Rockets are the only other NBA championship teams to have won below 50 games in non-lockout seasons since 1958; all of them won more than 44 games.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/HS/Club Team	Notes
1	4	Greg Ballard	F	United States	Oregon	from Atlanta
1	17	Bo Ellis	F	United States	Marquette
2	39	Phil Walker	G	United States	Millersville
3	57	Steve Puidokas	C	United States	Washington State	from Chicago
3	61	Jerry Schellenberg	F	United States	Wake Forest
4	83	David Reavis	F	United States	Georgia
5	105	Bruce Parkinson	G	United States	Purdue
6	127	Ernie Wansley	C	United States	Virginia Tech
7	147	Calvin Brown	G	United States	American
8	166	Pat McKinley	F	United States	Towson State

Roster

1977–78 Washington Bullets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
SF	42	Ballard, Greg	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1955-01-29	Oregon
SG	45	Chenier, Phil	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1950-10-30	California
SF	10	Dandridge, Bob	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1947-11-15	Norfolk State
SF	35	Grevey, Kevin	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1953-05-12	Kentucky
PF	11	Hayes, Elvin	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1945-11-17	Houston
PG	14	Henderson, Tom	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1952-01-26	Hawaiʻi
SG	15	Johnson, Charles	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1949-03-31	California
PF	25	Kupchak, Mitch	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1954-05-24	North Carolina
C	44	Pace, Joe	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1953-12-18	Coppin State
C	41	Unseld, Wes	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1946-03-14	Louisville
SG	20	Walker, Phil	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1956-03-120	Millersville
PG	32	Wright, Larry	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	1954-11-23	Grambling State

Head coach

Dick Motta

Assistant coach(es)

Bernie Bickerstaff

Legend

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

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	–	32–9	20–21	15–5
x-Washington Bullets	44	38	.537	8	29–12	15–26	14–6
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	43	39	.524	9	27–14	16–25	9–11
x-Atlanta Hawks	41	41	.500	11	29–12	12–29	8–12
New Orleans Jazz	39	43	.476	13	27–14	12–29	8–12
Houston Rockets	28	54	.341	24	21-20	7-34	6–14

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Philadelphia 76ers	55	27	.671	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	3
3	x-Washington Bullets	44	38	.537	11
4	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	43	39	.524	12
5	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	12
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	41	41	.500	14

7	New Orleans Jazz	39	43	.476	16
8	Boston Celtics	32	50	.390	23
9	Houston Rockets	28	54	.341	27
10	Buffalo Braves	27	55	.329	28
11	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	31

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

1977–78 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–1	1–3
Boston	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Buffalo	1–3	1–3	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–3	3–1	1–3	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3
Chicago	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–2	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1
Cleveland	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	2–2
Denver	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–1	1–3	3–1
Detroit	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–0	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2
Golden State	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–1	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2
Houston	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3	1–2	—	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3
Indiana	1–3	1–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–1
Kansas City	1–2	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2
Los Angeles	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	1–3	—	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	2–2	0–3	0–4	2–2	2–2
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–2	4–0	—	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	0–4
New York	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	—	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–2
Philadelphia	2–2	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2
Phoenix	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2
Portland	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	3–1	2–1
San Antonio	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	2–2
Seattle	1–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	—	1–3
Washington	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	2–2	3–1	—

Game log

Pre season

Regular season

1977–78 game log
Total: 44–38 (home: 22–19; road: 21–20)

October: 1–3 (home: 1–0; road: 0–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 21, 1977 8:05 p.m. EDT	Detroit	W 117–109	Kupchak (29)	Dandridge, Unseld (9)	Henderson (12)	Capital Centre 13,276	1–0
2	October 22, 1977 8:05 p.m. EDT	@ New York	L 115–141	Hayes (26)	Hayes (14)	Henderson, Unseld, Wright (4)	Madison Square Garden 15,261	1–1
3	October 28, 1977 8:05 p.m. EDT	@ Indiana	L 127–136	Wright (43)	Unseld (15)	Henderson (9)	Market Square Arena 12,542	1–2
4	October 29, 1977 8:35 p.m. EDT	@ Kansas City	L 106–120	Wright (19)	Unseld (11)	Chenier, Henderson, Wright (5)	Kemper Arena 9,220	1–3

November: 9–4 (home: 6–2; road: 3–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
5	November 4, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Phoenix	W 113–96	Dandridge (24)	Hayes (14)	Henderson (10)	Capital Centre 8,742	2–3
6	November 5, 1977 9:05 p.m. EST	@ Houston	L 105–116	Wright (20)	Dandridge, Unseld (9)	Henderson, Unseld, Wright (3)	The Summit 9,449	2–4
7	November 6, 1977 8:35 p.m. EST	@ New Orleans	W 108–97	Dandridge, Hayes (21)	Hayes (20)	Wright (4)	Louisiana Superdome 26,474	3–4
8	November 10, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Milwaukee	L 103–106	Dandridge (25)	Hayes (13)	Unseld, Wright (6)	Capital Centre 7,139	3–5
9	November 12, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Philadelphia	W 116–98	Dandridge (28)	Hayes (16)	Wright (10)	Capital Centre 18,355	4–5
10	November 13, 1977 7:05 p.m. EST	@ Detroit	L 102–104	Hayes (29)	Hayes (16)	Henderson (8)	Cobo Arena 5,149	4–6
11	November 15, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Seattle	W 111–109	Hayes (22)	Hayes (14)	Unseld (6)	Capital Centre 5,593	5–6
12	November 18, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	New York	W 123–103	Hayes (27)	Hayes (12)	Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 17,242	6–6
13	November 19, 1977 8:35 p.m. EST	@ Kansas City (at Omaha, Nebraska)	W 131–125 (OT)	Kupchak (32)	Dandridge (12)	Henderson (7)	Omaha Civic Auditorium 6,534	7–6
14	November 21, 1977 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Buffalo	W 114–97	Kupchak (21)	Dandridge (14)	Henderson (7)	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 6,125	8–6
15	November 22, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Denver	L 114–119	Dandridge (29)	Hayes (12)	Wright (7)	Capital Centre 8,363	8–7
16	November 26, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Houston	W 93–91	Hayes (24)	Pace (10)	Dandridge (7)	Capital Centre 18,387	9–7
17	November 30, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	San Antonio	W 116–105	Kupchak (26)	Unseld (15)	Unseld (10)	Capital Centre 7,092	10–7

December: 10–6 (home: 6–1; road: 4–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
18	December 2, 1977 9:05 p.m. EST	@ Milwaukee	W 108–95	Hayes (29)	Hayes (19)	Henderson (11)	MECCA Arena 10,938	11–7
19	December 3, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Boston	W 103–93	Dandridge (21)	Kupchak (12)	Dandridge (8)	Capital Centre 18,424	12–7
20	December 4, 1977 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Cleveland	W 100–94	Chenier (28)	Hayes (16)	Henderson (6)	Richfield Coliseum 9,765	13–7
21	December 6, 1977 8:30 p.m. EST	@ Chicago	L 108–116	Chenier, Hayes (22)	Unseld (12)	Dandridge, Unseld (5)	Chicago Stadium 10,093	13–8
22	December 7, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Cleveland	W 96–95	Dandridge (21)	Unseld (20)	Henderson (5)	Capital Centre 7,627	14–8
23	December 9, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	New Orleans	W 101–97	Henderson (22)	Unseld (16)	Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 10,292	15–8
24	December 11, 1977 7:35 p.m. EST	New Jersey	L 95–106	Hayes (27)	Hayes (20)	Dandridge, Henderson, Unseld, Wright (4)	Capital Centre 5,774	15–9
25	December 13, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Golden State	W 102–96	Chenier (25)	Hayes (17)	Henderson (6)	Capital Centre 8,693	16–9
26	December 16, 1977 9:35 p.m. EST	@ Denver	W 117–112 (OT)	Hayes (33)	Hayes (20)	Dandridge (10)	McNichols Sports Arena 15,922	17–9
27	December 17, 1977 11:00 p.m. EST	@ Portland	L 104–117	Dandridge (17)	Hayes (10)	Wright (5)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	17–10
28	December 18, 1977 10:00 p.m. EST	@ Seattle	L 109–111 (OT)	Henderson (24)	Unseld (13)	Hayes (5)	Seattle Center Coliseum 13,563	17–11
29	December 20, 1977 11:00 p.m. EST	@ Los Angeles	L 115–120	Kupchak (23)	Kupchak (10)	Wright (9)	The Forum 13,475	17–12
30	December 25, 1977 7:35 p.m. EST	Atlanta	W 100–93	Dandridge (24)	Unseld (14)	Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 8,358	18–12
31	December 26, 1977 8:10 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta	W 113–106	Henderson (21)	Hayes (13)	Henderson (8)	The Omni 8,321	19–12
32	December 28, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	Buffalo	W 106–87	Hayes (18)	Unseld (15)	Hayes, Unseld, Wright (4)	Capital Centre 11,394	20–12
33	December 30, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	@ Philadelphia	L 119–126	Kupchak (22)	Unseld (14)	Dandridge (8)	The Spectrum 18,276	20–13

January: 6–8 (home: 5–2; road: 1–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
34	January 3, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Denver	L 100–101	Chenier (23)	Hayes (18)	Henderson (7)	Capital Centre 9,457	20–14
35	January 6, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Indiana	W 146–114	Dandridge (29)	Hayes, Unseld (10)	Dandridge (8)	Capital Centre 9,215	21–14
36	January 8, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	@ New Jersey	W 99–98	Dandridge (20)	Hayes (16)	Henderson, Unseld (6)	Rutgers Athletic Center 4,196	22–14
37	January 10, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Kansas City	W 123–115	Hayes (27)	Ballard (13)	Henderson (11)	Capital Centre 7,700	23–14
38	January 11, 1978 8:10 p.m. EST	@ Atlanta (at Charlotte, North Carolina)	L 95–100	Hayes (24)	Ballard, Hayes (14)	Henderson (6)	Charlotte Coliseum 2,162	23–15
39	January 13, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Portland	W 102–93	Dandridge (22)	Hayes (13)	Henderson (6)	Capital Centre 17,610	24–15
40	January 14, 1978 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Buffalo	L 93–130	Dandridge (22)	Hayes, Unseld (9)	Unseld (4)	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 5,036	24–16
41	January 18, 1978 10:30 p.m. EST	@ Golden State	L 106–113	Dandridge (25)	Unseld (14)	Wright (9)	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena	24–17
42	January 20, 1978 11:00 p.m. EST	@ Los Angeles	L 99–121	Walker (23)	Kupchak (9)	Wright (6)	The Forum 13,064	24–18
43	January 22, 1978 6:45 p.m. EST	@ Phoenix	L 101–114	Hayes (26)	Hayes (19)	Unseld (7)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660	24–19
44	January 24, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Detroit	L 101–104	Grevey (24)	Hayes (16)	Unseld, Wright (4)	Capital Centre 6,717	24–20
45	January 26, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Chicago	W 135–107	Dandridge (37)	Hayes (10)	Wright (11)	Capital Centre 7,442	25–20
46	January 29, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	Los Angeles	W 119–112	Dandridge (29)	Hayes (19)	Wright (6)	Capital Centre 17,779	26–20
47	January 31, 1978 8:30 p.m. EST	@ San Antonio	L 109–129	Hayes (21)	Hayes (14)	Wright (6)	HemisFair Arena 9,000	26–21

February: 5–8 (home: 4–1; road: 1–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
48	February 2, 1978 8:00 p.m. EST	@ Cleveland	L 93–110	Dandridge (25)	Hayes (13)	Wright (6)	Richfield Coliseum 7,553	26–22
49	February 3, 1978 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Boston	L 94–116	Grevey (25)	Hayes (18)	Unseld (4)	Boston Garden 12,206	26–23
All-Star Break
50	February 7, 1978 10:30 p.m. EST	@ Golden State	L 102–105	Hayes (25)	Unseld (18)	Henderson (8)	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 9,935	26–24
51	February 8, 1978 11:00 p.m. EST	@ Seattle	W 106–100	Hayes (25)	Hayes (21)	Wright (6)	Seattle Center Coliseum 12,126	27–24
52	February 12, 1978 6:45 p.m. EST	@ Phoenix	L 109–121	Hayes (34)	Hayes (16)	Henderson (7)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,467	27–25
53	February 14, 1978 9:35 p.m. EST	@ Denver	L 98–103	Grevey (24)	Unseld (18)	Dandridge, Henderson (6)	McNichols Sports Arena 15,636	27–26
54	February 16, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Buffalo	W 123–109	Hayes (25)	Unseld (17)	Dandridge (7)	Capital Centre 6,857	28–26
55	February 17, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	@ Indiana	L 111–123	Hayes (26)	Unseld (21)	Henderson, Unseld (5)	Market Square Arena 10,637	28–27
56	February 19, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	New Orleans	W 130–111	Hayes (31)	Unseld (17)	Unseld, Wright (8)	Capital Centre 16,505	29–27
57	February 22, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Portland	L 97–105	Hayes (26)	Unseld (12)	Henderson (9)	Capital Centre 11,554	29–28
58	February 24, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Phoenix	W 121–120 (OT)	Hayes (23)	Unseld (24)	Henderson (10)	Capital Centre 12,432	30–28
59	February 26, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	Golden State	W 121–110	Hayes (37)	Hayes (18)	Unseld (7)	Capital Centre 13,814	31–28
60	February 28, 1978 9:05 p.m. EST	@ Milwaukee	L 135–136 (OT)	Johnson (25)	Unseld (27)	Henderson (7)	MECCA Arena 10,938	31–29

March: 10–7 (home: 5–5; road: 5–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
61	March 1, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	San Antonio	W 125–110	Grevey (29)	Hayes (21)	Henderson (11)	Capital Centre 8,425	32–29
62	March 3, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	@ Detroit	W 124–108	Grevey (32)	Hayes (27)	Henderson (7)	Cobo Arena 5,033	33–29
63	March 5, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	Houston	W 106–88	Dandridge (26)	Hayes (15)	Henderson (7)	Capital Centre 14,344	34–29
64	March 10, 1978 9:05 p.m. EST	@ Houston	W 117–114	Grevey (43)	Unseld (18)	Henderson (8)	The Summit 7,506	35–29
65	March 11, 1978 8:30 p.m. EST	@ San Antonio	L 101–116	Grevey (28)	Hayes (13)	Henderson (7)	HemisFair Arena 9,465	35–30
66	March 14, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Seattle	120–115	Dandridge, Hayes, Kupchak (24)	Hayes, Unseld (10)	Dandridge (7)	Capital Centre 7,804	36–30
67	March 16, 1978 8:30 p.m. EST	@ Chicago	L 107–111	Dandridge (23)	Hayes (8)	Grevey (7)	Chicago Stadium 11,972	36–31
68	March 17, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Indiana	L 99–105	Kupchak (30)	Hayes, Unseld (17)	Hayes (5)	Capital Centre 8,196	36–32
69	March 19, 1978 7:35 p.m. EST	Milwaukee	L 106–117	Hayes (32)	Hayes, Unseld (13)	Grevey (7)	Capital Centre 9,492	36–33
70	March 21, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Boston	W 119–107	Hayes (34)	Unseld (11)	Unseld (7)	Capital Centre 17,252	37–33
71	March 22, 1978 8:35 p.m. EST	@ New Orleans	W 124–109	Grevey (30)	Hayes (16)	Dandridge (7)	Louisiana Superdome 13,143	38–33
72	March 24, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	@ New Jersey	W 107–104	Dandridge (30)	Hayes (16)	Hendersonn (9)	Rutgers Athletic Center 5,833	39–33
73	March 25, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Atlanta	W 98–95	Dandridge (18)	Hayes (15)	Henderson (5)	Capital Centre 8,190	40–33
74	March 26, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	New Jersey	L 104–118	Grevey, Hayes, Kupchak (25)	Unseld (24)	Henderson (7)	Capital Centre 5,750	40–34
75	March 29, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Kansas City	L 105–108 (OT)	Grevey (30)	Hayes (21)	Unseld (10)	Capital Centre 6,717	40–35
76	March 30, 1978 8:35 p.m. EST	@ New York	W 123–108	Dandridge (28)	Hayes (22)	Dandridge, Unseld, Wright (4)	Madison Square Garden 12,702	41–35
77	March 31, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Cleveland	L 101–102	Hayes (26)	Hayes (12)	Unseld (9)	Capital Centre 8,660	41–36

April: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
78	April 2, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	New York	L 109–114	Kupchak (30)	Johnson (9)	Johnson (4)	Capital Centre 7,193	41–37
79	April 5, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	Los Angeles	W 125–119	Unseld (25)	Hayes (17)	Henderson, Unseld (7)	Capital Centre 14,671	42–37
80	April 6, 1978 7:30 p.m. EST	@ Boston (at Providence, Rhode Island)	W 112–103	Hayes (21)	Ballard, Unseld (16)	Ballard, Wright (6)	Providence Civic Center 10,755	43–37
81	April 8, 1978 8:05 p.m. EST	@ Philadelphia	L 114–131	Kupchak (31)	Kupchak (14)	Grevey, Hayes, Johnson, Kupchak, Unseld (3)	The Spectrum 14,711	43–38
82	April 9, 1978 1:30 p.m. EST	Philadelphia	W 123–113	Johnson (29)	Unseld (16)	Walker (7)	Capital Centre 17,952	44–38

1977–78 schedule

Playoffs

Game officials

Pre season

Regular season

Game	Date	Opponent	Officials
1	10–21–1977	Detroit	N/A
2	10–22–1977	@ New York	N/A
3	10–28–1977	@ Indiana	No. 29 Mike Mathis and No. 15 Bob Rakel
4	10–29–1977	@ Kansas City	N/A
5	11–4–1977	Phoenix	N/A
6	11–5–1977	@ Houston	N/A
7	11–6–1977	@ New Orleans	N/A
8	11–10–1977	Milwaukee	N/A
9	11–12–1977	Philadelphia	No. 10 Darell Garretson and No. 43 Wally Rooney
10	11–13–1977	@ Detroit	N/A
11	11–15–1977	Seattle	N/A
12	11–18–1977	New York	N/A
13	11–19–1977	@ Kansas City	N/A
14	11–21–1977	@ Buffalo	No. 28 Tommy Nunez and No. 17 Ed Rush
15	11–22–1977	Denver	N/A
16	11–26–1977	Houston	N/A
17	11–30–1977	San Antonio	N/A
18	12–2–1977	@ Milwaukee	N/A
19	12–3–1977	Boston	N/A
20	12–4–1977	@ Cleveland	No. 18 Ed Middleton and No. 26 Richie Powers
21	12–6–1977	@ Chicago	No. 20 Jess Kersey and No. 14 Jack Madden
22	12–7–1977	Cleveland	No. 11 Jake O'Donnell and No. 21 Mel Whitworth
23	12–9–1977	New Orleans	N/A
24	12–11–1977	New Jersey	N/A
25	12–13–1977	Golden State	No. 28 Tommy Nunez and No. 17 Ed Rush
26	12–16–1977	@ Denver	N/A
27	12–17–1977	@ Portland	No. 7 Joe Gushue and No. 24 Bill Saar
28	12–18–1977	@ Seattle	No. 44 Bernie Fryer and No. 12 Earl Strom
29	12–20–1977	@ Los Angeles	N/A
30	12–25–1977	Atlanta	N/A
31	12–26–1977	@ Atlanta	N/A
32	12–28–1977	Buffalo	No. 18 Ed Middleton and No. 6 Don Murphy
33	12–30–1977	@ Philadelphia	No. 27 Dick Bavetta and No. 11 Jake O'Donnell
34	1–3–1978	Denver	N/A
35	1–6–1978	Indiana	No. 7 Joe Gushue and No. 42 Hue Hollins
36	1–8–1978	@ New Jersey	N/A
37	1–10–1978	Kansas City	N/A
38	1–11–1978	@ Atlanta	N/A
39	1–13–1978	Portland	No. 25 Hugh Evans and No. 12 Earl Strom
40	1–14–1978	@ Buffalo	No. 33 Joe Crawford and No. 10 Darell Garretson
41	1–18–1978	@ Golden State	No. 27 Dick Bavetta and No. 19 Jim Capers
42	1–20–1978	@ Los Angeles	N/A
43	1–22–1978	@ Phoenix	No. 18 Ed Middleton and No. 9 John Vanak
44	1–24–1978	Detroit	N/A
45	1–26–1978	Chicago	No. 18 Ed Middleton and No. 43 Wally Rooney
46	1–29–1978	Los Angeles	N/A
47	1–31–1978	@ San Antonio	N/A
48	2–2–1978	@ Cleveland	No. 11 Jake O'Donnell and No. 43 Wally Rooney
49	2–3–1978	@ Boston	N/A
50	2–7–1978	@ Golden State	No. 42 Hue Hollins and No. 15 Bob Rakel
51	2–8–1978	@ Seattle	No. 6 Don Murphy and No. 21 Mel Whitworth
52	2–12–1978	@ Phoenix	N/A
53	2–14–1978	@ Denver	N/A
54	2–16–1978	Buffalo	No. 20 Jess Kersey and No. 9 John Vanak
55	2–17–1978	@ Indiana	No. 44 Bernie Fryer and No. 17 Ed Rush
56	2–19–1978	New Orleans	N/A
57	2–22–1978	Portland	No. 14 Jack Madden and No. 28 Tommy Nunez
58	2–24–1978	Phoenix	N/A
59	2–26–1978	Golden State	N/A
60	2–28–1978	@ Milwaukee	N/A
61	3–1–1978	San Antonio	N/A
62	3–3–1978	@ Detroit	N/A
63	3–5–1978	Houston	N/A
64	3–10–1978	@ Houston	N/A
65	3–11–1978	@ San Antonio	N/A
66	3–14–1978	Seattle	N/A
67	3–16–1978	@ Chicago	No. 28 Tommy Nunez and No. 9 John Vanak
68	3–17–1978	Indiana	No. 19 Jim Capers and No. 30 Lee Jones
69	3–19–1978	Milwaukee	N/A
70	3–21–1978	Boston	N/A
71	3–22–1978	@ New Orleans	N/A
72	3–24–1978	@ New Jersey	N/A
73	3–25–1978	Atlanta	N/A
74	3–26–1978	New Jersey	N/A
75	3–29–1978	Kansas City	No. 27 Dick Bavetta and No. 15 Bob Rakel
76	3–30–1978	@ New York	N/A
77	3–31–1978	Cleveland	No. 19 Jim Capers and No. 12 Earl Strom
78	4–2–1978	New York	N/A
79	4–5–1978	Los Angeles	N/A
80	4–6–1978	@ Boston	N/A
81	4–8–1978	@ Philadelphia	No. 25 Hugh Evans and No. 6 Don Murphy
82	4–9–1978	Philadelphia	No. 27 Dick Bavetta and No. 22 Paul Mihalak

Playoffs

Game	Round	Date	Opponent	Officials	Alternate
1	Eastern Conference First Round	4–12–1978	Atlanta
2	Eastern Conference First Round	4–14–1978	@ Atlanta
1	Eastern Conference Semifinals	4–16–1978	@ San Antonio	No. 6 Don Murphy and No. 9 John Vanak	No. 20 Jess Kersey
2	Eastern Conference Semifinals	4–18–1978	@ San Antonio
3	Eastern Conference Semifinals	4–21–1978	San Antonio
4	Eastern Conference Semifinals	4–23–1978	San Antonio	No. 11 Jake O'Donnell and No. 18 Ed Middleton	No. 29 Mike Mathis
5	Eastern Conference Semifinals	4–25–1978	@ San Antonio
6	Eastern Conference Semifinals	4–28–1978	San Antonio
1	Eastern Conference Finals	4–30–1978	@ Philadelphia	No. 12 Earl Strom and No. 25 Hugh Evans	No. 30 Lee Jones
2	Eastern Conference Finals	5–3–1978	@ Philadelphia	No. 14 Jack Madden and No. 17 Ed Rush
3	Eastern Conference Finals	5–5–1978	Philadelphia	No. 7 Joe Gushue and No. 22 Paul Mihalak
4	Eastern Conference Finals	5–7–1978	Philadelphia	No. 11 Jake O'Donnell and No. 19 Jim Capers
5	Eastern Conference Finals	5–10–1978	@ Philadelphia	No. 10 Darell Garretson and No. 6 Don Murphy
6	Eastern Conference Finals	5–12–1978	Philadelphia	No. 12 Earl Strom and No. 9 John Vanak
1	NBA Finals	5–21–1978	@ Seattle	No. 10 Darell Garretson and No. 17 Ed Rush
2	NBA Finals	5–25–1978	Seattle	No. 7 Joe Gushue and No. 11 Jake O'Donnell
3	NBA Finals	5–28–1978	Seattle	No. 12 Earl Strom and No. 9 John Vanak
4	NBA Finals	5–30–1978	@ Seattle	No. 14 Jack Madden and No. 6 Don Murphy
5	NBA Finals	6–2–1978	@ Seattle	No. 7 Joe Gushue and No. 11 Jake O'Donnell
6	NBA Finals	6–4–1978	Seattle	No. 10 Darell Garretson and No. 6 Don Murphy
7	NBA Finals	6–7–1978	@ Seattle	No. 14 Jack Madden and No. 12 Earl Strom

Player stats

Regular season

Note: GP= Games played; GS= Games started; MP=Minutes played; FG=Field goals; FGA=Field goals attempted; FG%=Field goal percentage; FT=Free throws; FTA=Free throws attempted; FT%=Free throw percentage; ORB= Offensive rebounds; DRB= Defensive rebounds; TRB= Total rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player	GP	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Hayes	81	3246	636	1409	.451	326	514	.635	335	740	1075	149	96	159	1598	19.7
Dandridge	75	2777	560	1190	.471	330	419	.788	137	305	442	287	101	44	1450	19.3
Kupchak	67	1759	393	768	.512	280	402	.697	162	298	460	71	28	42	1066	15.9
Grevey	81	2121	505	1128	.448	243	308	.789	124	166	290	155	61	17	1253	15.5
Chenier	36	937	200	451	.443	109	138	.790	15	87	102	73	36	9	509	14.1
Henderson	75	2315	339	784	.432	179	240	.746	66	127	193	406	93	15	857	11.4
Wright	70	1466	283	570	.496	76	107	.710	31	71	102	260	68	15	642	9.2
Johnson	39	807	141	346	.408	42	51	.824	20	73	93	82	31	1	324	8.3
Unseld	80	2644	257	491	.523	93	173	.538	286	669	955	326	98	45	607	7.6
Ballard	76	936	142	334	.425	88	114	.772	102	164	266	62	30	13	372	4.9
Walker	40	384	57	161	.354	64	96	.667	21	31	52	54	14	5	178	4.5
Pace	49	438	67	140	.479	57	93	.613	50	84	134	23	12	24	191	3.9
Total	82	19830	3580	7772	.461	1887	2655	.711	1349	2815	4164	1948	668	386	9047	110.3

Playoffs

Player	GP	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Hayes	21	868	189	385	.491	79	133	.594	103	176	279	43	32	52	457	21.8
Dandridge	19	746	172	359	.479	58	84	.690	35	88	123	74	30	14	402	21.1
Grevey	21	584	126	284	.444	73	90	.811	25	36	61	42	11	3	325	15.5
Johnson	21	425	93	229	.406	29	37	.784	20	33	53	48	30	0	215	10.2
Kupchak	21	504	84	199	.422	45	69	.652	49	78	127	22	4	3	213	10.1
Henderson	21	597	72	173	.416	58	79	.734	17	30	47	106	27	5	202	9.6
Unseld	18	677	71	134	.530	27	46	.587	72	144	216	79	17	7	169	9.4
Wright	21	402	76	163	.466	19	25	.760	7	24	31	67	17	2	171	8.1
Ballard	19	243	21	63	.333	32	41	.780	27	52	79	18	9	3	74	3.9
Pace	9	52	7	10	.700	11	15	.733	5	15	20	1	1	6	25	2.8
Walker	4	17	1	8	.125	4	5	.800	1	1	2	2	0	0	6	1.5
Total	21	5115	912	2007		435	583		361	677	1038	502	178	95	2259	114.1

NBA Finals

Main article: 1978 NBA Finals

After being swept in their previous two trips to the NBA Finals (by Milwaukee in 1971 and Golden State in 1975), the Bullets lost Game 1 on the road against the Seattle SuperSonics, and a 19-point lead vanished in the process. In Game 4, the Bullets rose to the occasion beating the Sonics 120–116 to even the series at 2 games apiece. After losing Game 5 in Seattle, the Bullets kept their hopes alive with a dominating 117–82 win at the Capital Centre. Game 7 returned to Seattle and the Bullets were a heavy underdog. Kevin Grevey suffered a sprained wrist above his shooting hand, and Bob Dandridge was forced to see some action at guard. Dandridge would play strongly and scored 19 points to tie with Charles Johnson, who hit a half court shot at the end of the 3rd quarter, for the team high. Wes Unseld scored 15 points while pulling down 9 rebounds as the Bullets emerged with a 105–99 victory to win their first NBA Championship.

Awards and honors

Wes Unseld, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award

References

Bullets on Basketball Reference

v t e NBA champions
1940s	1947: Philadelphia Warriors 1948: Baltimore Bullets 1949: Minneapolis Lakers
1950s	1950: Minneapolis Lakers 1951: Rochester Royals 1952: Minneapolis Lakers 1953: Minneapolis Lakers 1954: Minneapolis Lakers 1955: Syracuse Nationals 1956: Philadelphia Warriors 1957: Boston Celtics 1958: St. Louis Hawks 1959: Boston Celtics
1960s	1960: Boston Celtics 1961: Boston Celtics 1962: Boston Celtics 1963: Boston Celtics 1964: Boston Celtics 1965: Boston Celtics 1966: Boston Celtics 1967: Philadelphia 76ers 1968: Boston Celtics 1969: Boston Celtics
1970s	1970: New York Knicks 1971: Milwaukee Bucks 1972: Los Angeles Lakers 1973: New York Knicks 1974: Boston Celtics 1975: Golden State Warriors 1976: Boston Celtics 1977: Portland Trail Blazers 1978: Washington Bullets 1979: Seattle SuperSonics
1980s	1980: Los Angeles Lakers 1981: Boston Celtics 1982: Los Angeles Lakers 1983: Philadelphia 76ers 1984: Boston Celtics 1985: Los Angeles Lakers 1986: Boston Celtics 1987: Los Angeles Lakers 1988: Los Angeles Lakers 1989: Detroit Pistons
1990s	1990: Detroit Pistons 1991: Chicago Bulls 1992: Chicago Bulls 1993: Chicago Bulls 1994: Houston Rockets 1995: Houston Rockets 1996: Chicago Bulls 1997: Chicago Bulls 1998: Chicago Bulls 1999: San Antonio Spurs
2000s	2000: Los Angeles Lakers 2001: Los Angeles Lakers 2002: Los Angeles Lakers 2003: San Antonio Spurs 2004: Detroit Pistons 2005: San Antonio Spurs 2006: Miami Heat 2007: San Antonio Spurs 2008: Boston Celtics 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
2010s	2010: Los Angeles Lakers 2011: Dallas Mavericks 2012: Miami Heat 2013: Miami Heat 2014: San Antonio Spurs 2015: Golden State Warriors 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers 2017: Golden State Warriors 2018: Golden State Warriors 2019: Toronto Raptors
2020s	2020: Los Angeles Lakers 2021: Milwaukee Bucks 2022: Golden State Warriors 2023: Denver Nuggets 2024: Boston Celtics

v t e Washington Bullets 1977–78 NBA champions
10 Dandridge 11 Hayes 14 Henderson 15 Johnson 20 Walker 25 Kupchak 32 Wright 35 Grevey 41 Unseld (Finals MVP) 42 Ballard 44 Pace 45 Chenier
Head coach: Motta
Assistant coach: Bickerstaff
Regular season Playoffs