1977–78 San Antonio Spurs season

The 1977–78 NBA season was the second in the NBA, the 5th in San Antonio, and the 11th as a franchise. While George Gervin was lighting up the scoreboard with his first point title, the Spurs won the Central Division with a 52–30 record.[1] In the playoffs the Spurs would be stunned in 6 games by the eventual champion Washington Bullets In the series, Gervin averaged 33.2 points per game.[1]

1977–78 San Antonio Spurs season
Division champions
Head coachDoug Moe
General managerJohn Begzos
Owner(s)Angelo Drossos
ArenaHemisFair Arena
Results
Record52–30 (.634)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference semifinals
(lost to Bullets 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKMOL
RadioWOAI

Draft picks
Main article: 1977 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
237Jeff WilkinsC/PF United StatesIllinois State
359Dan Henderson United StatesArkansas State
481Matt Hicks United StatesNorthern Illinois
5103Scott SimsG United StatesMissouri
6125Bruce Buckley United StatesNorth Carolina
7145Richard Robinson United StatesNew Mexico
8164Jerome Gladney United StatesArizona

Roster
1977–78 San Antonio Spurs roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
F 30 United States Bristow, Allan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Virginia Tech
G 10 United States Dampier, Louie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Kentucky
F/C 25 United States Dietrick, Coby 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) San José State
G 12 United States Gale, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Elizabeth City State
G/F 44 United States Gervin, George 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Eastern Michigan
C 23 United States Green, Mike 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Louisiana Tech
G 22 United States Karl, George 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) North Carolina
F 35 United States Kenon, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Memphis
G 1 United States Layton, Mo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) USC
F 53 United States Olberding, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Minnesota
F/C 5 United States Paultz, Billy 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) St. John's
G 13 United States Silas, James 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Stephen F. Austin
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

George Gervin and David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets would battle all season for the NBA scoring title. On the final day of the season, Thompson would take the lead by scoring 73 points in an afternoon game against the Detroit Pistons.[1] That night, Gervin needed 58 points against the Jazz in New Orleans. Gervin got to a good start by scoring 20 points in the 1st Quarter. In the 2nd, Gervin set a single period record with 33 points.[1] Early on in the 3rd, Gervin would score his 58 points on the way to 63 points, capturing the scoring title.[1] While Gervin was lighting up the scoreboard, the Spurs won the Central Division with a 52–30 record.

Season Standings
Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 5230.634–32–920–2115–5
x-Washington Bullets 4438.537829–1215–2614–6
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 4339.524927–1416–259–11
x-Atlanta Hawks 4141.5001129–1212–298–12
New Orleans Jazz 3943.4761327–1412–298–12
Houston Rockets 2854.3412421-207-346–14
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Philadelphia 76ers5527.671–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5230.6343
3 x-Washington Bullets4438.53711
4 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4339.52412
5 x-New York Knicks4339.52412
6 x-Atlanta Hawks4141.50014
7 New Orleans Jazz3943.47616
8 Boston Celtics3250.39023
9 Houston Rockets2854.34127
10 Buffalo Braves2755.32928
11 New Jersey Nets2458.29331
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

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 —2–23–11–31–31–32–21–33–13–12–13–12–23–12–22–22–23–11–31–32–11–3
Boston 2–2—3–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–12–21–23–13–12–22–20–42–21–30–40–41–3
Buffalo 1–31–3—3–11–31–31–30–33–11–31–21–31–32–22–23–11–30–41–31–31–31–3
Chicago 3–13–11–3—3–12–22–21–33–13–10–42–21–31–22–21–33–02–21–32–22–22–1
Cleveland 3–13–13–11–3—3–12–22–22–22–12–22–23–13–12–23–11–31–20–40–43–12–2
Denver 3–13–13–12–21–3—2–22–23–02–22–23–13–13–13–11–31–32–23–12–11–33–1
Detroit 2–23–13–12–22–22–2—2–23–11–31–32–22–23–13–00–40–42–21–31–31–32–2
Golden State 3–12–23–03–12–22–22–2—2–13–13–10–42–23–10–42–21–32–21–33–12–22–2
Houston 1–32–21–31–32–20–31–31–2—3–12–21–31–32–21–32–22–21–32–21–30–41–3
Indiana 1–31–23–11–31–22–23–11–31–3—2–21–30–42–22–21–32–21–31–31–31–33–1
Kansas City 1–22–22–14–02–22–23–11–32–22–2—2–20–42–22–20–41–30–40–40–41–32–2
Los Angeles 1–32–13–12–22–21–32–24–03–13–12–2—3–14–02–13–12–21–30–42–21–32–2
Milwaukee 2–21–33–13–11–31–32–22–23–14–04–01–3—3–12–13–11–21–31–32–21–33–1
New Jersey 1–31–32–22–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–20–41–3—0–41–30–42–20–30–42–22–2
New Orleans 2–22–22–22–22–21–31–34–03–12–22–21–21–24–0—1–32–21–33–11–32–20–4
New York 2–22–21–33–11–33–13–02–22–23–14–01–31–33–13–1—1–31–31–32–22–12–2
Philadelphia 2–24–03–11–33–13–14–03–12–22–23–12–22–14–02–23–1—2–12–23–13–12–2
Phoenix 1–32–24–02–22–12–22–22–23–13–14–03–13–12–23–13–11–2—1–32–22–22–2
Portland 3–13–13–13–14–01–33–13–12–23–14–04–03–13–11–33–02–23–1—2–23–12–1
San Antonio 3–14–03–12–24–01–22–11–33–13–14–02–22–24–03–12–21–32–22–2—2–22–2
Seattle 1–24–03–12–21–33–13–12–24–03–13–13–13–12–22–11–31–32–21–32–2—1–3
Washington 3–13–13–11–22–21–32–22–23–11–32–22–21–32–24–02–22–22–21–22–23–1—

Playoffs
1978 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 16 Washington W 114–103 George Gervin (35) Larry Kenon (9) Gervin, Kenon (5) HemisFair Arena
9,669		 1–0
2 April 18 Washington L 117–121 George Gervin (46) Larry Kenon (8) Larry Kenon (6) HemisFair Arena
9,871		 1–1
3 April 21 @ Washington L 105–118 George Gervin (33) Larry Kenon (9) Larry Kenon (4) Capital Centre
17,417		 2–1
4 April 23 @ Washington L 95–98 George Gervin (35) Billy Paultz (8) Mike Gale (7) Capital Centre
13,459		 3–1
5 April 25 Washington W 116–105 George Gervin (27) Larry Kenon (14) Louie Dampier (6) HemisFair Arena
9,709		 3–2
6 April 28 @ Washington L 100–103 Mark Olberding (24) Green, Paultz (9) Mike Gale (9) Capital Centre
19,035		 4–2
1978 schedule

Awards and honors

References
  1. San Antonio Spurs (1973–Present)
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