1977–78 Chicago Bulls season

The 1977–78 NBA season was the Bulls' 12th season in the NBA.^[1]

1977–78 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach	Ed Badger
General manager	Jon Kovler
Owner(s)	Arthur Wirtz and Jonathan Kovler
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Results
Record	40–42 (.488)
Place	Division: 3rd (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WGN-TV (Lorn Brown, Johnny “Red” Kerr)
Radio	WIND (Jim Durham, Bill Berg)
< 1976–77 1978–79 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	13	Tate Armstrong	SG	United States	Duke
2	23	Mike Glenn	PG	United States	Southern Illinois
2	30	Steve Sheppard	SF	United States	Maryland
2	35	Mark Landsberger	PF/C	United States	Arizona State
4	79	Mike McConathy		United States	Louisiana Tech
5	101	Nate Davis		United States	South Carolina
6	123	Jay Chessman		United States	Brigham Young
7	143	Mike Smith		United States	Evansville
8	162	Rich Rhodes		United States	Eastern Illinois

Roster

1977–78 Chicago Bulls roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 14 Armstrong, Tate 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1955–10–05 Duke C 18 Boerwinkle, Tom 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1945–08–23 Tennessee F 40 Dickey, Derrek 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1951–03–20 Cincinnati C 53 Gilmore, Artis 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1949–09–21 Jacksonville G 12 Holland, Wilbur 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1951–11–08 New Orleans F 8 Johnson, Mickey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952–08–31 Aurora F 54 Landsberger, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955–05–21 Arizona State F 42 May, Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954–03–19 Indiana G 15 Mengelt, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1949–10–16 Auburn F 32 Russell, Cazzie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1944–06–07 Michigan F 41 Sheppard, Steve 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954–03–21 Maryland G 2 Van Lier, Norm 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 1947–04–01 Saint Francis (PA) F 13 Weatherspoon, Nick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1950–07–20 Illinois

Head coach Ed Badger Assistant coach(es) Jerry Sloan Bumper Tormohlen Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: February 17, 1978

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Denver Nuggets	48	34	.585	–	33–8	15–26	11–9
x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	4	28–13	16–25	14–6
Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	8	29–12	11–30	8–12
Detroit Pistons	38	44	.463	10	24–17	14–27	8–12
Indiana Pacers	31	51	.378	17	21–20	10–31	8–12
Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	17	22–19	9–32	11–9

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	48	34	.585	10
3	x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	14
7	Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15
8	Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	18
9	Detroit Pistons	38	44	.463	20
10	Indiana Pacers	31	51	.378	27
11	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	27

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	—	2–2	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	—

Awards and records

• Norm Van Lier, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Artis Gilmore, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Artis Gilmore, NBA All-Star Game

References

1. 1977–78 Chicago Bulls