1978–79 Chicago Bulls season

The 1978–79 NBA season was the Bulls' 13th season in the NBA.^[1]

1978–79 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach	Larry Costello (fired) Scotty Robertson (interim)
General manager	Rod Thorn
Owner(s)	Arthur Wirtz and Jonathan Kovler
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Results
Record	31–51 (.378)
Place	Division: 5th (Midwest) Conference: 11th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WGN-TV (Jack Fleming, Johnny “Red” Kerr)
Radio	WIND (Jim Durham, Bill Berg)
< 1977–78 1979–80 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1978 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	9	Reggie Theus	SG	United States	Nevada-Las Vegas
2	31	Marvin Johnson		United States	New Mexico
3	53	Randy Ayers		United States	Miami
5	97	Ron Anthony		United States	Jacksonville
6	119	John Shoemaker		United States	Miami
7	140	Jarvis Reynolds		United States	West Georgia State
8	159	Chubby Cox	SG	United States	San Francisco
9	176	Joe Ponsetto		United States	DePaul
10	191	Mark Tucker		United States	Oklahoma State

Roster

1978–79 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 F 50 Brown, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1951-12-14 Missouri G 5 Dudley, Charles 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1950-03-05 Washington 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 27 Johnson, Ollie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1949-05-11 Temple F 54 Landsberger, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955-05-21 Arizona State C 45 Lloyd, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1952-12-19 Arizona State F 17 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 10 Sheppard, Steve 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954-03-21 Maryland G 24 Theus, Reggie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1957-10-13 UNLV G 44 Wakefield, Andre 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1955-01-11 Loyola Chicago

Head coach Larry Costello (fired) Scotty Robertson (interim) Assistant coach(es) Bumper Tormohlen Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: February 16, 1979

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Kansas City Kings	48	34	.585	–	32–9	16–25	12–4
x-Denver Nuggets	47	35	.573	1	29–12	18–23	8–8
Indiana Pacers	38	44	.463	10	25–16	13–28	6–10
Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	10	28–13	10–31	9–7
Chicago Bulls	31	51	.378	17	19–22	12–29	5–11

#	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

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1978-79 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2
Boston	2–2	—	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–4
Chicago	1–3	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Cleveland	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	1–2	1–3	2–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4
Denver	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	0–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3
Detroit	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3
Golden State	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–2	0–4	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2
Houston	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	0–4	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2
Indiana	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	4–0	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3
Kansas City	2–2	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–0
Los Angeles	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2
Milwaukee	0–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3
New Jersey	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	4–0	3–1	1–3	2–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–0	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–4	1–3
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–3	0–4
New York	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	0–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	1–3	1–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1
Phoenix	1–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–3	3–1	4–0	3–1	—	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3
Portland	2–2	3–1	0–4	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–3	—	2–1	2–2	1–3	3–1
San Antonio	1–3	4–0	3–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–2	—	4–0	2–2	1–3
San Diego	1–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	0–4	—	2–2	0–3
Seattle	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	2–2
Washington	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	—

Awards and records

• Reggie Theus, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
• Artis Gilmore, NBA All-Star Game

References

1. 1978-79 Chicago Bulls