1977–78 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1977–78 Portland Trail Blazers season was the eighth season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] Fresh off their first NBA Championship win the previous season, the Blazers led the league with a franchise-best 58–24 record, earning a first-round bye in the 1978 NBA Playoffs. However, they were defeated by the eventual Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics four games to two.

1977–78 Portland Trail Blazers season
Division champions
Head coach	Jack Ramsay
General manager	Harry Glickman
Owner(s)	Larry Weinberg
Arena	Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	58–24 (.707)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to SuperSonics 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KOIN
Radio	KYTE
< 1976–77 1978–79 >

The team started with 50 wins in their first 60 games, but due to Bill Walton's foot injury they only managed to go 8–14 the rest of the way.^[2] This would be Walton's last season with the club, as he sat out the 1979 season and then was signed by the San Diego Clippers.

Prior to the season, the Blazers changed their uniforms to display blazing lines from side to side (red and black for the home, red and white for the road jersey). The team also changed the road jersey to be black rather than the red they previously wore since their inception (the team would wear black road uniforms until they changed it to red in 1979).^[3] The Blazers eventually eclipsed their franchise-record win total from this season with a 59–23 showing in 1989–90.

Draft picks

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Note: This is not a complete list; only the first two rounds are covered, as well as any other picks by the franchise who played at least one NBA game.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	19	Rich Laurel	G	United States	Hofstra
2	28	Kim Anderson	F	United States	Missouri
2	41	T. R. Dunn	G	United States	Alabama

Roster

1977–78 Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SF 10 Corky Calhoun 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Penn G 16 Johnny Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Dayton SG 23 T.R. Dunn 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Alabama F 30 Bob Gross 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Long Beach State G 14 Lionel Hollins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Arizona State F 20 Maurice Lucas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Marquette F 36 Lloyd Neal 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Tennessee State F/C 25 Tom Owens 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) South Carolina F 15 Larry Steele 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Kentucky G 13 Dave Twardzik 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Old Dominion C 32 Bill Walton 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) UCLA

Head coach Jack Ramsay Assistant(s) Jack McKinney Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

The Trail Blazers played their home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–	36–5	22–19	13–3
x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9	34–7	15–26	8–8
x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11	31–10	16–25	8–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13	29–12	16–25	6–10
Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15	30–11	13–28	5–11

#	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	—

Playoffs

1978 playoff game log
Conference Semi-finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 18 Seattle L 95–104 Johnny Davis (20) Bill Walton (16) Lionel Hollins (9) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 0–1 2 April 21 Seattle W 96–93 Maurice Lucas (19) Maurice Lucas (14) Lionel Hollins (5) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 1–1 3 April 23 @ Seattle L 84–99 Tom Owens (24) Owens, Lucas (9) Dave Twardzik (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–2 4 April 26 @ Seattle L 98–100 Lionel Hollins (35) Maurice Lucas (16) Tom Owens (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–3 5 April 30 Seattle W 113–89 Tom Owens (31) Maurice Lucas (13) Davis, Owens (6) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 2–3 6 May 1 @ Seattle L 94–105 Johnny Davis (23) Maurice Lucas (12) Lionel Hollins (9) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 2–4
1978 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and honors

• Bill Walton, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• Bill Walton, All-NBA First Team
• Bill Walton, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Bill Walton, NBA All-Star
• Maurice Lucas, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Maurice Lucas, NBA All-Star
• Lionel Hollins, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Lionel Hollins, NBA All-Star
• Bob Gross, NBA All-Defensive Second Team