1978 NBA Finals
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| Dates | May 21 – June 7 | ||||||||||||||
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| MVP |
Wes Unseld (Washington Bullets) |
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| Television | CBS (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Brent Musburger (All games), Rick Barry (All Games), Steve Jones (Game 1), John Havlicek (Games 2,4 and 7), Gus Johnson (Game 3), and Keith Erickson (Games 4 and 5) | ||||||||||||||
| Radio network |
Mutual (National) KOMO (SEA) WTOP (WSH) |
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| Announcers | Tony Roberts and Hubie Brown (Mutual) Bob Blackburn (KOMO) Frank Herzog (WTOP) |
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| Referees | |||||||||||||||
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| Hall of Famers |
SuperSonics: Dennis Johnson (2010) Bullets: Elvin Hayes (1990) Wes Unseld (1988) Coaches: Lenny Wilkens (1989, player/1998, coach) Officials: Darell Garretson (2016) Earl Strom (1995) |
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| Eastern Finals | Bullets defeat 76ers, 4–2 | ||||||||||||||
| Western Finals | SuperSonics defeat Nuggets, 4–2 | ||||||||||||||
| Game 1: | Darell Garretson and Ed Rush |
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| Game 2: | Joe Gushue and Jake O'Donnell |
| Game 3: | Earl Strom and John Vanak |
| Game 4: | Jack Madden and Don Murphy |
| Game 5: | Joe Gushue and Jake O'Donnell |
| Game 6: | Darell Garretson and Don Murphy |
| Game 7 | Jack Madden and Earl Strom |
The 1978 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1977–78 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The series featured the Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics against the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets. The Bullets defeated the SuperSonics in seven games to win the NBA championship. Bullets power forward/center Wes Unseld was named MVP of the series. Before the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 7 win at Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals, this was the last time a road team had won Game 7 in the NBA Finals. The 1978 Finals is the only NBA Finals series since the 1958 NBA Finals in which both teams had under 50 wins. The 1958 NBA Finals concluded a 72-game season, making the 1978 Finals the only NBA Finals to feature two teams with under 50 wins in an 82-game season.
The Seattle SuperSonics had a disappointing start to the season, going 5–17 to begin with. Bob Hopkins, who replaced former Boston Celtics center Bill Russell as coach, was fired and Lenny Wilkens returned for a second tour of duty. The Sonics were led by center Jack Sikma, forwards Fred Brown, Paul Silas and John Johnson, and guards Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams. With Wilkens' experience being a key factor, the Sonics turned their season around, finishing with 47 wins and the fourth seed in the West. In the playoffs, they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-game miniseries, then upset the top-seeded and defending champion Portland Trail Blazers (who lost center Bill Walton in the second game of the series) in six games, before announcing their finals debut with a six-game win over the Denver Nuggets.
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