1978–79 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1978–79 NBA season was the Lakers' 31st season in the NBA and 19th season in Los Angeles. It was the final season for the team under the ownership of Jack Kent Cooke, who sold the team to Jerry Buss the following summer.

1978–79 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coach	Jerry West
General manager	Bill Sharman
Owner(s)	Jack Kent Cooke
Arena	The Forum
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to SuperSonics 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KHJ-TV
Radio	KLAC

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1978 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College
2	26	Ron Carter	United States	Virginia Military
2	38	Lew Massey	United States	North Carolina
3	60	Michael Cooper	United States	New Mexico
4	82	Harold Robertson	United States	Lincoln University
5	104	Carlos Terry	United States	Winston-Salem
6	126	Kim Stewart	United States	Washington
7	147	Larry Paige	United States	Colorado

Roster

1978–79 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 33 Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947-04-16 UCLA SG 24 Boone, Ron 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1946-09-06 Idaho State PF 2 Carr, Kenny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1955-08-15 NC State SG 15 Carter, Ron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1956-08-31 VMI SG 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956-04-15 New Mexico SF 4 Dantley, Adrian 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1955-02-28 Notre Dame PF 35 Ford, Don 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952-12-31 UC Santa Barbara SG 23 Hudson, Lou 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944-07-11 Minnesota PG 10 Nixon, Norm 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-10-11 Duquesne PG 5 Price, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1949-11-27 Louisville C 40 Robisch, Dave 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1949-12-22 Kansas SF 52 Wilkes, Jamaal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953-05-02 UCLA

Head coach Jerry West Assistant coach(es) Stan Albeck Jack McCloskey Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: October 27, 1978

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	–	31–10	21–20	11–9
x-Phoenix Suns	50	32	.610	2	32–9	18–23	11–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers	47	35	.573	5	31–10	16–25	11–9
x-Portland Trail Blazers	45	37	.549	7	33–8	12–29	8–12
San Diego Clippers	43	39	.524	9	29–12	14–27	11–9
Golden State Warriors	38	44	.463	14	23–18	15–26	8–12

#	Western Conference
	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	—

Playoffs

1979 playoff game log
First Round: 2–1 (home: 1–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 10 @ Denver L 105–110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12) Norm Nixon (11) McNichols Sports Arena 16,011 0–1 2 April 13 Denver W 121–109 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) Jamaal Wilkes (13) Norm Nixon (16) The Forum 14,182 1–1 3 April 16 @ Denver W 112–111 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (16) Norm Nixon (12) McNichols Sports Arena 16,181 2–1
Conference semifinals: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 17 @ Seattle L 101–112 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) Norm Nixon (7) Kingdome 26,377 0–1 2 April 18 @ Seattle L 103–108 (OT) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) Norm Nixon (10) Kingdome 26,862 0–2 3 April 20 Seattle W 118–112 (OT) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) Jamaal Wilkes (9) Norm Nixon (11) The Forum 17,505 1–2 4 April 22 Seattle L 115–117 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Norm Nixon (19) The Forum 17,505 1–3 5 April 25 @ Seattle L 100–106 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14) Abdul-Jabbar, Nixon (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–4
1979 schedule

Awards and records

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, All-NBA Second Team
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Star Game

External links

• 1978–79 Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Stats at basketball-reference.com