1978 NBA playoffs
The 1978 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1977-78 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets defeating the Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Wes Unseld was named NBA Finals MVP. To date, it remains the only NBA title that the Bullets have won.
It was the third NBA Finals appearance and first title for the Bullets, founded in 1961. The Sonics made the Finals for the first time in their 11-year existence. This would be the first of two straight meetings in the Finals between the Bullets and Sonics, with Seattle winning the title the next year.
This was the first time since the expansion of the playoff field to 10 teams in 1975 that neither conference champion had the benefit of a first-round bye by being one of the top two teams in the conference during the regular season. The 1979 Finals rematch between the Sonics and Bullets took place with both teams as the #1 seed in their respective conference.
The Denver Nuggets, one of the four former American Basketball Association teams to join the NBA the previous season, became the first of them to win an NBA playoff series, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in a 7-game conference semifinal.
Bracket
First round
Eastern Conference first round
(3) [Washington Bullets] vs. (6) [Atlanta Hawks]
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams split the first two meetings while both teams were in Baltimore and St. Louis respectively.| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
(4) [Cleveland Cavaliers] vs. (5) [New York Knicks]
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.Western Conference first round
(3) [Phoenix Suns] vs. (6) [Milwaukee Bucks]
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.(4) [Seattle SuperSonics] vs. (5) [Los Angeles Lakers]
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.Conference semifinals
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) [Philadelphia 76ers] vs. (5) [New York Knicks]
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning four of the first six meetings.| Philadelphia leads 4–2 in all-time playoff series |
(2) [San Antonio Spurs] vs. (3) [Washington Bullets]
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.Western Conference semifinals
(1) [Portland Trail Blazers] vs. (4) [Seattle SuperSonics]
- Bill Walton's final game in a Portland Trail Blazer uniform.
(2) [Denver Nuggets] vs. (6) [Milwaukee Bucks]
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.Conference finals
Eastern Conference finals
(1) [Philadelphia 76ers] vs. (3) [Washington Bullets]
- After a jump ball with three seconds left, Doug Collins hits the game-tying shot at the buzzer to send it to OT.
- Wes Unseld is injured and misses the next three games of the series.
- Wes Unseld returns to the lineup.
| Baltimore/Washington leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
Western Conference finals
(2) [Denver Nuggets] vs. (4) [Seattle SuperSonics]
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.NBA Finals: (W4) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (E3) Washington Bullets
- "Downtown" Freddie Brown scores 16 of his points in the 4th quarter to lead the Sonics back from a 19-point deficit.
- This was the last time until 2016 that a road team defeated the home team in Game 7 of the Finals.