1977–78 Los Angeles Lakers season

1977–78   Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coach	Jerry West
General manager	Bill Sharman
Owner(s)	Jack Kent Cooke
Arena	The Forum
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to SuperSonics 1–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KHJ-TV (Chick Hearn, Pat Riley)
Radio	KLAC (Chick Hearn, Pat Riley)
< 1976–77 1978–79 >

The 1977–78 NBA season was the Lakers' 30th season in the NBA and 18th season in Los Angeles. ^[1]

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1977 NBA draft

Roster

1977–78 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947-04-16 UCLA SF 5 Tom Abernethy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1954-05-06 Indiana PF 2 Kenny Carr 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1955-08-15 NC State SF 4 Adrian Dantley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1955-02-28 Notre Dame PG 30 Brad Davis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955-12-17 Maryland PF 35 Don Ford 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952-12-31 UC Santa Barbara SG 23 Lou Hudson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944-07-11 Minnesota PG 10 Norm Nixon 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-10-11 Duquesne C 40 Dave Robisch 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1949-12-22 Kansas SG 11 Charlie Scott 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-12-15 North Carolina SF 52 Jamaal Wilkes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953-05-02 UCLA

Head coach Jerry West Assistant(s) Stan Albeck Jack McCloskey Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: January 30, 1978

Regular season

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

Playoffs

1978 playoff game log
First Round: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 12 @ Seattle L 90–102 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12) Nixon, Scott (6) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 0–1 2 April 14 Seattle W 105–99 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18) Adrian Dantley (6) The Forum 15,051 1–1 3 April 16 @ Seattle L 102–111 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) Norm Nixon (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 1–2
1978 schedule

Awards and records

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, All-NBA Second Team
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Norm Nixon, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

References

1. 1977–78 Los Angeles Lakers