1979–80 Washington Bullets season

1979–80 Washington Bullets season
1979–80 Washington Bullets season
Head coach	Dick Motta
General manager	Bob Ferry
Owner(s)	Abe Pollin
Arena	Capital Centre
Results
Record	39–43 (.476)
Place	Division: 3rd (Atlantic); Conference: 6th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round ; (lost to 76ers 0–2)
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WDCA
Radio	WTOP
< 1978–79	1980–81 >

Last updated September 07, 2025

The 1979–80 NBA season was the Bullets 19th season in the NBA and their 7th season in the city of Washington, D.C. ^[1]

Offseason

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Roster

1979–80 Washington Bullets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Player	Height	Weight	From
F	42	Greg Ballard	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Oregon
F	12	Ron Behagen	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Minnesota
F	4	Lawrence Boston	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Maryland
PG	33	Jim Cleamons	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Ohio State
C	40	Dave Corzine	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	DePaul
SF	10	Bob Dandridge	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Norfolk State
F	35	Kevin Grevey	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Kentucky
C	11	Elvin Hayes	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Houston
PF	25	Mitch Kupchak	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	North Carolina
PG	1	Kevin Porter	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Saint Francis (PA)
F	41	Wes Unseld	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Louisville
G	23	John Williamson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	New Mexico State
G	32	Larry Wright	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Grambling State

Head coach

Dick Motta

Assistant(s)

Bernie Bickerstaff

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	17–7
x-Philadelphia 76ers	59	23	.720	2	36–5	23–18	19–5
x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	22	24–17	15–26	9–15
New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22	25–16	14–27	8–16
New Jersey Nets	34	48	.415	27	22–19	12–29	7–17

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	61	21	.744	–
2	y-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	11
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	59	23	.720	2
4	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	20
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	41	41	.500	20
6	x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	22

7	New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22
8	Cleveland Cavaliers	37	45	.451	24
8	Indiana Pacers	37	45	.451	24
10	New Jersey Nets	34	48	.415	27
11	Detroit Pistons	16	66	.195	44

Notes

z, y – division champions
x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Regular season

1979–80 game log
Total: 39–43 (home: 24–17; road: 15–26)

October: 3–5 (home: 3–1; road: 0–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 12	Philadelphia	L 92–93	Hayes (25)	Unseld (12)	Porter (11)	Capital Centre 19,035	0–1
2	October 13	@ New York					Madison Square Garden
3	October 17	Atlanta	W 100–97				Capital Centre 5,804	1–2
4	October 19	@ Boston	L 93–130	Hayes (23)	Unseld (9)	Wright (5)	Boston Garden 15,320	1–3
5	October 20	Detroit					Capital Centre
6	October 24	@ Detroit					Pontiac Silverdome
7	October 26	@ Indiana					Market Square Arena
8	October 31	Cleveland					Capital Centre

November : 6–7 (home: 3–4; road: 3–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
9	November 3	Boston	L 97–118	Ballard (23)	Hayes (12)	Porter (9)	Capital Centre 17,635	3–6
10	November 9	San Antonio					Capital Centre
11	November 10	@ Atlanta	L 105–109				The Omni 15,413	4–7
12	November 13	@ New York					Madison Square Garden
13	November 14	Chicago					Capital Centre
14	November 16	@ New Jersey					Rutgers Athletic Center
15	November 17	Utah					Capital Centre
16	November 21	Cleveland					Capital Centre
17	November 23	@ San Antonio					HemisFair Arena
18	November 24	@ Houston					The Summit
19	November 27	Denver					Capital Centre
20	November 28	@ Philadelphia	L 102–120	Phegley (22)	Ballard (10)	Dandridge, Unseld (8)	The Spectrum 10,105	9–11
21	November 30	Indiana					Capital Centre

December : 6–7 (home: 4–5; road: 2–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
22	December 1	New Jersey					Capital Centre
23	December 5	New York					Capital Centre
24	December 8	Atlanta	W 96–95				Capital Centre 14,139	11–13
25	December 11	Phoenix					Capital Centre
26	December 13	@ Cleveland					Richfield Coliseum
27	December 14	@ Indiana					Market Square Arena
28	December 15	@ Chicago					Chicago Stadium
29	December 19	Kansas City					Capital Centre
30	December 22	Houston					Capital Centre
31	December 25	Philadelphia	L 92–95	Hayes (29)	Unseld (14)	Cleamons (7)	Capital Centre 18,184	14–17
32	December 26	@ New Jersey					Rutgers Athletic Center
33	December 27	Milwaukee	W 117–108	Ballard (27)	Ballard (13)	Unseld (11)	Capital Centre 9,693	15–18
34	December 29	San Diego					Capital Centre

January : 8–10 (home: 4–3; road: 4–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
35	January 1	@ Portland					Memorial Coliseum
36	January 2	@ Seattle	W 139–134 (2OT)	Hayes (34)	Unseld (19)	Dandridge (6)	Kingdome 21,665	16–20
37	January 4	@ Golden State					Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
38	January 5	@ Utah					Salt Palace
39	January 9	Los Angeles	W 103–101	Hayes (25)	Ballard (13)	Cleamons, Wright (9)	Capital Centre 19,035	19–20
40	January 11	@ Philadelphia	L 106–119	Ballard (31)	Unseld (14)	Unseld (7)	The Spectrum 15,571	19–21
41	January 13	Portland					Capital Centre
42	January 15	Seattle	L 100–120	Wright (20)	Unseld (9)	Unseld (8)	Capital Centre 13,408	20–22
43	January 17	@ Detroit					Pontiac Silverdome
44	January 18	@ Houston					The Summit
45	January 19	@ San Antonio					HemisFair Arena
46	January 22	@ Cleveland					Richfield Coliseum
47	January 24	New Jersey					Capital Centre
48	January 25	@ Boston	W 118–107	Dandridge, Hayes (25)	Unseld (19)	Cleamons Unseld (6)	Boston Garden 15,320	21–27
49	January 27	Golden State					Capital Centre
50	January 29	@ Atlanta	L 82–98				The Omni 10,269	22–28
51	January 30	Indiana					Capital Centre
52	January 31	Boston	L 103–119	Dandridge (20)	Unseld (11)	Porter (5)	Capital Centre 19,035	23–29

February : 6–6 (home: 4–0; road: 2–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
All-Star Break
53	February 7	@ Indiana					Market Square Arena
54	February 8	@ Milwaukee	L 90–115	Grevey (23)	Ballard (9)	Cleamons (9)	MECCA Arena 10,938	23–31
55	February 10	@ Kansas City					Kemper Arena
56	February 12	@ Denver					McNichols Sports Arena
57	February 13	@ San Diego					San Diego Sports Arena
58	February 15	@ Phoenix					Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
59	February 17	@ Los Angeles	L 107–111	Hayes (31)	Ballard (13)	Porter (8)	The Forum 17,505	25–34
60	February 21	Cleveland					Capital Centre
61	February 22	San Antonio					Capital Centre
62	February 24	New York					Capital Centre
63	February 27	@ Houston					The Summit
64	February 28	Houston					Capital Centre

March : 10–8 (home: 6–4; road: 4–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
65	March 2	Indiana					Capital Centre
66	March 4	Detroit					Capital Centre
67	March 6	New Jersey					Capital Centre
68	March 7	@ Detroit					Pontiac Silverdome
69	March 9	@ Boston	W 133–128 (OT)	Hayes (35)	Hayes (17)	Wright (5)	Boston Garden 15,320	33–36
70	March 11	San Antonio					Capital Centre
71	March 12	@ Philadelphia	L 98–105	Ballard (32)	Unseld (16)	Unseld (8)	The Spectrum 11,327	33–38
72	March 14	Houston					Capital Centre
73	March 16	New York					Capital Centre
74	March 18	@ San Antonio					HemisFair Arena
75	March 19	@ Atlanta	L 93–109				The Omni 10,140	34–41
76	March 20	Philadelphia	W 119–113 (OT)	Ballard (30)	Hayes (13)	Porter (11)	Capital Centre 17,649	35–41
77	March 22	@ New York					Madison Square Garden
78	March 23	Detroit					Capital Centre
79	March 25	Boston	L 95–96	Ballard (28)	Ballard (11)	Porter (15)	Capital Centre 19,035	37–42
80	March 27	@ Cleveland					Richfield Coliseum
81	March 28	Atlanta	W 100–80				Capital Centre 18,186	38–43
82	March 30	@ New Jersey					Rutgers Athletic Center

1979–80 schedule

Playoffs

1980 playoff game log

Eastern Conference First Round: 0–2 (home: 0–1; road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 2	@ Philadelphia	L 96–111	Grevey (34)	Unseld (18)	Porter (7)	The Spectrum 12,567	0–1
2	April 4	Philadelphia	L 104–112	Hayes (26)	Hayes (12)	Grevey (5)	Capital Centre 18,397	0–2

1980 schedule

References

↑ 1979-80 Washington Bullets

1979–80 Washington Bullets season

Contents

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

References

See also