1978–79 Chicago Bulls season

1978–79 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach	Larry Costello (fired) Scotty Robertson (interim)
General manager	Rod Thorn
Owner(s)	Arthur Wirtz and Jonathan Kovler
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Results
Record	31–51 (.378)
Place	Division: 5th (Midwest) Conference: 11th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WGN-TV (Jack Fleming, Johnny “Red” Kerr)
Radio	WIND (Jim Durham, Bill Berg)

The 1978–79 NBA season was the Bulls' 13th season in the NBA.

Draft picks

Main article: 1978 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	9	Reggie Theus	SG	United States	Nevada-Las Vegas
2	31	Marvin Johnson		United States	New Mexico
3	53	Randy Ayers		United States	Miami
5	97	Ron Anthony		United States	Jacksonville
6	119	John Shoemaker		United States	Miami
7	140	Jarvis Reynolds		United States	West Georgia State
8	159	Chubby Cox	SG	United States	San Francisco
9	176	Joe Ponsetto		United States	DePaul
10	191	Mark Tucker		United States	Oklahoma State

Roster

1978–79 Chicago Bulls roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 14 Armstrong, Tate 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1955-10-05 Duke F 50 Brown, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1951-12-14 Missouri G 5 Dudley, Charles 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1950-03-05 Washington C 53 Gilmore, Artis 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1949-09-21 Jacksonville G 12 Holland, Wilbur 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1951-11-08 New Orleans F 8 Johnson, Mickey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952-08-31 Aurora F 27 Johnson, Ollie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1949-05-11 Temple F 54 Landsberger, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955-05-21 Arizona State C 45 Lloyd, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1952-12-19 Arizona State F 17 May, Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954-03-19 Indiana G 15 Mengelt, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1949-10-16 Auburn F 10 Sheppard, Steve 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1954-03-21 Maryland G 24 Theus, Reggie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1957-10-13 UNLV G 44 Wakefield, Andre 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1955-01-11 Loyola Chicago

Head coach Larry Costello (fired) Scotty Robertson (interim) Assistant coach(es) Bumper Tormohlen Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: February 16, 1979

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Kansas City Kings	48	34	.585	–	32–9	16–25	12–4
x-Denver Nuggets	47	35	.573	1	29–12	18–23	8–8
Indiana Pacers	38	44	.463	10	25–16	13–28	6–10
Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	10	28–13	10–31	9–7
Chicago Bulls	31	51	.378	17	19–22	12–29	5–11

#	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	—

Awards and records

• Reggie Theus, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
• Artis Gilmore, NBA All-Star Game