1978–79 Chicago Bulls season

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
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.^[1]

Draft picks

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.	Player	Height	Weight	DOB	From
G	14	Tate Armstrong	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1955-10-05	Duke
F	50	John Brown	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1951-12-14	Missouri
G	5	Charles Dudley	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1950-03-05	Washington
C	53	Artis Gilmore	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1949-09-21	Jacksonville
G	12	Wilbur Holland	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1951-11-08	New Orleans
F	8	Mickey Johnson	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1952-08-31	Aurora
F	27	Ollie Johnson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1949-05-11	Temple
F	54	Mark Landsberger	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1955-05-21	Arizona State
C	45	Scott Lloyd	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1952-12-19	Arizona State
F	17	Scott May	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1954-03-19	Indiana
G	15	John Mengelt	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1949-10-16	Auburn
F	10	Steve Sheppard	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1954-03-21	Maryland
G	24	Reggie Theus	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1957-10-13	UNLV
G	44	Andre Wakefield	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(s)

Bumper Tormohlen

Legend

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

Roster
Updated: 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
	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		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
	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

References

^ 1978-79 Chicago Bulls

[1] 1978-79 Chicago Bulls

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