Greatest of All-Time: The 1978 Seattle Supersonics

With the Bill Russell era coming to a close in Seattle, the Supersonics turned to former Grambling State and Syracuse Nationals power forward Bob Hopkins to take over as head coach. After a very disappointing 5-17 start, the Sonics front office dismissed Hopkins of his duties and brought in former Sonics all-star Lenny Wilkens as head coach.

Lenny took over the reigns and never looked back. As he stressed playing great defense, Wilkens led the Sonics to a 42-18 record the rest of the way, good enough for third in their division and a trip to the playoffs.

In game one of the finals series, in Seattle, Downtown Freddy Brown came off the bench to score 30 for the Sonics as they took a 1-0 series lead. Seattle scored 33 points in the fourth quarter, including 16 from Brown in the last 9 minutes, and won the game 106-102.

In game two, the Sonics weren't so lucky and they were unable to contain Hayes and Bob Dandridge, who combined for 59 points. The Bullets took game two to tie the series, winning 106-98. After the game, Coach Motta said to the media, "That's our game; Hayes and Dandridge going off tackle. People know where we're going. They're just going to have to stop us."

The Sonics did their best to stop the Bullets in game three but nearly blew it in the end after mental mistakes from Dennis Johnson and Paul Silas. The Bullets had the ball in the final seconds of the game, down by just a point, but a long-range shot from Dandridge rimmed out as the Sonics held on to win in Washington 93-92, taking a 2-1 series lead.

Back in Seattle for game four, despite packing a then-NBA finals record 39,457 fans into the Kingdome, the Sonics lost game four in overtime to the Bullets, 120-116. Game four was held in the Kingdome because the Seattle Coliseum, where the Sonics usually played during this time, was being used for a mobile-home show. A MOBILE-HOME SHOW... Welcome to 1978.

In game five, the Sonics were back in the Coliseum and took a 3-2 lead after narrowly beating the Bullets 98-94. Once again, leading the way for the Sonics was Fred Brown, who led all scorers with 26 points.

In Washington for game six, the Bullets blew the Sonics out 117-82. No Sonic scored 20 or more points; for the Bullets, Dandridge, Hayes, and Mitch Kupchak each scored 19-plus. With the series tied at 3-3, the Sonics and Bullets were headed back to Seattle for a decisive game seven.

In game seven, Fred Brown once again tried to bring the Sonics back, scoring 21 points in the game, but it would not be enough. Late in the game, the Sonics trailed by just 2 points after a tip-in from Paul Silas. Silas then fouled Unseld, who was shooting just 55% from the line in the playoffs. Unfortunately for Seattle, Unseld hit two that mattered. After Unseld flushed the free throws, Dennis Johnson missed a shot and Dandridge threw down a dunk on the opposite end as the buzzer sounded. The Bullets would celebrate their first-ever NBA title, in Seattle.

The loss ended Seattle's 22-game winning streak in the Coliseum and ended the season for a team that appeared to be headed for the bottom of the division when the season began. The Sonics' day would come soon; Wilkens and the gang would have to wait just a bit longer before capturing their first title.

The '78 team's stats include:

Record: 45-37, Finished 3rd in the Pacific Division

Coach: Bob Hopkins Lenny Wilkens

ROSTER

Interesting Stats:

• During the majority of this season, Fred Brown was used as a third guard off the bench, but his Per 36 Minutes numbers tell us that he was the best scorer on the team, leading with 21.8 points per 36 minutes.
• As they were by most opponents for the season, Seattle was looked over when it came to All-Star voting and no Sonics made the trip to Atlanta in 1978.
• In his only season as a Sonic, center Marvin Webster enjoyed the best season of his career, averaging career-highs in blocks, rebounds, and points per game. He finished the season ranked 5th in total rebounds. Webster was acquired by Seattle in a trade with the Nuggets, the same deal that brought Paul Silas to the team. After the 1978 season, Webster signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks.

This team played well before my time, but I've seen plenty of highlights of Brown, Sikma, Johnson, and Watts on YouTube and NBA TV. Did any readers out there see this team live? In person? Tell us about it in the comments section and feel free to use the comments as an open thread of barbershop debate of which is the greatest Supersonics team of all time.

Don't forget to vote in our poll and let us know where this team ranks among the top 22 Sonics teams!