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Professional basketball season
NBA professional basketball team season
The 1978β79 Phoenix Suns season was the 11th season for the
Phoenix Suns of the
National Basketball Association and the first time they reached the 50-win mark to end the regular season. The team repeated a second-place finish in an expanded
Pacific division and the
Western Conference 's second-best record, thus earning a spot in the
playoffs , the franchise's first time extending the season in back-to-back seasons. For the first time since the
'75β'76 team , the Suns returned to the Western Conference finals, before being dispatched by Pacific division champion
Seattle in seven games. The Suns were led by
head coach
John MacLeod and played all home games in
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum .
Paul Westphal , whom led the Suns with his 24
points per game, made his third straight appearance in the
All-Star Game and was again named to the
All-NBA First Team .
Walter Davis followed up his
Rookie of the Year Award performance from the previous season with his second consecutive
All-Star selection and by season's end, voted to the All-NBA Second Team. Fourth-year big man
Alvan Adams hauled in a career-high 9.2
rebounds a game to go with an average of 17.8 points.
Offseason
NBA draft
Roster
1978β79 Phoenix Suns roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
No.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB
From
F/C
33
Adams, Alvan
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
1954-07-19
Oklahoma
PG
23
Bratz, Mike
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1955-10-17
Stanford
G
10
Buse, Don
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1950-08-10
Evansville
G/F
6
Davis, Walter
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
193 lb (88 kg)
1954-09-09
North Carolina
C
35
Forrest, Bayard
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
1954-07-08
Grand Canyon
PF
24
Heard, Garfield
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
219 lb (99 kg)
1948-05-03
Oklahoma
F/C
50
Kramer, Joel
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
1955-11-30
San Diego State
G
12
McClain, Ted
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1946-08-30
Tennessee State
PF
21
Robinson, Leonard
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
1951-10-04
Tennessee State
SF
14
Scott, Alvin
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1955-09-14
Oral Roberts
G
44
Westphal, Paul
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1950-11-30
USC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(DP) Unsigned draft pick(FA) Free agent(S) Suspended Injured
Regular season
Standings
Record vs. opponents
1978β79 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
β
2β2
3β1
3β1
3β1
3β1
1β3
3β1
1β3
2β2
1β3
3β0
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β1
2β2
3β1
3β1
1β3
2β2
Boston
2β2
β
1β2
2β2
1β3
2β2
2β1
1β3
3β1
1β3
1β3
1β3
1β3
2β2
3β1
2β2
0β4
1β3
0β4
1β3
2β2
0β4
Chicago
1β3
2β1
β
1β3
2β2
2β2
3β1
2β2
2β2
0β4
1β3
1β3
2β2
2β2
3β1
1β3
1β3
4β0
0β3
0β4
0β4
1β3
Cleveland
1β3
2β2
3β1
β
1β2
1β3
2β1
2β2
1β3
1β3
2β2
1β3
3β1
2β2
2β2
2β2
0β4
0β4
0β4
2β2
2β2
0β4
Denver
1β3
3β1
2β2
2β1
β
2β2
4β0
1β3
3β1
1β3
3β1
2β2
4β0
3β1
3β1
0β3
3β1
1β3
3β1
2β2
3β1
1β3
Detroit
1β3
2β2
2β2
3β1
2β2
β
1β3
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β1
0β4
2β2
1β3
1β3
0β4
1β3
1β3
2β2
0β3
1β3
Golden State
3β1
1β2
1β3
1β2
0β4
3β1
β
2β2
2β2
2β2
1β3
2β2
1β3
3β1
3β1
3β1
1β3
2β2
1β3
1β3
3β1
2β2
Houston
1β3
3β1
2β2
2β2
3β1
2β2
2β2
β
0β4
3β1
2β1
2β2
3β1
4β0
4β0
0β4
2β2
3β1
3β1
2β1
2β2
2β2
Indiana
3β1
1β3
2β2
3β1
1β3
2β2
2β2
4β0
β
1β3
0β4
2β2
1β2
2β1
2β2
2β2
2β2
3β1
3β1
1β3
0β4
1β3
Kansas City
2β2
3β1
4β0
3β1
3β1
2β2
2β2
1β3
3β1
β
2β2
2β2
3β1
3β1
2β1
2β2
2β2
1β3
1β3
2β2
2β2
3β0
Los Angeles
3β1
3β1
3β1
2β2
1β3
2β2
3β1
1β2
4β0
2β2
β
3β1
2β2
2β2
3β0
1β3
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
Milwaukee
0β3
3β1
3β1
3β1
2β2
1β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
1β3
β
2β2
3β1
1β3
2β2
2β2
2β2
1β3
1β3
2β2
1β3
New Jersey
2β2
3β1
2β2
1β3
0β4
4β0
3β1
1β3
2β1
1β3
2β2
2β2
β
3β1
1β3
2β2
3β0
2β2
0β4
2β2
0β4
1β3
New Orleans
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
1β3
2β2
1β3
0β4
1β2
1β3
2β2
1β3
1β3
β
2β2
2β2
1β3
1β3
2β2
0β4
0β3
0β4
New York
2β2
1β3
1β3
2β2
1β3
3β1
1β3
0β4
2β2
1β2
0β3
3β1
3β1
2β2
β
2β2
0β4
1β3
1β3
2β2
2β2
1β3
Philadelphia
2β2
2β2
3β1
2β2
3β0
3β1
1β3
4β0
2β2
2β2
3β1
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
β
1β3
1β2
3β1
3β1
1β3
3β1
Phoenix
1β2
4β0
3β1
4β0
1β3
4β0
3β1
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
2β2
0β3
3β1
4β0
3β1
β
3β1
3β1
2β2
1β3
1β3
Portland
2β2
3β1
0β4
4β0
3β1
3β1
2β2
1β3
1β3
3β1
2β2
2β2
2β2
3β1
3β1
2β1
1β3
β
2β1
2β2
1β3
3β1
San Antonio
1β3
4β0
3β0
4β0
1β3
3β1
3β1
1β3
1β3
3β1
2β2
3β1
4β0
2β2
3β1
1β3
1β3
1β2
β
4β0
2β2
1β3
San Diego
1β3
3β1
4β0
2β2
2β2
2β2
3β1
1β2
3β1
2β2
2β2
3β1
2β2
4β0
2β2
1β3
2β2
2β2
0β4
β
2β2
0β3
Seattle
3β1
2β2
4β0
2β2
1β3
3β0
1β3
2β2
4β0
2β2
2β2
2β2
4β0
3β0
2β2
3β1
3β1
3β1
2β2
2β2
β
2β2
Washington
2β2
4β0
3β1
4β0
3β1
3β1
2β2
2β2
3β1
0β3
2β2
3β1
3β1
4β0
3β1
1β3
3β1
1β3
3β1
3β0
2β2
β
Game log
1978β79 game log Total: 50β32 (home: 32β9; road: 18β23)
October: 7β3 (home: 4β1; road: 3β2)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
Location Attendance
Record
Streak
1
October 13
San Diego
W 128β114
Paul Westphal (21)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,217
1β0
W 1
2
October 15
Golden State
W 129β110
Walter Davis (35)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,750
2β0
W 2
3
October 17
San Antonio
L 107β110
Paul Westphal (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,755
2β1
L 1
4
October 18
@
Golden State
W 122β112
Paul Westphal (33)
OaklandβAlameda County Coliseum Arena 7,139
3β1
W 1
5
October 22
@
Portland
W 124β116
Walter Davis (28)
Memorial Coliseum 12,666
4β1
W 2
6
October 24
Milwaukee
W 124β116
Walter Davis (38)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,728
5β1
W 3
7
October 25
@
Denver
L 104β108
Paul Westphal (29)
McNichols Sports Arena 14,448
5β2
L 1
8
October 27
@
Chicago
W 115β110 (OT)
Paul Westphal (38)
Chicago Stadium 7,807
6β2
W 1
9
October 28
@
Kansas City
L 102β112
Alvan Adams ,
Walter Davis (23)
Kemper Arena 9,534
6β3
L 1
10
October 31
New York
W 120β108
Paul Westphal (35)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,197
7β3
W 1
November: 10β4 (home: 5β1; road: 5β3)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
Location Attendance
Record
Streak
11
November 2
@
New Orleans
W 106β99
Paul Westphal (27)
Louisiana Superdome 6,943
8β3
W 2
12
November 4
@
Houston
L 103β110
Walter Davis (25)
The Summit 9,163
8β4
L 1
13
November 8
Cleveland
W 118β96
Ron Lee (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,311
9β4
W 1
14
November 10
Denver
L 132β150
Paul Westphal (27)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,277
9β5
L 1
15
November 12
New Orleans
W 128β122
Alvan Adams (33)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,158
10β5
W 1
16
November 15
@
San Antonio
W 125β119
Paul Westphal (39)
HemisFair Arena 10,489
11β5
W 2
17
November 17
@
Philadelphia
L 94β95
Paul Westphal (25)
The Spectrum 11,513
11β6
L 1
18
November 18
@
Detroit
W 119β105
Paul Westphal (28)
Pontiac Silverdome 10,789
12β6
W 1
19
November 21
@
Cleveland
W 110β108
Walter Davis (28)
Coliseum at Richfield 6,524
13β6
W 2
20
November 22
@
Indiana
W 115β110
Walter Davis (32)
Market Square Arena 9,432
14β6
W 3
21
November 24
Houston
W 120β113
Walter Davis (37)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
15β6
W 4
22
November 26
Chicago
W 125β109
Alvan Adams (22)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,921
16β6
W 5
23
November 28
@
Chicago
L 112β124
Walter Davis (26)
Chicago Stadium 7,826
16β7
L 1
24
November 30
Detroit
W 119β109
Paul Westphal (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,633
17β7
W 1
December: 7β7 (home: 5β2; road: 2β5)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
Location Attendance
Record
Streak
25
December 1
@
Los Angeles
L 122β130
Paul Westphal (32)
The Forum 10,529
17β8
L 1
26
December 2
Golden State
L 108β116
Alvan Adams (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,167
17β9
L 2
27
December 6
Atlanta
W 136β109
Walter Davis (25)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,345
18β9
W 1
28
December 8
@
Boston
W 124β104
Paul Westphal (30)
Boston Garden 11,762
19β9
W 2
29
December 9
@
Washington
L 98β101
Paul Westphal (30)
Capital Centre 17,438
19β10
L 1
30
December 12
@
Milwaukee
L 114β120
Paul Westphal (36)
MECCA Arena 10,938
19β11
L 2
31
December 16
Los Angeles
W 119β100
Alvan Adams ,
Paul Westphal (25)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,327
20β11
W 1
32
December 17
@
San Diego
L 110β116
Alvan Adams (32)
San Diego Sports Arena 6,068
20β12
L 1
33
December 20
Washington
L 129β137
Paul Westphal (36)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,789
20β13
L 2
34
December 22
Kansas City
W 123β103
Alvan Adams (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,533
21β13
W 1
35
December 26
@
Denver
W 106β102
Walter Davis (31)
McNichols Sports Arena 16,325
22β13
W 2
36
December 28
Portland
W 129β127 (OT)
Walter Davis (42)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,510
23β13
W 3
37
December 29
@
Seattle
L 92β119
Mike Bratz (15)
Kingdome 20,565
23β14
L 1
38
December 30
Boston
W 112β109
Alvan Adams (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
24β14
W 1
January: 7β6 (home: 4β3; road: 3β3)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
Location Attendance
Record
Streak
39
January 2
@
New York
W 114β102
Alvan Adams (28)
Madison Square Garden 11,266
25β14
W 2
40
January 5
@
Washington
L 94β104
Ron Lee (19)
Capital Centre 14,929
25β15
L 1
41
January 6
@
Philadelphia
W 143β139 (OT)
Walter Davis (35)
The Spectrum 16,109
26β15
W 1
42
January 7
@
New Jersey
L 112β117
Alvan Adams (32)
Rutgers Athletic Center 3,439
26β16
L 1
43
January 11
Seattle
L 106β109
Walter Davis (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
26β17
L 2
44
January 13
Indiana
L 99β102
Walter Davis (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
26β18
L 3
45
January 17
@
Milwaukee
L 118β123
Truck Robinson (25)
MECCA Arena 10,661
26β19
L 4
46
January 18
@
Detroit
W 97β87
Walter Davis (26)
Pontiac Silverdome 5,839
27β19
W 1
47
January 20
Houston
W 116β97
Paul Westphal (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
28β19
W 2
48
January 24
Philadelphia
W 101β94
Truck Robinson (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
29β19
W 3
49
January 26
New York
W 108β107
Walter Davis (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,813
30β19
W 4
50
January 28
New Jersey
L 114β117
Alvan Adams ,
Walter Davis (25)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,357
30β20
L 1
51
January 31
Milwaukee
W 123β118
Paul Westphal (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,736
31β20
W 1
February: 6β6 (home: 5β1; road: 1β5)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
Location Attendance
Record
Streak
52
February 2
San Antonio
W 133β108
Alvan Adams (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
32β20
W 2
53
February 6
@
Portland
L 93β110
Truck Robinson (19)
Memorial Coliseum 12,666
32β21
L 1
54
February 9
Atlanta
L 102β105
Paul Westphal (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,928
32β22
L 2
55
February 11
Cleveland
W 136β101
Truck Robinson (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,972
33β22
W 1
56
February 15
Washington
W 119β108
Paul Westphal (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
34β22
W 2
57
February 16
@
Seattle
L 104β119
Mike Bratz (19)
Kingdome 23,103
34β23
L 1
58
February 17
New Orleans
W 136β112
Alvan Adams (22)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
35β23
W 1
59
February 20
@
New York
W 117β107
Paul Westphal (36)
Madison Square Garden 10,921
36β23
W 2
60
February 21
@
New Jersey
L 112β123
Paul Westphal (25)
Rutgers Athletic Center 3,812
36β24
L 1
61
February 23
@
Kansas City
L 112β121
Truck Robinson (28)
Kemper Arena 10,768
36β25
L 2
62
February 24
@
Atlanta
L 85β110
Truck Robinson (21)
Omni Coliseum 12,281
36β26
L 3
63
February 28
Indiana
W 103β102
Paul Westphal (27)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,735
37β26
W 1
March: 10β4 (home: 6β1; road: 4β3)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
Location Attendance
Record
Streak
64
March 2
Denver
L 105β119
Paul Westphal (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,835
37β27
L 1
65
March 4
Philadelphia
W 119β94
Walter Davis (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,722
38β27
W 1
66
March 8
Chicago
W 132β117
Alvan Adams ,
Don Buse ,
Walter Davis (21)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,126
39β27
W 2
67
March 11
@
Indiana
L 111β112
Paul Westphal (24)
Market Square Arena 14,173
39β28
L 1
68
March 13
@
Cleveland
W 124β120
Walter Davis (36)
Coliseum at Richfield 7,690
40β28
W 1
69
March 14
@
Boston
W 126β117
Paul Westphal (39)
Boston Garden 10,308
41β28
W 2
70
March 16
@
San Antonio
W 128β122
Paul Westphal (43)
HemisFair Arena 14,864
42β28
W 3
71
March 17
@
Houston
L 122β134
Paul Westphal (22)
The Summit 12,557
42β29
L 1
72
March 18
@
New Orleans
L 117β121
Walter Davis ,
Paul Westphal (29)
Louisiana Superdome 5,108
42β30
L 2
73
March 21
Boston
W 134β113
Walter Davis (33)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,568
43β30
W 1
74
March 23
Kansas City
W 126β107
Paul Westphal (36)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
44β30
W 2
75
March 25
@
Golden State
W 111β95
Paul Westphal (25)
OaklandβAlameda County Coliseum Arena 10,651
45β30
W 3
76
March 28
Los Angeles
W 112β106
Paul Westphal (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,805
46β30
W 4
77
March 30
Seattle
W 113β111 (OT)
Walter Davis (40)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660
47β30
W 5
April: 3β2 (home: 3β0; road: 0β2)
1978β79 schedule
Playoffs
Game log
1979 playoff game log
First Round: 2β1 (home: 2β0; road: 0β1)
Conference semifinals: 4β1 (home: 3β0; road: 1β1)
Conference finals: 3β4 (home: 2β1; road: 1β3)
1979 schedule
Awards and honors
All-Star
Paul Westphal was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the
All-Star Game . It was his third consecutive All-Star selection. Westphal finished second in voting among Western Conference guards with 251,829 votes.
Walter Davis was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the
All-Star Game . It was his second consecutive All-Star selection. Davis finished fifth in voting among Western Conference forwards with 118,546 votes.
Season
Player statistics
Season
* β Stats with the Suns.
^ β Minimum 125 free throws made.
Playoffs
β β Minimum 20 field goals made.
Transactions
Trades
Free agents
Additions
Subtractions
References
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s