Every 1978-79 NBA race charted day by day: East, Atlantic, Central, West, Midwest and Pacific. Final standings, from a season that ran October 13, 1978 to April 8, 1979.
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East standings, 1978-79
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
L10
Streak
Washington Bullets (WAS)e
54
28
.659
-
5-5
L3
San Antonio Spurs (SAN)x
48
34
.585
6
6-4
W1
Philadelphia 76ers (PHL)x
47
35
.573
7
8-2
W1
Houston Rockets (HOU)x
47
35
.573
7
7-3
W3
Atlanta Hawks (ATL)x
46
36
.561
8
7-3
W4
New Jersey Nets (NJN)x
37
45
.451
17
3-7
L1
New York Knicks (NYK)
31
51
.378
23
1-9
L8
Cleveland Cavaliers (CLE)
30
52
.366
24
2-8
L4
Detroit Pistons (DET)
30
52
.366
24
2-8
L2
Boston Celtics (BOS)
29
53
.354
25
2-8
W1
New Orleans Jazz (NOJ)
26
56
.317
28
4-6
L2
Final standings.
Clinch key
x
clinched a playoff place
e
clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference
Turning points
The lead changed hands 11 times.
The Washington Bullets trailed by as many as 4 games on November 11, 1978.
The Washington Bullets took first place for good on January 5, 1979.
The Washington Bullets and Atlanta Hawks each won 9 games in a row, the longest run of the race.
The Philadelphia 76ers led by 2 games as late as November 20, 1978.
The Washington Bullets led by as many as 8 games on March 25, 1979.
The Washington Bullets went 15-2 from November 14, 1978 to December 16, 1978, turning a deficit of 4 games into a lead of 3 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 39 of the 151 days played.
The Washington Bullets spent 134 of the season's 178 charted days in first place.