SuperSonics: Dennis Johnson (2010) Jack Sikma (2019) Bullets: Bob Dandridge (2021) Elvin Hayes (1990) Wes Unseld (1988) Coaches: Lenny Wilkens (1998) Officials: Hugh Evans (2022) Darell Garretson (2016)
Eastern Finals
Bullets defeated Spurs, 4–3
Western Finals
SuperSonics defeated Suns, 4–3
← 1978
NBA Finals
1980 →
The 1979 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series played at the conclusion of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1978–79 season. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics played the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets, with the Bullets holding home-court advantage, due to a better regular season record. The SuperSonics defeated the Bullets 4 games to 1. The series was a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals, which the Washington Bullets had won 4–3.
Dennis Johnson of the SuperSonics was named as the NBA Finals MVP, while Gus Williams of the SuperSonics was the top scorer, averaging 28.6 points per game.
This was Seattle's second men's professional sports championship, following the Seattle Metropolitans' victory in the 1917 Stanley Cup Finals. The city's next title wouldn't be until 2014 when the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII.
Both the 1978 and 1979 NBA Finals were informally dubbed the "George Washington series", because both teams were playing in places named after the first President of the United States (the SuperSonics represented Seattle, Washington while the Bullets represented Washington, D.C., albeit playing in nearby Landover, Maryland).
Until 2023, this was the most recent time that a Western Conference team not based in Texas or California has won an NBA title, and the last of only two occasions alongside the 1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers when a team from the present-day Northwest Division has won the league title, which is by 27 years the longest league championship drought for any division of the four major North American sports leagues. [note 1] Since then, the following Western teams have gone on to win an NBA title: the Los Angeles Lakers (eleven times), the San Antonio Spurs (five times), the Golden State Warriors (four times), the Houston Rockets (twice), and the Dallas Mavericks (once). The remaining twenty-one titles since 1980 have been won by Eastern Conference teams.[note 2] Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
Stanley Cup Finals. The city's next title wouldn't be until 2014 when the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII. Both the 1978 and 1979NBAFinals were informally...
The 1980 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1979–80 season, and the conclusion of...
The NBAFinals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBAFinals have been...
win Finals MVP, being the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA draft. This marked the first NBAFinals appearance for Denver. This was also the second Finals to feature...
The 1984 NBAFinals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1983–84 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs...
The NBAFinals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven-game...
since the 1969 NBAFinals. The award is decided by a panel of eleven media members, who cast votes after the conclusion of the Finals. The person with...
The 2012 NBAFinals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2011–12 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...
The 2004 NBAFinals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...
for NBAFinals in the United States, based on Nielsen viewing data. The highest rated and most watched NBAFinals series was the 1998 NBAFinals between...
The 2014 NBAFinals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2013–14 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...
15 and concluded on June 12 with the Denver Nuggets winning the 2023 NBAFinals, their first title in franchise history. The Milwaukee Bucks entered the...
The 2007 NBAFinals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006–07 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs....
in the NBA conference finals. The award is decided by a panel of media members, who cast votes after the conclusion of the conference finals. The person...
The 2013 NBAFinals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2012–13 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs,...
The NBA conference finals are the Eastern and Western championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a major professional basketball...
The 2015 NBAFinals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...
The 1996 NBAFinals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs...
The 1990 NBAFinals was the championship round of the 1989–90 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...
The 2011 NBAFinals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2010–11 season. A rematch of the 2006 Finals, the series...
The 1979NBA draft was the 33rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Monday, June 25...
2016 NBAFinals, this was the last time a road team had won Game 7 in the NBAFinals. The 1978 World Championship Series was the first NBAFinals series...
Conference finals seven times, reaching the NBAFinals in 1978, 1979, 1996 and 2012, winning their only championship in the 1979NBAFinals against the...
Bullets 4 games to 1 in the NBAFinals. The Sonics earned their only NBA title. Dennis Johnson was named NBAFinals MVP. The Finals was a rematch of 1978,...
distinction of featuring for the third time in NBA history, and last to date, a team with a losing record in the Finals. They were the first team since the Minneapolis...
it to their first NBAFinals. The Boston Celtics were seeking to make up for the lost opportunity they squandered in the 1975 NBA Playoffs. That year...
Global Information