On this day in 1978, the Washington Bullets win the NBA Championship
On June 7, 1978, the Washington Bullets won a hard fought Game 7 of the 1978 NBA Finals against the Seattle Supersonics to claim their first (and only) NBA Championship
On June 7, 1978, the Washington Bullets won a hard fought Game 7 of the 1978 NBA Finals against the Seattle Supersonics to claim their first (and only) NBA Championship in franchise history.
The Bullets road to the NBA Championship began in 1968 when they drafted their first key piece to their NBA championship roster Wes Unseld with the second overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft. Unseld led the Bullets to a 57-25 record in his rookie season a franchise record for the Bullets and their first time they finished a season with a record over .500.Unseld not only won the Rookie of the Year award but he also won league MVP becoming the only player tin NBA history to win the MVP in their rookie season.
“Wes was a true champion whose contributions in the Baltimore and Washington communities will affect generations."
A tribute to The Franchise, Wes Unseld. pic.twitter.com/TJsftUI0Es
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) June 2, 2020
The team’s regular season success did not translate to the postseason as they were eliminated in the postseason after they were swept by the New York Knicks in the first round. Though the team were unable to win in the playoffs the future was bright for the Bullets.
In the 1970-1971 season, the Bullets appeared in their first ever NBA Finals facing the Milwaukee Bucks led by NBA Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. With a 42-40 regular season record, this gives the Bullets the distinction of having the worst regular season record to appear in the NBA Finals. The team was unsuccessful in their first attempt at an NBA championship losing to the Bucks in a 4-0 sweep.
In 1972, the Bullets acquired All-Star forward Elvin Hayes from the Houston Rockets and finished the subsequent season with a record of 52-30 the third time under Wes Unseld the team finished a season with 50+ wins. Once again the team’s playoff hopes were derailed by the New York Knicks losing to them in the first round.
'Froback Friday! Hall of Famers Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes of the Washington Bullets. pic.twitter.com/NZNuBzGxWX
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) October 12, 2018
The 1974-1975 season saw the Bullets finish with a 60-22 record the most wins in a season in Bullets/Wizards franchise history. In the playoffs, the Bullets advanced to their second NBA Finals but were again unsuccessful losing to the Golden State Warriors led by NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry and future All-Star Jamaal Wilkes.
In the 1977 offseason, the Bullets made another key acquisition adding All-Star Bob Dandridge from the Milwaukee Bucks. Dandridge was a member of the Bucks team that beat the Bullets in the 1971 NBA Finals.
In the 1977-1978 season, the Bullets made their third NBA Finals appearance to face the Seattle Supersonics despite finishing the season with a 44-38 record. The first five games saw the Bullets and Sonics trade wins back and forth with the Sonics leading the series 3-2 going into the sixth game of the series.
In game six, the Bullets got a dominant 117-82 win to force a series deciding game seven. The Bullets capped off the NBA Finals with a 105-99 win to finally get over the hump and capture their first NBA championship in franchise history.
Wes Unseld was named NBA Finals averaging 9.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Elvin Hayes led the NBA Finals in scoring averaging 20.7 points adding 11.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while Bob Dandridge averaged 20.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
