1977–78 Los Angeles Lakers season

Season of National Basketball Association team the Los Angeles Lakers March 2026 August 2023 Los Angeles Lakers 1978 45 37 Pacific 4 5 Jerry West Bill Sharman Jack Kent Cooke The Forum First round(lost to SuperSonics 1–2) LAL KHJ-TV(Chick Hearn, Pat Riley) KLAC(Chick Hearn, Pat Riley) The 1977–78 Los Angeles Lakers season was the Lakers' 30th season in the NBA and 18th season in Los Angeles.1977–78 Los Angeles Lakers This season was defined by the December 9 punch that Kermit Washington laid on Rudy Tomjanovich during a Lakers vs. Rockets game, which received national attention. The violent moment would permanently alter Washington's and Tomjanovich's playing careers. The Lakers won 45 games, an eight-game decline from their Pacific Division-winning ballclub of the year prior. They would be defeated 2-1 in the first round by their division foes, the Seattle SuperSonics, who went on to the NBA Finals. Offseason Draft picks 1977 NBA draft Roster Los Angeles Lakers 1977–78 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar C 7 2 225 1947-04-16 UCLA 5 Tom Abernethy SF 6 7 220 1954-05-06 Indiana 2 Kenny Carr PF 6 7 220 1955-08-15 North Carolina State 4 Adrian Dantley SF 6 5 208 1955-02-28 Notre Dame 30 Brad Davis basketball PG 6 3 180 1955-12-17 Maryland 35 Don Ford PF 6 9 215 1952-12-31 Santa Barbara 23 Lou Hudson SG 6 5 210 1944-07-11 Minnesota 10 Norm Nixon PG 6 2 170 1955-10-11 Duquesne 40 Dave Robisch C 6 10 235 1949-12-22 Kansas 11 Charlie Scott basketball SG 6 5 175 1948-12-15 North Carolina 52 Jamaal Wilkes SF 6 6 190 1953-05-02 UCLA Jerry West Stan Albeck Jack McCloskey https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/1978.html January 30, 1978 Regular season Season standings LAL LAL z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot Playoffs Los Angeles Lakers 1978 yes Los Angeles Lakers First Round yes yes no 1 0 0 2 |- | 1 | April 12 | @ Seattle | L 90–102 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12) | Nixon, Scott (6) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,098 | 0–1 |- | 2 | April 14 | Seattle | W 105–99 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18) | Adrian Dantley (6) | The Forum15,051 | 1–1 |- | 3 | April 16 | @ Seattle | L 102–111 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Norm Nixon (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,098 | 1–2 |- LAL 1978 yes Awards and records Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, All-NBA Second Team Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Defensive Second Team Norm Nixon, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team References Category:Los Angeles Lakers seasons Los Angeles Lakers Los Angle Los Angle