โข ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ณ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค. ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐จ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ.
โข ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ, ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ'๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐. ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌโ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง.
โ โ โ โ โ
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐?
In 1961, the NBA decided to initiate an expansion that would add new teams into the league. After paying an entry fee of 500k dollars, the Chicago Packers (later relocated/rebranded) were admitted that year. While Walt Bellamy was at the helm, the franchise was unable to create an identity and couldn't surround Bellamy with much-needed talentโleading up to him being traded in 1966.
While Walt's tenure with Baltimore never took flight, they reached the Division Finals in only their fourth year of being an NBA franchise. After this era came to an end, the franchise was granted the #2 overall pick in the 1968 draft after going 20-61 in the previous season.
With this selection, the Bullets took Louisville prospect Wes Unseld, who came out of college with glitz and glamour surrounding his name. During his college days, Unseld was a dominant rebounder and reliable scorer, albeit being only 6-foot-7. With that being said, the franchise had lots to look forward to with Wes at the helm, and surrounding him with adequate talent became a priority for them. In the following years, Unseld garnered many prestigious honors such as ROTY, MVP, and all-star appearances, plus he led the Bullets to the 1971 NBA Finals, where they eventually got outmatched by the Kareem Abdul Jabbar-led Milwaukee Bucks.
Three years later, the franchise relocated to Washington, taking the name 'Capital Bullets' then eventually becoming the Washington Bullets in 1975. This led to the franchise steering in a new direction. As Wes Unseld was aging, Washington made a splash after they traded for budding superstar Elvin Hayesโwho had become a bucket-getter.
With the pairing of Elvin Hayes and Phil Chenier, the Bullets finally earned their time to shine. In their first year togetherโthe 1974-1975 seasonโWashington made their first finals appearance coming off a 60-win regular season. In the NBA Finals, the Bullets were swept by the Rick Barry-led Golden State Warriors, but it was a monumental breakthrough for the young franchise.
In the following two years, the Wizards got eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and finished with a record of 48-32 in both seasons respectively. Although they were unable to reclaim the Eastern Conference throne, the franchise eluded mediocrity and constant losing. With that being said, it was the perfect time for the franchise to break through and win their first championship. Elvin Hayes was still one of the better forwards in the league, and they added depth with pieces such as Mitch Kupchak and Kevin Grevey, plus the addition of all-star caliber Bob Dandridge.
Enter 1977-1978.
With the understanding of how the franchise had gotten to this point, we can now delve into how the Bullets fared in the regular season and where they stood amongst other headlining teams. In the first few games of the season, the Bullets were just adjusting to their newly-constructed team, and never formed any kind of win-loss streak early on. However, this changed when the Bullets started to pick up steam, as they went on two four-game win streaks where they outscored their opponents by a bit. The most notable performance of this streak was their stunning 131-125 overtime victory against the Kings, in which the Bullets had six players scoring in double figuresโmostly due to the third-quarter burst they had where they scored 42 points in total.
After this impressive stretch, the Bullets were unable to seize control of their favorable schedule (faced 76ers, Pacers, Hawks), which led to them being streaky. During January, things started to take a turn for the worst as they picked up a five-game losing streak from the 14th to the 24thโincluding an embarrassing 130-93 blowout against the Buffalo Braves with inefficient scoring efforts from both Elvin Hayes (18 pts/49% TS) and Kevin Grevey (10 pts/39% TS).
From this stretch on, the Bullet's inconsistencies continued to hold them back, and Elvin Hayes looked to be a shell of his former self. For the most part, it was his efficiency that took a hit, in which he shot poorly from the field on a nightly basis. This led to the Bullets being inconsistent and unable to string together multiple wins, as Hayes was the cornerstone of the franchise at that pointโdespite his rapid aging. Luckily for the Bullets, things started to look more and more bright once they entered March hoping to bounce back after the misery they had back in January and February.
During the first week of March, the Bullets strung together a four-game win-streak for the first time in nearly three months, scoring over 120 points twice during this stretch. In this period, the Bullets big-three of Elvin Hayes, Bob Dandridge, and Kevin Grevey came up hugeโespecially when they combined for 75 total points against the George Gervin-led San Antonio Spurs. This is when the trio began to come alive on a nightly basis, now being more consistent as compared to before.
While the Bullets had loads of talent all around, injury issues costed their success in the regular-season side of things. Phil Chenier had played just around 10-15 games up to that point, justifying the lack of wins the Bullets had. During the final month of the regular season, the Bullets looked to close out their campaign with a couple of wins, hoping to gain momentum before the eventual bloodbath of the postseason that was to come.
In a game against the Seattle Super Sonics, the fans of Seattle witnessed a nail-bitter between the two rivalsโwith a final score of 120-116 going in the favor of the Bullets. In this outing, the Bullets had seven players who scored in double figures, combined with valuable rebounding from both Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld.
Heading into the postseason, the Bullets were going to be without key player Phil Chenier, who had played a pivotal role in the team's plans. Considering this and the inconsistencies of Elvin Hayes, the playoffs would prove to be difficult for this team.
Trotting a probable starting lineup of Tom Henderson, Kevin Grevey, Bob Dandridge, Elvin Hayes, and Wes Unseld, the Bullets looked to be in a prime position to make an ECF appearance at the bare minimum. Despite what the record said, they still managed to grab the third seed in the Eastern Conference as well. For statistical reference, the Bullets had an SRS of 0.82 (7th of 22), ORtg/DRtg of 101.3/100.5 (10th & 9th), and a Net-Rtg of +0.9 (7th of 22).
โ โ โโโโ
In round 1, the Bullets were matched up against the six-seeded Atlanta Hawks, led by John Drew and company. In the first matchup, the Bullets and Hawks were in a tightly contested battle throughout game, with both teams scoring at similar rates. After the first quarter, it was tied between the two, but a second-quarter scoring burst from Bob Dandridge (12 of his 20 points came in the 2nd quarter) helped Washington pull away before half-time. At the half, the score was 56-48 in favor of the Bullets.
In the second half, the Hawks failed to build momentum, as their leading-scorer John Drew was on and off and his teammates were unable to help either. In that third quarter, the Hawks outscored the Bullets by a mere 2 points, proving to you how close Atlanta made the outcome. During the fourth quarter, the Bullets almost got screwed when both Bob Dandridge and Wes Unseld sat at five personal fouls, but the Hawks were unable to attack them which allowed them to stay in the game. In the end, the Bullets pulled out the victory 103 to 94, giving them an edge in the series.
In game-two, a similar result ensued, as both teams once again made a tightly contested duel. During the first half, the Bullets and Hawks both scored at a respectable rate, with Washington leading 48-46 at the break. Heading into the second half, both teams needed a spark from their respective stars to pull away with a decent lead. During the third quarter, Kevin Grevey came out firing on all cylinders as he scored at rates that were never seen before. In the aftermath, Grevey ended up with 41 points, went 15-24, and a TS of 69%. Due to this outburst, the Bullets edged out the victory 107-103 in overtime, advancing to the next round of the postseason. In the coming matchup, the Bullets would be facing the San Antonio Spurs led by scoring-machine George Gervin.
In the first game, the Bullets were unable to keep George Gervin under control, which allowed him to put up 35 points going 15/28. This prevented the Bullets to keep the game in close measures, as Gervin was the main guy for San Antonio, and him performing well meant that the Bullets were going to have their hands full. During the three-quarter, Gervin connected on eight of 10 shots from the floor allowing the Spurs to edge the Bullets. On the flip side, Elvin Hayes poured in 26 points along with 15 rebounds for Washington in a losing effort.
In the following three games, George Gervin and Larry Kenon both dropped 35+ points in all three contests yet got outmatched by the Bullets in each game. This was mostly due to the collective efforts of Elvin Hayes, Bob Dandridge, and Kevin Grevey, as two combined for 59 points in the second game and the other two amalgamated for 55 points in the third. After going down 3-1 before game 5, the Spurs kept their season alive, as they held down the fort defensively by limiting Elvin Hayes to an inefficient 17-point performance.
In-game 6, the Bullets were in a position to close out the series, fortunately being at home in front of the rambunctious fans in attendance. During this contest, the Bullets and Spurs both struggled to put up points in the second half, despite both scoring a whopping 62 and 58 in the first half respectively. For San Antonio, Gervin dropped an efficient 23 point performance, but it wasn't enough to overtake the Bullets. On the flip side, Elvin Hayes put up 25 points & 15 rebounds to lead the Bullets into the next round of the postseasonโthe ECF.
In the ECF, the Bullets would be facing off against the Philadelphia 76ers, led by future hall-of-famer and generational superstar Julius Erving. In game 1, both teams were scoring at absurd rates in the second half, each side totaling up to 64 and 60 respectively. While Julius Erving nor Elvin Hayes poured in more than 28 points, both teams had scoring efforts from the supporting cast & bench (Bullets: K. Grevey 26 points, Bob Dandridge 22 points/76ers: World B. Free 21 points, Caldwell Jones 16 points). Next game, the 76ers bounced back, due to Julius Erving, Doug Collins, and Steve Mix combining for 72 points altogetherโallowing them to break away in the third quarter outscoring the Bullets 32-22.
In the following two games, the Bullets took both matchups comfortably, winning each contest by 15 points or more and grasping a 3-1 stronghold on the series. In game 5, the 76ers managed to pull off quite the surprising victory, as they had merely 18 FTA's while the Bullets attempted 39. Despite this, the 76ers were able to contain both Elvin Hayes and Bob Dandridge, both combining for a measly 24 points on poor shooting (E. Hayes 4/13 & B. Dandridge 5/12).
The next game, which was another chance for the Bullets to get rid of the 76ers, became a thriller for what it was worth. For Philly, Julius Erving and Doug Collins combined for 55 points, while on the flip side Elvin Hayes and Bob Dandridge both scored 20+ respectively. Despite outscoring the Bullets 23-17 in the fourth quarter, Washington barely pulled off the win by a mere 2 point edge. Washington had officially clinched their finals ticket, coming back to the promise land yet again after waiting 4 years.
The Bullets were finally going to get another chance at winning the NBA Finals...it was another golden opportunity knocking on their door...
โ โ โโโโ
Despite having many obstacles in the way, the Bullets managed to make a Finals appearance pitted to face off against the Seattle Super Sonics. In this series, the Bullets were outmatched in many areas such as defensively, where the SuperSonics had the 2nd best defensive rating (97.7) in the regular seasonโand in terms of depth, the Sonics had many double-digit scorers to make up for the lack of scoring punch. While it seemed that the Bullets would likely take home the title with little to no problem, the Sonics would make this series...quite the thriller.
In the first game of the series, the Sonics managed to pull off a surprising winโled by Fred Brown's scoring outburst off the bench in which he scored 30 points with merely a turnover to spare. On the flip side, the Bullets got 48 from Kevin Grevey and Elvin Hayes combined, but Bob Dandridge's miserable shooting cost them in the end (6 points on 3/12 shooting). However, in the following game, Dandridge redeemed himself by dropping 34 points on 14/22 shooting and led the Bullets to victory in which they scored an absurd 36 points in the second quarter.
In game three, the Sonics bounced back by edging out the Bullets by the slimmest of margins, winning the contest 93-92 despite being outscored in the fourth quarter. For Washington, this loss was difficult to process, as Bob Dandridge and Elvin Hayes combined for 50 yet lost by just a point. Following this heartbreak, the Sonics dealt with the same fate as the Bullets did, losing game four 120-116 despite Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams, and Jack Sikma combining for 76 total points. Next, which was a pivotal game five, the Sonics held down the fort by limiting the stars of the Bullets, with Hayes and Dandridge scoring 22 points at the maximum. Plus, Fred Brown's efforts off the bench (26 points) contributed to this victory as well.
With the uncertainty that was to come, the series shifted to Seattle where the Sonics had the golden opportunity to close out the series. However, the Bullets had other plans in store, as they not only beat the Sonicsโbut they did it by a whopping 35 points. Not only did they hold everybody on Seattle under 18 points, but the collective efforts of Elvin Hayes, Bob Dandridge, and bench contributions (63 points) helped them keep their hopes alive.
In the final contest of the NBA season, both teams were looking to take home their first championship banner, with both sides having a lot at stake ahead of game seven. During this game, the Bullets had problems getting their star's open looks, which ended up being why their leading-scorer Bob Dandridge had only 19 points. On the flip side, Seattle's Marvin Webster dropped an absurd 27 points and 19 rebounds to lead all scorers, but what held the Sonics back was their poor team shooting (35/91) which led to them losing this game 105-99.
The Wizards finally became champions of the world, and it took years of ups and downs to get to this point. Wes Unseld, supposedly the savior of the franchise at the time he was draftedโhad achieved success with the team that drafted him, which also came with him coming home with the FMVP award. His offensive rebounding and passing both contributed to him taking this award, and his commitment to the franchise ended up benefiting him.
They finally had done it...
It took only 16 years but it felt fulfilling...
The Washington Bullets of the 1970s were a force to be reckoned withโthey had talent across the board, respectable offensive/defensive units, and the leadership of Wes Unseld made them a threat yearly. While this form of success will likely never be followed up by the franchises' current players, or even those who land up on this team in the future, Washington fans should learn to appreciate what the older generations of Bullets were able to accomplish during their time.
That was the miraculous tale of the 1977-1978 Washington Bullets run.
โ โ โโโโ
โ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ 1977-1978 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.โ
Thanks for reading.