1977–78 Phoenix Suns season

1977–78 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	John MacLeod
General manager	Jerry Colangelo
Owner(s)	Richard Bloch
Arena	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost in first round to Milwaukee (0–2)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	KTAR

The 1977–78 Phoenix Suns season was the tenth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The team finished second in a Pacific division that did not have a team finish below .500, as the Suns returned to the playoffs for the third time in franchise history. The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Both Paul Westphal and Walter Davis, a rookie from the University of North Carolina, were selected to participate in the All-Star Game and by the end of the season, both were members of the All-NBA Second Team. Davis became the second Sun in three years to be selected as Rookie of the Year, an award teammate Alvan Adams had collected after the 1975–76 season.

Both Westphal and rookie Davis averaged career-highs in scoring, averaging 25.2 and 24.2 points a game. The combined averaged of 49.4 points made for the league's highest-scoring duo on the season. Additionally, Westphal and Davis broke a franchise record of 45.9 points a game, a mark set by Connie Hawkins and Dick Van Arsdale during the 1969–70 season.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	5	Walter Davis	Guard	United States	North Carolina
3	66	Mike Bratz	Guard	United States	Stanford
4	71	Greg Griffin	Forward	United States	Idaho State
5	93	Cecil Rellford	Forward	United States	St. John's
6	115	Billy McKinney	Guard	United States	Northwestern
7	136	Alvin Scott	Forward	United States	Oral Roberts
8	156	Alvin Joseph	Center	United States	California-Riverside

The Suns used their first-round pick to select swingman Walter Davis from North Carolina. Davis averaged 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in four years with the Tar Heels. He would make an immediate impact with the Suns, helping the team make a 15-game improvement and return to the playoffs. Averaging 24.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game his first season, Davis was named Rookie of the Year, receiving 49 1/4 of 66 votes.^[1] He would also be named to the All-NBA Second Team, and would finish fifth in Most Valuable Player voting, behind winner Bill Walton, George Gervin, David Thompson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.^[2] Davis spent his first eleven seasons with the Suns before joining the Denver Nuggets as the league's second unrestricted free agent in 1988. He left as the Suns' all-time leading scorer (15,666 points), and had his #6 jersey retired by the franchise in 1994.

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From C 33 Adams, Alvan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1954-07-19 Oklahoma C 21 Awtrey, Dennis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948-02-22 Santa Clara G 23 Bratz, Mike 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955-10-17 Stanford G 10 Buse, Don 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1950-08-10 Evansville G/F 6 Davis, Walter 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954-09-09 North Carolina C 35 Forrest, Bayard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1954-07-08 Grand Canyon F 25 Griffin, Greg 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952-09-06 Idaho State F 24 Heard, Garfield 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1948-05-03 Oklahoma G 30 Lee, Ron 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1952-11-02 Oregon F 18 Perry, Curtis  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-09-13 Missouri State F 14 Scott, Alvin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955-09-14 Oral Roberts F 32 Terrell, Ira  (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1954-06-19 Southern Methodist G 44 Westphal, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1950-11-30 Southern California	Head coach John MacLeod (Bellarmine) Assistant coach(es) Al Bianchi (Bowling Green) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Alvan Adams	Dennis Awtrey	Bayard Forrest
PF	Gar Heard	Greg Griffin		Curtis Perry Ira Terrell
SF	Walter Davis	Alvin Scott
SG	Paul Westphal	Ron Lee
PG	Don Buse	Mike Bratz

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–	36–5	22–19	13–3
x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9	34–7	15–26	8–8
x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11	31–10	16–25	8–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13	29–12	16–25	6–10
Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15	30–11	13–28	5–11

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Portland Trail Blazers	58	24	.707	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	48	34	.585	10
3	x-Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	9
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	11
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	13
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	14
7	Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	15
8	Chicago Bulls	40	42	.488	18
9	Detroit Pistons	38	44	.463	20
10	Indiana Pacers	31	51	.378	27
10	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	27

Game log

1977–78 game log Total: 49–33 (Home: 34–7; Road: 15–26)
October: 3–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 1 October 18 Golden State W 100–83 Alvan Adams (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,128 1–0 W 1 2 October 23 @ Los Angeles W 104–101 Paul Westphal (26) The Forum 10,481 2–0 W 2 3 October 25 Seattle W 93–86 Paul Westphal (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,917 3–0 W 3 4 October 28 @ New Orleans L 107–114 Paul Westphal (23) Louisiana Superdome 10,342 3–1 L 1 5 October 29 @ Houston L 112–125 Paul Westphal (28) The Summit 8,557 3–2 L 2 6 October 31 San Antonio L 143–145 Paul Westphal (37) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,030 3–3 L 3
November: 8–4 (Home: 6–0; Road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 7 November 3 @ San Antonio W 110–89 Walter Davis (24) HemisFair Arena 8,394 4–3 W 1 8 November 4 @ Washington L 96–113 Ron Lee (21) Capital Centre 8,742 4–4 L 1 9 November 5 @ Chicago L 94–111 Walter Davis (25) Chicago Stadium 13,424 4–5 L 2 10 November 10 New Orleans W 127–111 Alvan Adams (35) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,297 5–5 W 1 11 November 13 Indiana W 116–107 Ron Lee (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,550 6–5 W 2 12 November 18 Chicago W 103–101 Walter Davis, Paul Westphal (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,543 7–5 W 3 13 November 20 San Antonio W 134–112 Alvan Adams (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,677 8–5 W 4 14 November 22 Los Angeles W 118–107 Walter Davis (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,130 9–5 W 5 15 November 24 @ Cleveland L 82–97 Paul Westphal (22) Coliseum at Richfield 15,445 9–6 L 1 16 November 25 @ Indiana W 118–110 Alvan Adams, Paul Westphal (30) Market Square Arena 15,448 10–6 W 1 17 November 27 Denver W 115–97 Paul Westphal (48) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,658 11–6 W 2 18 November 29 @ Portland L 96–108 Walter Davis, Paul Westphal (25) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 11–7 L 1
December: 10–6 (Home: 5–2; Road: 5–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 19 December 2 Portland L 103–106 Paul Westphal (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 11–8 L 2 20 December 4 Atlanta L 89–96 Alvan Adams (18) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,577 11–9 L 3 21 December 6 @ Kansas City W 103–92 Walter Davis (29) Kemper Arena 5,976 12–9 W 1 22 December 7 @ Detroit W 113–107 (OT) Walter Davis, Paul Westphal (27) Cobo Arena 3,588 13–9 W 2 23 December 10 Houston W 110–93 Walter Davis (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,761 14–9 W 3 24 December 14 Buffalo W 113–103 Paul Westphal (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,597 15–9 W 4 25 December 16 @ New Orleans W 126–113 Walter Davis (24) Louisiana Superdome 8,172 16–9 W 5 26 December 17 @ Houston W 101–97 Paul Westphal (26) The Summit 8,134 17–9 W 6 27 December 18 @ Atlanta L 129–134 (2OT) Walter Davis (33) Omni Coliseum 8,062 17–10 L 1 28 December 20 @ New York W 110–99 Paul Westphal (32) Madison Square Garden 13,548 18–10 W 1 29 December 21 @ Philadelphia L 119–125 Walter Davis (35) The Spectrum 14,671 18–11 L 1 30 December 23 Boston W 129–110 Paul Westphal (19) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 19–11 W 1 31 December 26 @ Denver L 108–127 Walter Davis (23) McNichols Sports Arena 17,297 19–12 L 1 32 December 27 Seattle W 131–105 Ron Lee (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,543 20–12 W 1 33 December 29 Kansas City W 110–104 Walter Davis, Paul Westphal (33) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 21–12 W 1 34 December 30 @ Seattle L 110–121 Paul Westphal (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 21–13 L 1
January: 12–2 (Home: 8–0; Road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 35 January 3 @ Milwaukee W 125–103 Paul Westphal (34) MECCA Arena 8,571 22–13 W 1 36 January 4 @ New Jersey L 83–115 Paul Westphal (21) Rutgers Athletic Center 4,067 22–14 L 1 37 January 5 @ Boston W 121–111 Paul Westphal (43) Hartford Civic Center 10,019 23–14 W 1 38 January 7 @ Buffalo W 107–97 Paul Westphal (29) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 7,029 24–14 W 2 39 January 11 New Orleans W 142–99 Walter Davis (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 25–14 W 3 40 January 13 Detroit W 111–100 Paul Westphal (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 26–14 W 4 41 January 15 Cleveland W 113–104 Walter Davis (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,787 27–14 W 5 42 January 19 New York W 134–114 Paul Westphal (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,935 28–14 W 6 43 January 20 @ Golden State L 104–119 Walter Davis (31) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,237 28–15 L 1 44 January 22 Washington W 114–101 Paul Westphal (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 29–15 W 1 45 January 25 Houston W 118–96 Paul Westphal (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,277 30–15 W 2 46 January 27 Philadelphia W 110–101 Walter Davis (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 31–15 W 3 47 January 29 New Jersey W 131–100 Bayard Forrest (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,327 32–15 W 4 48 January 31 @ Kansas City W 112–102 Walter Davis (21) Omaha Civic Auditorium 5,182 33–15 W 5
February: 5–8 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–7) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 49 February 1 @ Detroit L 120–127 Walter Davis (26) Cobo Arena 5,143 33–16 L 1 50 February 3 Milwaukee W 115–105 Walter Davis (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 34–16 W 1 51 February 9 Atlanta W 125–98 Walter Davis (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,877 35–16 W 2 52 February 12 Washington W 121–109 Paul Westphal (43) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,467 36–16 W 3 53 February 14 @ Portland L 100–113 Walter Davis (39) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 36–17 L 1 54 February 16 Boston L 95–98 Walter Davis (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 36–18 L 2 55 February 17 @ Golden State L 92–111 Alvan Adams, Walter Davis (16) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,185 36–19 L 3 56 February 18 Indiana W 114–101 Paul Westphal (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 37–19 W 1 57 February 21 @ Buffalo W 114–111 Walter Davis (32) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 4,409 38–19 W 2 58 February 22 @ Atlanta L 95–107 Paul Westphal (37) Charlotte Coliseum 5,843 38–20 L 1 59 February 24 @ Washington L 120–121 (OT) Paul Westphal (35) Capital Centre 12,432 38–21 L 2 60 February 25 @ New York L 115–122 Paul Westphal (27) Madison Square Garden 17,197 38–22 L 3 61 February 28 @ Chicago L 115–126 Walter Davis (36) Chicago Stadium 14,713 38–23 L 4
March: 9–7 (Home: 7–2; Road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 62 March 1 Detroit L 102–115 Paul Westphal (240 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,161 38–24 L 5 63 March 3 Milwaukee W 132–126 Paul Westphal (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,139 39–24 W 1 64 March 5 Philadelphia L 92–104 Walter Davis (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,145 39–25 L 1 65 March 7 @ Denver W 126–112 Walter Davis (34) McNichols Sports Arena 17,428 40–25 W 1 66 March 9 Chicago W 112–103 Paul Westphal (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,748 41–25 W 2 67 March 11 Los Angeles W 120–114 Walter Davis (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 42–25 W 3 68 March 12 @ Los Angeles L 112–128 Paul Westphal (29) The Forum 17,505 42–26 L 1 69 March 14 @ Milwaukee L 106–121 Walter Davis (38) MECCA Arena 10,938 42–27 L 2 70 March 15 @ New Jersey L 98–117 Alvan Adams (21) Rutgers Athletic Center 4,260 42–28 L 3 71 March 17 @ Boston L 108–115 Paul Westphal (24) Boston Garden 15,276 42–29 L 4 72 March 19 @ Cleveland W 123–112 Paul Westphal (39) Coliseum at Richfield 15,622 43–29 W 1 73 March 21 @ Indiana L 115–119 Walter Davis (27) Market Square Arena 10,633 43–30 L 1 74 March 23 New York W 120–108 Walter Davis (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 44–30 W 1 75 March 25 Buffalo W 112–106 Alvan Adams (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,642 45–30 W 2 76 March 29 Portland W 127–94 Paul Westphal (33) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 46–30 W 3 77 March 31 Kansas City W 136–112 Paul Westphal (35) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,590 47–30 W 4
April: 2–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 78 April 2 Golden State W 105–99 Paul Westphal (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,040 48–30 W 5 79 April 4 @ San Antonio L 119–125 Walter Davis (35) HemisFair Arena 9,112 48–31 L 1 80 April 6 Denver L 105–111 Walter Davis (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 48–32 L 2 81 April 7 @ Seattle L 83–95 Paul Westphal (16) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,098 48–33 L 3 82 April 8 New Jersey W 120–109 Paul Westphal (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,226 49–33 W 1
1977–78 season schedule

Playoffs

Game log

1978 playoff game log
First Round: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Series Streak 1 April 11 Milwaukee L 103–111 Walter Davis (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,161 0–1 L 1 2 April 14 @ Milwaukee L 90–94 Paul Westphal (32) MECCA Arena 10,938 0–2 L 2
1978 playoff schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

• Paul Westphal was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his second consecutive All-Star selection. Westphal finished second in voting among Western Conference guards with 264,006 votes.
• Walter Davis was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection.

Season

• Walter Davis received the Rookie of the Year Award.
• Paul Westphal was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Westphal also finished sixth in MVP voting.
• Walter Davis was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Davis also finished fifth in MVP voting.
• Don Buse was named to the All-Defensive First Team.
• Walter Davis was named to the All-Rookie First Team.
• Ron Lee led the league in steals per game with a 2.74 average, and total steals with 225.

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game
PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alvan Adams	70	49	27.3	.485	.730	8.1	3.2	1.2	.9	15.5
Dennis Awtrey	81	34	20.0	.424	.633	3.7	2.0	.2	.3	3.6
Mike Bratz	80	0	11.7	.403	.824	1.4	1.5	.5	.1	4.7
Don Buse	82	82	31.1	.458	.824	3.0	4.8	2.3	.2	8.4
Walter Davis	81	81	32.0	.526	.830	6.0	3.4	1.4	.2	24.2
Bayard Forrest	64	0	13.9	.466	.476	3.9	2.0	.4	.5	4.2
Greg Griffin	36	0	11.7	.361	.639	2.9	0.7	.4	.0	4.0
Garfield Heard	80	73	26.2	.424	.612	8.2	1.7	1.6	1.3	7.8
Ron Lee	82	2	23.5	.439	.746	3.1	3.7	2.7	.2	12.2
Curtis Perry	45	4	18.2	.453	.785	5.6	1.1	.8	.5	6.0
Alvin Scott	81	5	19.0	.488	.691	4.4	1.1	.6	.5	6.1
Paul Westphal	80	80	31.0	.516	.813	2.1	5.5	1.7	.4	25.2

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alvan Adams	2	2	35.5	.455	1.000	8.0	2.0	1.0	.5	16.0
Dennis Awtrey	2	0	12.0	.250	1.000	1.0	1.5	.5	.0	1.5
Mike Bratz	2	0	4.5	.200	.	0.0	0.5	.0	.0	1.0
Don Buse	2	2	38.0	.364	.	2.5	2.0	2.0	.0	4.0
Walter Davis	2	2	33.0	.475	.750	8.5	4.0	1.5	.0	25.0
Bayard Forrest	1	0	3.0	1.000	.	0.0	0.0	.0	.0	2.0
Greg Griffin	2	0	12.5	.429	.	2.0	1.5	.5	.5	3.0
Garfield Heard	2	2	31.0	.353	.500	8.0	2.5	1.0	2.0	6.5
Ron Lee	2	0	20.5	.313	1.000	3.0	1.5	2.0	.0	6.0
Alvin Scott	2	0	18.5	.500	.833	3.0	1.5	1.0	.0	6.5
Paul Westphal	2	2	33.0	.468	.889	3.0	9.5	.5	.0	26.0

Transactions

Trades

July 15, 1977	To Portland Trail Blazers---- Dale Schlueter	To Phoenix Suns---- 1978 fourth-round draft pick ( Wayne Smith)
September 6, 1977	To Indiana Pacers---- Ricky Sobers	To Phoenix Suns---- Don Buse

Free agents

Additions

Date	Player	Contract	Old Team
July 23, 1977	Freeman Blade	Undisclosed
February 16, 1978	Greg Griffin	Undisclosed	Phoenix Suns

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason Left	New Team
April 10, 1977	Tom Van Arsdale	Retired
May 12, 1977	Dick Van Arsdale	Retired
June 6, 1977	Keith Erickson	Retired
August 23, 1977	Billy McKinney	Waived	Kansas City Kings
October 17, 1977	Freeman Blade	Waived
October 17, 1977	Butch Feher	Waived
November 14, 1977	Greg Griffin	Waived	Phoenix Suns

References

1. "Suns' Walter Davis Named NBA Rookie Of The Year". nba.com/history.
2. "1977-78 NBA Awards Voting". basketball-reference.com.