1977–78 New York Knicks season

1977–78 New York Knicks season
Head coach	Willis Reed
General manager	Eddie Donovan
Owners	Gulf+Western
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	43–39 (.524)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Semifinals (Eliminated 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WOR-TV MSG Network (Andy Musser, Cal Ramsey)
Radio	WNEW (Marv Albert, Richie Guerin)

The 1977–78 New York Knicks season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks finished the regular season in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 43–39 win–loss record and qualified for the NBA Playoffs. In the first round of the 1978 Playoffs, New York defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 2–0, to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. There, the Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in a four-game sweep.

Draft picks

Main article: 1977 NBA Draft

Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players picked by the franchise that played at least one game in the league.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	10	Ray Williams	G	United States	Minnesota
2	26	Glen Gondrezick	G/F	United States	UNLV
2	32	Toby Knight	F	United States	Notre Dame
4	76	Steve Hayes	C	United States	Idaho State

Roster

New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 9 Beard, Butch 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Louisville G 14 Burden, Ticky 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Utah PG 35 Cleamons, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Ohio State F 44 Gondrezick, Glen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) UNLV F 42 Haywood, Spencer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Detroit Mercy F 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) North Dakota F 43 Knight, Toby 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Notre Dame F/C 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) North Carolina F 5 McMillian, Jim 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Columbia G 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Winston-Salem State F 8 Shelton, Lonnie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Oregon State G 13 Williams, Ray 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Minnesota

Head coach Willis Reed Assistant coach(es) Dick McGuire (Dartmouth) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers	55	27	.671	–	37–4	18–23	14–2
x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	12	29–12	14–27	7–9
Boston Celtics	32	50	.390	23	24–17	8–33	8–8
Buffalo Braves	27	55	.329	28	20–21	7–34	7–9
New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	31	18–23	6–35	4–12

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Philadelphia 76ers	55	27	.671	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	3
3	x-Washington Bullets	44	38	.537	11
4	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	43	39	.524	12
5	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	12
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	41	41	.500	14
7	New Orleans Jazz	39	43	.476	16
8	Boston Celtics	32	50	.390	23
9	Houston Rockets	28	54	.341	27
10	Buffalo Braves	27	55	.329	28
11	New Jersey Nets	24	58	.293	31

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1977–78 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–1	1–3
Boston	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Buffalo	1–3	1–3	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–3	3–1	1–3	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3
Chicago	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–2	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1
Cleveland	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	2–2
Denver	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–1	1–3	3–1
Detroit	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–0	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2
Golden State	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–1	3–1	3–1	0–4	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2
Houston	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3	1–2	—	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3
Indiana	1–3	1–2	3–1	1–3	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–1
Kansas City	1–2	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2
Los Angeles	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	1–3	—	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	2–2	0–3	0–4	2–2	2–2
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–2	4–0	—	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	0–4
New York	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	—	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–2
Philadelphia	2–2	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2
Phoenix	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2
Portland	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	3–1	2–1
San Antonio	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	2–2
Seattle	1–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	—	1–3
Washington	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	2–2	3–1	—

Playoffs

East First Round

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 2–0

• Game 1 @ Cleveland: New York 132, Cleveland 114
• Game 2 @ New York: New York 109, Cleveland 107

Last playoff meeting: This was the first meeting between the Knicks and the Cavaliers

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (5) New York Knicks: 76ers win series 4–0

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 130, New York 90
• Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 119, New York 100
• Game 3 @ New York: Philadelphia 137, New York 126
• Game 4 @ New York: Philadelphia 112, New York 107

Last playoff meeting: 1968 Eastern division Semifinals (Philadelphia won 4–2)