1978 in basketball

The following are the basketball events of the year 1978 throughout the world.

National team competitions

Men's Division

• 1978 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Quezon City and Manila:

  Yugoslavia (win world title via OT, 82–81)

  Soviet Union

  Brazil

• 1978 FIBA Oceania Championship in New Zealand:

  Australia (wins Best-of-3 series, 2–1)

  New Zealand

• AfroBasket 1978 in Dakar:

  Senegal (Win African title, 103–72)

  Ivory Coast

  Egypt

Women's Division

• 1978 FIBA Asia Women's Cup in Kuala Lumpur:

  South Korea

  China

  Japan

Youth Division

• 1978 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Italy:

  Soviet Union (Win European title, 104–100)

  Spain

  Yugoslavia

Professional club seasons

Country	League	Champion	Runner-up	Result	Playoff format
United States	1977–78 NBA season	Washington Bullets	Seattle SuperSonics	4–3	Best-of-7 series

Player awards (NBA)

Regular Season MVP

Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers

NBA Finals MVP

Wes Unseld, Washington Wizards

• CSP Limoges were promoted to the first division of the French championship (future Pro A)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

• Class of 1978:
  • Paul Arizin
  • Joe Fulks
  • Cliff Hagan
  • Jim Pollard

Births

• June 19 — Dirk Nowitzki, NBA player
• August 23 — Kobe Bryant, NBA player

Deaths

• May 8 — Chuck Hyatt, American Hall of Fame player (born 1908)
• June 6 — Paul Lambert, American college coach (Pittsburg State, Hardin–Simmons, Southern Illinois) (born 1934)
• August 15 — Mike Novak, American NBA, BAA and NBL player (born 1915)
• September 11 — Omar Browning, American player and coach of the 1948 Olympic champions (born 1911)
• September 28 — Neil Johnston, American Hall of Fame player (Philadelphia Warriors) (born 1929)
• November 11 — Bennie Borgmann, American Hall of Fame player (Original Celtics) (born 1900)

See also

• 1978 in sports