1978–79 San Diego Clippers season

1978–79 San Diego Clippers season
Head coach	Gene Shue
Arena	San Diego Sports Arena
Results
Record	43–39 (.524)
Place	Division: 5th (Pacific) Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	XETV
Radio	KGB

The 1978–79 NBA season was the 9th season of the team formerly known as the Buffalo Braves in the NBA. They had moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California and rechristened themselves as the San Diego Clippers.

Draft picks

Main article: 1978 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	41	Jerome Whitehead	Forward	United States	Marquette
3	48	Mike Santos	Forward	United States	Utah State
3	51	Ricky Gallon	Center	United States	Louisville
3	65	Marvin Delph	Guard	United States	Arkansas
4	68	Jim Boylan	Guard	United States	Marquette
4	73	Larry Harris	Forward	United States	Pittsburgh
4	76	Leroy McDonald	Guard	United States	Wake Forest
5	90	David Thompson	Forward	United States	Florida State
6	112	Bob Misevicius	Forward	United States	Providence
7	133	Stan Pietkiewicz	Guard	United States	Auburn
8	154	Felton Young	Center	United States	Jacksonville
9	172	Bobby White	Forward	United States	Centenary (LA)

Roster

1978–79 San Diego Clippers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. From F 32 Bigelow, Bob 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Penn G 24 Free, Lloyd 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Guilford C 44 Kunnert, Kevin 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 231 lb (105 kg) Iowa C 45 Lloyd, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Arizona State C 31 Nater, Swen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) UCLA G 11 Norman, Connie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Arizona F 40 Olive, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Villanova F 22 Pietkiewicz, Stan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Auburn G 9 Smith, Randy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Buffalo State G 14 Taylor, Brian 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Princeton F 42 Washington, Kermit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) American F 12 Weatherspoon, Nick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Illinois C 33 Whitehead, Jerome 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Marquette F 21 Wicks, Sidney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA G 20 Williams, Freeman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Portland State	Head coach Gene Shue Assistant coach(es) Bob Weiss Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Roster notes

• This was Kevin Kunnert's second stint with the franchise; he previously played for the Buffalo Braves in 1973–74.

Regular season

Game log

1978-79 Regular Season Game Log (43–39) (Home: 29–12; Road: 14–27)
October (5–6) (Home: 4–2; Road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record Report 1 October 13 @ Suns L 114–128 Kermit Washington (25) Kermit Washington (11) Randy Smith (11) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,217 0–1 [1] 2 October 14 @ Warriors L 89–117 Tied (21) Kermit Washington (14) Randy Smith (7) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 10,254 0–2 [2] 3 October 15 Nuggets L 94–98 Randy Smith (28) Swen Nater (12) Lloyd Free (4) San Diego Sports Arena 8,362 0–3 [3] 4 October 17 Bulls W 99–94 Lloyd Free (29) Tied (14) Tied (4) San Diego Sports Arena 4,944 1–3 [4] 5 October 18 Spurs L 125–127 Lloyd Free (29) Kermit Washington (16) Lloyd Free (8) San Diego Sports Arena 5,614 1–4 [5] 6 October 20 @ Bulls W 110–94 Nick Weatherspoon (19) Kermit Washington (13) World B. Free (9) Chicago Stadium 12,412 2–4 [6] 7 October 21 @ Pacers L 119–125 Lloyd Free (35) Tied (12) Lloyd Free (6) Market Square Arena 9,243 2–5 [7] 8 October 24 Lakers W 124–123 Lloyd Free (35) Kevin Kunnert (9) Lloyd Free (7) San Diego Sports Arena 11,637 3–5 [8] 9 October 25 Bucks W 125–116 Lloyd Free (38) Swen Nater (15) Lloyd Free (9) San Diego Sports Arena 8,051 4–5 [9] 10 October 27 @ Lakers L 101–113 Lloyd Free (26) Swen Nater (10) Lloyd Free (5) The Forum 9,246 4–6 [10] 11 October 29 SuperSonics W 103–100 Randy Smith (26) Kevin Kunnert (10) Randy Smith (6) San Diego Sports Arena 9,469 5–6 [11]
November (6–9) (Home: 4–4; Road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record Report 12 November 2 Knicks L 122–127 Lloyd Free (42) Kermit Washington (10) Lloyd Free (7) San Diego Sports Arena 9,744 5–7 [12] 13 November 3 @ Trail Blazers L 98–119 Randy Smith (22) Kermit Washington (11) Randy Smith (4) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 5–8 [13] 14 November 4 Cavaliers L 106–112 Lloyd Free (24) Kermit Washington (14) Lloyd Free (6) San Diego Sports Arena 9,791 5–9 [14] 15 November 7 @ Jazz W 121–115 Lloyd Free (29) Nick Weatherspoon (16) Lloyd Free (6) New Orleans Superdome 6,411 6–9 [15] 16 November 8 @ Spurs L 125–163 Lloyd Free (26) Swen Nater (9) Tied (5) HemisFair Arena 11,358 6–10 [16] 17 November 9 @ Hawks L 101–125 Nick Weatherspoon (25) Swen Nater (10) Tied (4) Omni Coliseum 5,082 6–11 [17] 18 November 11 @ Rockets L 123–136 Lloyd Free (31) Tied (6) Randy Smith (11) The Summit 9,179 6–12 [18] 19 November 14 Pacers W 109–106 Kermit Washington (29) Swen Nater (12) Lloyd Free (5) San Diego Sports Arena 6,381 7–12 [19] 20 November 16 Warriors W 112–109 Lloyd Free (29) Kermit Washington (10) Lloyd Free (5) San Diego Sports Arena 8,483 8–12 [20] 21 November 18 Jazz W 114–111 Randy Smith (36) Swen Nater (17) Randy Smith (6) San Diego Sports Arena 8,151 9–12 [21] 22 November 21 Hawks L 107–113 Lloyd Free (26) Kevin Kunnert (13) Lloyd Free (6) San Diego Sports Arena 6,730 9–13 [22] 23 November 24 @ 76ers L 120–134 Lloyd Free (33) Kermit Washington (11) Lloyd Free (8) The Spectrum 18,276 9–14 [23] 24 November 25 @ Kings W 87–86 Lloyd Free (28) Kevin Kunnert (15) Tied (4) Kemper Arena 11,320 10–14 [24] 25 November 26 Celtics W 105–103 LLoyd Free (28) Kermit Washington (9) Randy Smith (7) San Diego Sports Arena 7,042 11–14 [25] 26 November 30 Rockets L 104–113 Nick Weatherspoon (22) Nick Weatherspoon (11) Randy Smith (7) San Diego Sports Arena 6,597 11–15 [26]
December (7–6) (Home: 2–2; Road: 5–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record Report 27 December 2 Pistons L 113–120 Tied (25) Tied (13) Randy Smith (9) San Diego Sports Arena 6,433 11–16 [27] 28 December 6 @ Celtics L 111–117 Lloyd Free (25) Tied (11) Randy Smith (10) Boston Garden 7,688 11–17 [28] 29 December 9 @ Nets L 120–125 Lloyd Free (38) Swen Nater (10) Lloyd Free (4) Rutgers Athletic Center 4,286 11–18 [29] 30 December 10 @ Bucks W 107–106 Lloyd Free (28) Tied (12) Lloyd Free (5) MECCA Arena 10,889 12–18 [30] 31 December 12 @ Knicks W 105–103 Randy Smith (28) Tied (9) Lloyd Free (8) Madison Square Garden 11,981 13–18 [31] 32 December 13 @ Bullets L 117–134 Randy Smith (29) Swen Nater (9) Randy Smith (6) Capital Centre 7,621 13–19 [32] 33 December 17 Suns W 116–100 Lloyd Free (30) Swen Nater (13) Randy Smith (5) San Diego Sports Arena 6,068 14–19 [33] 34 December 19 76ers L 113–124 Lloyd Free (35) Swen Nater (10) Swen Nater (3) San Diego Sports Arena 13,822 14–20 [34] 35 December 25 @ SuperSonics W 123–118 Randy Smith (29) Swen Nater (13) Randy Smith (12) Kingdome 11,910 15–20 [35] 36 December 26 Bulls W 115–109 Lloyd Free (36) Kermit Washington (10) Lloyd Free (5) San Diego Sports Arena 8,582 16–20 [36] 37 December 28 @ Cavaliers L 114–116 Lloyd Free (36) Kevin Kunnert (9) Lloyd Free (6) Richfield Coliseum 11,091 16–21 [37] 38 December 29 @ Pistons W 111–107 Lloyd Free (35) Swen Nater (14) Randy Smith (8) Pontiac Silverdome 10,284 17–21 [38] 39 December 30 @ Pacers W 114–111 Lloyd Free (30) Kevin Kunnert (13) Sidney Wicks (6) Market Square Arena 7,263 18–21 [39]
January (8–6) (Home: 5–0; Road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record Report 40 January 2 Pistons W 137–119 Lloyd Free (33) Kermit Washington (17) Kermit Washington (5) San Diego Sports Arena 6,139 19–21 [40] 41 January 4 @ Kings L 99–108 Randy Smith (37) Kermit Washington (15) Randy Smith (3) Kemper Arena 6,647 19–22 [41] 42 January 6 @ Bucks L 93–104 Freeman Williams (26) Kermit Washington (14) Randy Smith (6) MECCA Arena 10,938 19–23 [42] 43 January 9 @ Jazz W 114–107 Lloyd Free (34) Kermit Washington (10) Tied (7) New Orleans Superdome 6,342 20–23 [43] 44 January 11 @ Spurs L 111–140 Nick Weatherspoon (38) Nick Weatherspoon (9) Randy Smith (12) HemisFair Arena 11,008 20–24 [44] 45 January 13 @ Hawks L 119–124 Lloyd Free (46) Kermit Washington (17) Tied (3) Omni Coliseum 7,681 20–25 [45] 46 January 14 @ Bullets L 91–125 Randy Smith (24) Kermit Washington (13) Randy Smith (8) Capital Centre 9,588 20–26 [46] 47 January 17 Lakers W 119–117 Lloyd Free (31) Tied (11) Tied (4) San Diego Sports Arena 13,073 21–26 [47] 48 January 24 Trail Blazers W 122–121 Lloyd Free (35) Nick Weatherspoon (11) Lloyd Free (5) San Diego Sports Arena 9,659 22–26 [48] 49 January 26 @ Bulls W 107–91 Lloyd Free (28) Swen Nater (15) Tied (5) Chicago Stadium 8,523 23–26 [49] 50 January 27 @ Cavaliers W 111–110 Lloyd Free (38) Kermit Washington (15) Lloyd Free (4) Richfield Coliseum 10,523 24–26 [50] 51 January 28 @ Pistons L 118–128 Lloyd Free (23) Swen Nater (10) Sidney Wicks (6) Pontiac Silverdome 9,279 24–27 [51] 52 January 30 Bucks W 117–113 Randy Smith (26) Kevin Kunnert (14) Tied (7) San Diego Sports Arena 8,431 25–27 [52] 53 January 31 Nets W 112–104 Lloyd Free (25) Kermit Washington (14) Randy Smith (6) San Diego Sports Arena 7,227 26–27 [53]
February (8-4) (Home: 7–2; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record Report 54 February 2 Nuggets W 124–100 Lloyd Free (49) Kevin Kunnert (12) Randy Smith (5) San Diego Sports Arena 11,763 27–28 [54] 55 February 7 Spurs L 113–126 Lloyd Free (25) Kermit Washington (10) Tied (4) San Diego Sports Arena 8,498 27–28 [55] 56 February 9 @ 76ers L 106–117 Randy Smith (25) Nick Weatherspoon (13) Nick Weatherspoon (5) The Spectrum 15,823 27–29 [56] 57 February 11 @ Nets L 98–104 Lloyd Free (22) Swen Nater (18) Lloyd Free (6) Rutgers Athletic Center 14,749 27–30 [57] 58 February 13 Bullets L 136–138 2OT Lloyd Free (45) Nick Weatherspoon (10) Lloyd Free (4) San Diego Sports Arena 8,111 27–31 [58] 59 February 15 Jazz W 122–112 Lloyd Free (30) Swen Nater (10) Randy Smith (5) San Diego Sports Arena 5,827 28–31 [59] 60 February 16 @ Nuggets W 118–104 Randy Smith (25) Kermit Washington (14) Tied (5) McNichols Sports Arena 15,119 29–31 [60] 61 February 18 Hawks W 116–101 Lloyd Free (26) Sidney Wicks (13) Randy Smith (4) San Diego Sports Arena 6,959 30–31 [61] 62 February 23 76ers W 117–116 Lloyd Free (26) Swen Nater (10) Tied (3) San Diego Sports Arena 13,783 31–31 [62] 63 February 25 Celtics W 131–116 Lloyd Free (38) Kevin Kunnert (10) Tied (6) San Diego Sports Arena 10,671 32–31 [63] 64 February 27 Pacers W 124–107 Lloyd Free (28) Tied (9) Kermit Washington (6) San Diego Sports Arena 6,156 33–31 [64] 65 February 28 Kings W 122–120 Randy Smith (22) Swen Nater (8) Randy Smith (7) San Diego Sports Arena 9,051 34–31 [65]
March (7–6) (Home: 5–1; Road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record Report 66 March 2 @ Celtics W 106–99 Lloyd Free (28) Kermit Washington (15) Randy Smith (6) Boston Garden 14,345 35–31 [66] 67 March 3 @ Knicks L 108–111 Lloyd Free (34) Kevin Kunnert (23) Tied (6) Madison Square Garden 11,488 35–32 [67] 68 March 7 Rockets W 138–115 Lloyd Free (34) Swen Nater (10) Tied (5) San Diego Sports Arena 19,911 36–32 [68] 69 March 10 Cavaliers W 121–115 Lloyd Free (33) Swen Nater (12) Tied (3) San Diego Sports Arena 13,783 37–32 [69] 70 March 14 Trail Blazers W 110–105 Lloyd Free (29) Kevin Kunnert (12) Randy Smith (9) San Diego Sports Arena 13,401 38–32 [70] 71 March 17 Warriors W 106–103 Lloyd Free (23) Kevin Kunnert (11) Tied (4) San Diego Sports Arena 11,332 39–32 [71] 72 March 18 Nets W 110–98 Lloyd Free (31) Nick Weatherspoon (17) Randy Smith (5) San Diego Sports Arena 18,538 40–32 [72] 73 March 20 @ Trail Blazers L 109–115 Randy Smith (28) Swen Nater (12) Randy Smith (12) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 40–33 [73] 74 March 21 @ Warriors W 106–103 Lloyd Free (35) Kevin Kunnert (17) Tied (5) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,813 41–33 [74] 75 March 23 @ Lakers L 119–156 Randy Smith (33) Kermit Washington (17) Kermit Washington (6) The Forum 14,212 41–34 [75] 76 March 27 @ SuperSonics L 109–115 Lloyd Free (28) Tied (9) Lloyd Free (4) Kingdome 20,087 41–35 [76] 77 March 29 Kings L 111–116 Lloyd Free (37) Kermit Washington (15) Brian Taylor (4) San Diego Sports Arena 13,189 41–36 [77] 78 March 30 @ Nuggets L 121–130 Lloyd Free (42) Kevin Kunnert (13) Lloyd Free (6) McNichols Sports Arena 17,607 41–37 [78]
April (2–2) (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record Report 79 April 1 Knicks W 126–116 Lloyd Free (28) Kevin Kunnert (15) Tied (4) San Diego Sports Arena 8,371 42–37 [79] 80 April 4 SuperSonics L 107–115 Nick Weatherspoon (25) Kermit Washington (13) Randy Smith (5) San Diego Sports Arena 20,087 42–38 [80] 81 April 6 @ Suns L 117–118 Lloyd Free (29) Swen Nater (10) Tied (4) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,660 42–39 [81] 82 April 7 Suns W 120–116 Lloyd Free (36) Swen Nater (12) Brian Taylor (3) San Diego Sports Arena 11,614 43–39 [82]

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	–	31–10	21–20	11–9
x-Phoenix Suns	50	32	.610	2	32–9	18–23	11–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers	47	35	.573	5	31–10	16–25	11–9
x-Portland Trail Blazers	45	37	.549	7	33–8	12–29	8–12
San Diego Clippers	43	39	.524	9	29–12	14–27	11–9
Golden State Warriors	38	44	.463	14	23–18	15–26	8–12

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	–
2	y-Kansas City Kings	48	34	.585	4
3	x-Phoenix Suns	50	32	.610	2
4	x-Denver Nuggets	47	35	.573	5
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	47	35	.573	5
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	45	37	.549	7
7	San Diego Clippers	43	39	.524	9
8	Indiana Pacers	38	44	.463	14
9	Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	14
10	Golden State Warriors	38	44	.463	14
11	Chicago Bulls	31	51	.378	21

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1978–79 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2
Boston	2–2	–	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–4
Chicago	1–3	2–1	–	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3
Cleveland	1–3	2–2	3–1	–	1–2	1–3	2–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4
Denver	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	–	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	0–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3
Detroit	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	–	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3
Golden State	3–1	1–2	1–3	1–2	0–4	3–1	–	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2
Houston	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	–	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	4–0	0–4	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2
Indiana	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	4–0	–	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3
Kansas City	2–2	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	–	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–0
Los Angeles	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–2	–	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2
Milwaukee	0–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	–	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3
New Jersey	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	4–0	3–1	1–3	2–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	–	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–0	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–4	1–3
New Orleans	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	–	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–3	0–4
New York	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–2	0–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	–	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	–	1–3	1–2	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1
Phoenix	1–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–3	3–1	4–0	3–1	–	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3
Portland	2–2	3–1	0–4	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–3	–	2–1	2–2	1–3	3–1
San Antonio	1–3	4–0	3–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–2	–	4–0	2–2	1–3
San Diego	1–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	0–4	–	2–2	0–3
Seattle	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	–	2–2
Washington	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–0	2–2	—

Player stats

Legend

GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game	FG	Field-goals per game	FGA	Field-goals attempted per Game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	FT	Free-throws per game	FTA	Free-throws attempted per Game	FT%	Free-throw percentage
ORPG	Offensive rebounds per game	DRPG	Defensive rebounds per game	RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game
SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PFPG	Personal fouls per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	MPG	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORPG	DRPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PFPG	PPG
Lloyd Free	78	37.9	10.2	21.2	0.481	8.4	11.1	0.756	1.6	2.2	3.9	4.4	1.4	0.4	3.2	28.8
Randy Smith	82	37.9	8.5	18.6	0.455	3.6	4.4	0.813	1.2	2.4	3.6	4.8	2.2	0.1	2.2	20.5
Kermit Washington	82	33.7	4.3	7.6	0.562	2.8	4.0	0.688	3.6	6.1	9.8	1.5	1.0	1.5	3.9	11.3
Nick Weatherspoon	82	32.2	5.8	12.2	0.480	2.1	2.9	0.739	2.2	3.4	5.5	1.6	1.0	0.5	3.5	13.8
Sidney Wicks	79	25.6	3.9	8.6	0.462	1.9	2.9	0.650	2.0	3.1	5.1	1.6	0.9	0.5	3.5	9.8
Swen Nater	79	25.4	4.5	7.9	0.569	1.7	2.1	0.800	2.8	6.1	8.9	1.8	0.5	0.4	3.1	10.7
Kevin Kunnert	81	20.8	2.9	6.2	0.467	0.7	1.0	0.659	2.5	4.5	7.0	1.4	0.6	1.5	3.8	6.5
Freeman Williams	72	16.6	4.7	9.5	0.490	1.1	1.4	0.776	0.7	0.7	1.4	1.2	0.6	0.0	1.2	10.4
Connie Norman	22	14.7	3.2	7.5	0.430	0.9	1.0	0.826	0.6	0.9	1.5	1.1	0.5	0.1	1.6	7.3
Bob Bigelow	29	14.2	1.2	3.1	0.400	0.4	0.7	0.619	0.5	1.1	1.6	0.9	0.4	0.1	1.3	2.9
Brian Taylor	20	10.6	1.5	4.2	0.361	0.8	0.9	0.889	0.7	0.7	1.3	1.0	1.2	0.0	1.7	3.8
Stan Pietkiewicz	4	8.0	0.3	2.0	0.125	0.5	0.5	1.000	0.0	1.5	1.5	0.8	0.3	0.0	1.3	1.0
Scott Lloyd	5	6.2	0.0	0.4	0.000	0.0	0.0		0.2	0.4	0.6	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.2	0.0
John Olive	34	5.6	0.4	1.2	0.325	0.5	0.7	0.783	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.9	1.3
Jerome Whitehead	31	4.9	0.5	1.1	0.441	0.3	0.6	0.444	0.5	1.1	1.6	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.9	1.2

Awards and records

• Lloyd Free, All-NBA Second Team

Transactions

The Clippers were involved in the following transactions during the 1978–79 season.

Coaching Change

Offseason
Outgoing Coach	Date Removed	1977-78 Record	Incoming Coach
Cotton Fitzsimmons	Fired, May 9, 1978	27–55	Gene Shue

Trades

June 7, 1978	To San Diego Clippers Tom Abernethy	To Los Angeles Lakers A 1978 second round draft pick
July 15, 1978	To San Diego Clippers A 1978 second round draft pick as compensation	To Golden State Warriors The right to sign Tom Abernethy as a veteran free agent
August 4, 1978	To San Diego Clippers Kermit Washington, Kevin Kunnert, Sidney Wicks & draft rights to Freeman Williams	To Boston Celtics Nate Archibald, Marvin Barnes, Billy Knight, and a 1981 & 1983 second round draft picks.
October 12, 1978	To San Diego Clippers Lloyd Free	To Philadelphia 76ers A 1984 first round draft pick
October 26, 1978	To San Diego Clippers A 1981 third round draft pick	To Chicago Bulls Scott Lloyd
February 15, 1979	To San Diego Clippers The right to sign Brian Taylor as a veteran free agent	To Denver Nuggets Two 1979 second round draft picks as compensation

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Nick Weatherspoon	June 1	Chicago Bulls
Connie Norman	September 19	Philadelphia 76ers
Bob Bigelow	October 26	Boston Celtics
John Olive	December 5	Philadelphia 76ers

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team
Mike Glenn	free agency, June 12	New York Knickerbockers
Tom Abernethy	free agency, July 15	Golden State Warriors
Larry McNeill	waived, September 25	Rochester Zeniths(CBA)
Eddie Owens	waived, October 7	Rochester Zeniths (CBA)
Bird Averitt	waived, October 12	Montana Sky (WBA)
Wil Jones	waived, October 12	Retired
Bill Willoughby	waived, October 12	Cleveland Cavaliers
Stan Pietkiewicz	waived, November 26	Anchorage Northern Knights (CBA)
Connie Norman	waived, December 5	Lancaster Red Roses (CBA)