1978–79 San Diego Clippers season

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
< 1977–78	1979–80 >

The 1978–79 NBA season was the 9th season of the team formerly known as the Buffalo Braves in the NBA.^[1] They had moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California and have rechristened themselves as the San Diego Clippers.

Draft picks

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

San Diego Clippers 1978–79 roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Ht.	Wt.
F	32	Bigelow, Bob	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Penn
G	24	Free, World B.	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Guilford College
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 University
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

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	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 v t e
#	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
World B. 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)

References

^ 1978-79 San Diego Clippers

[1] 1978-79 San Diego Clippers

[1]