1978–79 New York Knicks season

The 1978-79 NBA season was the Knicks' 33rd season in the NBA.^[1]

1978–79 New York Knicks season
Head coach	Willis Reed Red Holzman
General manager	Eddie Donovan
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	31–51 (.378)
Place	Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WOR-TV MSG Network
Radio	WNEW
< 1977–78 1979–80 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1978 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	4	Micheal Ray Richardson	G	United States	Montana
2	32	John Rudd	SF	United States	McNeese State
2	34	Greg Bunch	SF	United States	Cal State Fullerton
3	55	Marc Iavaroni	F	United States	Virginia
4	79	Erving Giddings	SF	United States	Dayton
5	100	Greg Green		United States	Southern
6	121	Ed Warren		United States	Briar Cliff
7	144	Gary Pember		United States	Nasson College
8	162	Greg Sanders		United States	St. Bonaventure
9	178	Danny Fields		United States	UNC Wilmington
10	195	Ernest Simons		United States	Pace

Roster

1978–79 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 6 Barker, Tom 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1955-03-11 Hawaiʻi G 9 Beard, Butch 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1947-05-04 Louisville F 14 Behagen, Ron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-01-14 Minnesota F 30 Bunch, Greg 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1956-05-15 Cal State Fullerton G 35 Cleamons, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1949-09-13 Ohio State G 34 Glenn, Mike 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1955-09-10 Southern Illinois F 44 Gondrezick, Glen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1955-08-30 UNLV F 42 Haywood, Spencer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1949-04-22 Detroit Mercy F 43 Knight, Toby 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1955-05-03 Notre Dame F 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-09-25 North Carolina C 50 Meriweather, Joe 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1953-10-26 Southern Illinois G 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944-11-21 Winston-Salem State G 20 Richardson, Michael Ray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1955-04-11 Montana F 52 Rudd, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1955-08-07 McNeese State C 40 Webster, Marvin 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1952-04-03 Morgan State G 13 Williams, Ray 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1954-10-14 Minnesota

Head coach Willis Reed Red Holzman Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended   Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Washington Bullets	54	28	.659	–	31–10	23–18	11–5
x-Philadelphia 76ers	47	35	.573	7	31–10	16–25	9–7
x-New Jersey Nets	37	45	.451	17	25–16	12–29	7–9
New York Knicks	31	51	.378	23	23–18	8–33	7–9
Boston Celtics	29	53	.354	25	21–20	8–33	6–10

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Washington Bullets	54	28	.659	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	6
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	47	35	.573	7
4	x-Houston Rockets	47	35	.573	7
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	46	36	.561	8
6	x-New Jersey Nets	37	45	.451	17
7	New York Knicks	31	51	.378	23
8	Cleveland Cavaliers	30	52	.366	24
8	Detroit Pistons	30	52	.366	24
10	Boston Celtics	29	53	.354	25
11	New Orleans Jazz	26	56	.317	28

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

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	—

References

1. 1978-79 New York Knicks