1977–78 New York Knicks season

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.^[3]

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Draft picks

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.^[4]

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

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	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)
Nat Frazier (Tuskegee)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	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 v t e
#	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	—

Game log

Regular season

1977–78 game log
Total: 44–38 (home: 22–19; road: 21–20)

October: 3–2 (home: 3–1; road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
2	October 22, 1977 8:05 p.m. EDT	Washington	W 141–115	Monroe (22)	Shelton (9)	McAdoo (8)	Madison Square Garden 15,261	2–0

November: 8–7 (home: 6–1; road: 2–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
14	November 18, 1977 8:05 p.m. EST	@ Washington	L 103–123	Haywood (20)	McAdoo (13)	Beard (10)	Capital Centre 17,242	8–6

December: 8–6 (home: 5–3; road: 3–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

January: 7–8 (home: 4–2; road: 3–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

February: 6–5 (home: 5–1; road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
All-Star Break

March: 7–10 (home: 5–3; road: 2–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
76	March 30, 1978 8:35 p.m. EST	Washington	L 108–123	Williams (26)	Knight (8)	Williams (9)	Madison Square Garden 12,702	38–38

April: 4–1 (home: 1–1; road: 3–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
78	April 2, 1978 1:45 p.m. EST	@ Washington	W 114–109	McAdoo (25)	Knight (11)	Monroe (10)	Capital Centre 7,193	40–38

1977–78 schedule

Playoffs

1978 playoff game log

First Round: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 12	@ Cleveland	W 132–114	Bob McAdoo (41)	Spencer Haywood (8)	Ray Williams (6)	Richfield Coliseum 19,739	1–0
2	April 14	Cleveland	W 109–107	McAdoo, Haywood (27)	Bob McAdoo (12)	Ray Williams (10)	Madison Square Garden 18,965	2–0

Conference semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 24	@ Philadelphia	L 90–130	Ray Williams (24)	Bob McAdoo (13)	Bob McAdoo (6)	Spectrum 13,011	0–1
2	April 27	@ Philadelphia	L 100–119	Ray Williams (24)	three players tied (6)	Bob McAdoo (6)	Spectrum 15,853	0–2
3	April 30	Philadelphia	L 126–137	Bob McAdoo (29)	Lonnie Shelton (14)	Butch Beard (8)	Madison Square Garden 16,307	0–3
4	May 1	Philadelphia	L 107–112	Bob McAdoo (24)	Bob McAdoo (14)	McAdoo, Williams (4)	Madison Square Garden 15,457	0–4

1978 schedule

References

^ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 331. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
^ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 330. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
^ "1977–78 New York Knickerbockers Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
^ "1977 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2013.