Every 1977-78 NBA race charted day by day: East, Atlantic, Central, West, Midwest and Pacific. Final standings, from a season that ran October 18, 1977 to April 9, 1978.
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East standings, 1977-78
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
L10
Streak
Philadelphia 76ers (PHL)
55
27
.671
-
4-6
L1
San Antonio Spurs (SAN)
52
30
.634
3
7-3
L2
Washington Bullets (WAS)
44
38
.537
11
5-5
W1
Cleveland Cavaliers (CLE)
43
39
.524
12
9-1
W6
New York Knicks (NYK)
43
39
.524
12
6-4
W3
Atlanta Hawks (ATL)
41
41
.500
14
7-3
W1
New Orleans Jazz (NOJ)
39
43
.476
16
4-6
W3
Boston Celtics (BOS)
32
50
.390
23
3-7
W1
Houston Rockets (HOU)
28
54
.341
27
4-6
W1
Buffalo Braves (BUF)
27
55
.329
28
1-9
L2
New Jersey Nets (NJN)
24
58
.293
31
4-6
L3
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 6 times.
The Philadelphia 76ers trailed by as many as 3 games on November 2, 1977.
The Philadelphia 76ers took first place for good on December 17, 1977.
The Philadelphia 76ers won 10 games in a row from November 15, 1977 to November 30, 1977, the longest run of the race.
The Atlanta Hawks led by 1.5 games as late as November 10, 1977.
The Philadelphia 76ers led by as many as 7 games on March 19, 1978.
The Philadelphia 76ers went 11-2 from November 10, 1977 to December 6, 1977, turning a deficit of 3 games into a lead of 2.5 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 45 of the 156 days played.
The Philadelphia 76ers spent 145 of the season's 174 charted days in first place.