Every 1977-78 NBA playoff series, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
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The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
Washington Bullets won the 1977-78 title from a regular season record of 44-38. 12 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 4 rounds. Every series below is taken from NBA.com; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Milwaukee Bucks | 2-0 in games | Phoenix Suns | April 11 to April 14, 1978 |
| First round | Seattle SuperSonics | 2-1 in games | Los Angeles Lakers | April 12 to April 16, 1978 |
| First round | Washington Bullets | 2-0 in games | Atlanta Hawks | April 12 to April 14, 1978 |
| First round | New York Knicks | 2-0 in games | Cleveland Cavaliers | April 12 to April 14, 1978 |
| Conf. semifinals | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-2 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | April 18 to May 1, 1978 |
| Conf. semifinals | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-0 in games | New York Knicks | April 16 to April 23, 1978 |
| Conf. semifinals | Washington Bullets | 4-2 in games | San Antonio Spurs | April 16 to April 28, 1978 |
| Conf. semifinals | Denver Nuggets | 4-3 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | April 18 to May 3, 1978 |
| Conf. finals | Washington Bullets | 4-2 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | April 30 to May 12, 1978 |
| Conf. finals | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-2 in games | Denver Nuggets | May 5 to May 17, 1978 |
| The Finals | Washington Bullets | 4-3 in games | Seattle SuperSonics | May 21 to June 7, 1978 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.