Every 1978-79 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.
Seattle SuperSonics won the 1978-79 title from a regular season record of 52-30. 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 | Phoenix Suns | 2-1 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | April 10 to April 15, 1979 |
| First round | Los Angeles Lakers | 2-1 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 10 to April 15, 1979 |
| First round | Atlanta Hawks | 2-0 in games | Houston Rockets | April 11 to April 13, 1979 |
| First round | Philadelphia 76ers | 2-0 in games | New Jersey Nets | April 11 to April 13, 1979 |
| Conf. semifinals | Washington Bullets | 4-3 in games | Atlanta Hawks | April 15 to April 29, 1979 |
| Conf. semifinals | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-1 in games | Los Angeles Lakers | April 17 to April 25, 1979 |
| Conf. semifinals | Phoenix Suns | 4-1 in games | Kansas City Kings | April 17 to April 27, 1979 |
| Conf. semifinals | San Antonio Spurs | 4-3 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | April 15 to May 2, 1979 |
| Conf. finals | Washington Bullets | 4-3 in games | San Antonio Spurs | May 4 to May 18, 1979 |
| Conf. finals | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-3 in games | Phoenix Suns | May 1 to May 17, 1979 |
| The Finals | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-1 in games | Washington Bullets | May 20 to June 1, 1979 |
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.