Houston Rockets Regular Season Rosters

1978-1979 Houston Rockets Regular Season Roster

Player Pos HT WT YOS Pre-Draft Team Draft Status Nationality
Tom Barker C 6-11 225 2 Hawaii 1976 Rnd 4 Pick 2 United States
Rick Barry F 6-7 205 8 Miami (FL) 1965 Rnd 1 Pick 2 United States
Alonzo Bradley SF 6-6 190 0 Texas Southern 1977 Rnd 2 Pick 7 United States
E.C. Coleman PF 6-8 225 5 Houston Christian 1973 Rnd 3 Pick 16 United States
Jacky Dorsey SF 6-7 230 2 Georgia 1976 Rnd 2 Pick 9 United States
Mike Dunleavy, Sr. G 6-3 180 2 South Carolina 1976 Rnd 6 Pick 13 United States
Dwight Jones FC 6-10 210 5 Houston 1973 Rnd 1 Pick 9 United States
Moses Malone C 6-10 215 2 Petersburg High School (Virginia) 1975 NBA Draft, Undrafted United States
Calvin Murphy PG 5-9 165 8 Niagara 1970 Rnd 2 Pick 1 United States
Mike Newlin GF 6-4 200 7 Utah 1971 Rnd 2 Pick 7 United States
Robert Reid GF 6-8 205 1 St. Mary's (TX) 1977 Rnd 2 Pick 18 United States
Rudy Tomjanovich F 6-8 218 8 Michigan 1970 Rnd 1 Pick 2 United States
Slick Watts G 6-1 185 5 Xavier-Louisiana 1973 NBA Draft, Undrafted United States
Rudy White SG 6-2 195 3 Arizona State 1975 Rnd 3 Pick 11 United States

1978-1979 Houston Depth Chart

  PG SG SF PF C
Starters C. Murphy M. Newlin R. Barry R. Tomjanovich M. Malone
Rotation   S. Watts R. Reid D. Jones  
Rotation   M. Dunleavy, Sr.      
Lim PT   R. White A. Bradley    
Lim PT     J. Dorsey    

1978-1979 Central Division Standings

RankTeamRecordGB
1San Antonio Spurs48-34-
2Houston Rockets47-351
3Atlanta Hawks46-362
4Detroit Pistons30-5218
5Cleveland Cavaliers30-5218
6New Orleans Jazz26-5622

1978-1979 Houston Awards & Honors

Player Award / Honor
Moses Malone Michael Jordan Most Valuable Player (1979)
Moses Malone All-NBA First Team (1979)
Moses Malone All-NBA Defensive Second Team (1979)
Rudy Tomjanovich Eastern All-Star Fan Vote Selection (1979)
Moses Malone Eastern All-Star Fan Vote Selection (1979)
Calvin Murphy Eastern All-Star Coaches Selection (1979)
Calvin Murphy J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1979)

1978-1979 Houston Season Stat Leaders

Player GP MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV
Moses Malone 82 41.3 24.8 17.6 1.8 1.0 1.5 4.0
Calvin Murphy 82 35.9 20.2 2.1 4.3 1.4 0.1 2.3
Rudy Tomjanovich 74 35.7 19.0 7.7 1.9 0.6 0.2 1.9
Rick Barry 80 32.1 13.5 3.5 6.3 1.2 0.5 2.5
Robert Reid 82 27.5 10.9 5.9 2.8 0.9 0.6 1.6
Mike Newlin 76 24.1 10.2 2.2 3.8 0.7 0.1 2.3
Mike Dunleavy, Sr. 74 20.1 8.0 1.7 4.4 0.8 0.1 1.8
Dwight Jones 81 15.0 5.7 4.0 0.7 0.4 0.3 1.3
Slick Watts 61 17.1 3.7 1.7 4.0 1.2 0.2 1.2
Alonzo Bradley 34 7.2 2.8 1.4 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.5
Jacky Dorsey 20 5.4 2.8 1.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4
E.C. Coleman 6 6.5 1.8 1.2 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.0
Tom Barker 5 3.2 1.6 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2

1978-1979 Houston Rockets Roster Composition

Selected via Draft

Calvin Murphy was selected as the #1 pick in the Second Round of the 1970 NBA Draft by the San Diego Rockets. Calvin Murphy signed a multi-year contract with the San Diego Rockets on September 1, 1970.

Mike Newlin was selected as the #7 pick in the Second Round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Mike Newlin signed a multi-year contract with the Houston Rockets on April 27, 1971.

Robert Reid was selected as the #18 pick in the Second Round of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Robert Reid signed a multi-year contract with the Houston Rockets on September 1, 1977.

Rudy Tomjanovich was selected as the #2 pick in the First Round of the 1970 NBA Draft by the San Diego Rockets. Rudy Tomjanovich signed a multi-year contract with the San Diego Rockets on September 1, 1970.

Rudy White was selected as the #11 pick in the 3 Round of the 1975 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Rudy White signed a multi-year contract with the Houston Rockets on July 13, 1975.

Acquired via Draft Rights Trade

Draft Rights to Alonzo Bradley, the #7 pick in the Second Round of the 1977 NBA Draft, were acquired by the Houston Rockets from the Indiana Pacers on December 22, 1977. Alonzo Bradley signed a multi-year contract with the Houston Rockets on December 25, 1977.

Acquired via Trade

Dwight Jones was acquired in a trade by the Houston Rockets from the Atlanta Hawks on June 7, 1976.

Moses Malone was acquired in a trade by the Houston Rockets from the Buffalo Braves on October 24, 1976.

Slick Watts was acquired in a trade by the Houston Rockets from the New Orleans Jazz on September 21, 1978.

Acquired via Free Agency

Rick Barry signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Houston Rockets on June 17, 1978.

Jacky Dorsey signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Houston Rockets on May 11, 1978.

Mike Dunleavy, Sr. signed a contract with the Houston Rockets on March 10, 1978. Mike Dunleavy, Sr. re-signed to a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Houston Rockets on September 1, 1978.

1978-1979 Houston Rockets Front Office

Staff Member Position Start Season Previous Job
Kenneth Schnitzer Owner 1976-1977 N/A
Tom Nissalke Head Coach 1976-1977 Head Coach (San Antonio Spurs, 1973 to 1975)
Ray Patterson General Manager 1972-1973 General Manager (Milwaukee Bucks, 1970 to 1972)