Last Updated on July 29, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

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The 1978–79 Utah Jazz featured a balanced offense led by Truck Robinson, whose scoring and rebounding made him the team’s primary frontcourt force, while Ron Boone and Marques Johnson provided additional scoring and playmaking from the perimeter. James Hardy contributed on the boards and inside scoring. The Jazz relied on multiple offensive contributors and solid rebounding, but inconsistent defense and limited overall efficiency prevented them from sustaining success over the course of the season.

Note: This was the final season the franchise played in New Orleans before relocating to Utah.

Roster

No. Player Pos Height Weight Birth Date College
7 Pete Maravich G 6’5″ 197 lbs Jun 22, 1947 LSU
53 Rich Kelley C 7’0″ 235 lbs Mar 23, 1953 Stanford
34 Truck Robinson F 6’7″ 225 lbs Oct 4, 1951 Tennessee State
10 Jim McElroy G 6’3″ 190 lbs Oct 4, 1953 Central Michigan
25 Gail Goodrich G 6’1″ 170 lbs Apr 23, 1943 UCLA
30 Paul Griffin F 6’9″ 205 lbs Feb 2, 1954 Western Michigan
42 Aaron James F 6’8″ 210 lbs Oct 5, 1952 Grambling State
31 Spencer Haywood F 6’8″ 225 lbs Apr 22, 1949 Detroit Mercy
20 James Hardy F 6’8″ 215 lbs Nov 19, 1956 San Francisco
12 Ron Lee G 6’3″ 193 lbs Nov 2, 1952 Oregon
24 Joe Meriweather C 6’10” 215 lbs Oct 26, 1953 Southern Illinois
22 Marty Byrnes F 6’7″ 215 lbs Apr 30, 1956 Syracuse
35 Ira Terrell F 6’8″ 210 lbs Jun 19, 1954 SMU
11 Tommie Green G 6’2″ 185 lbs Dec 8, 1956 Southern University
44 Gus Bailey F 6’5″ 185 lbs Feb 18, 1951 UTEP

Regular Season Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOV FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Truck Robinson PF 27 43 41.4 41.4 24.2 13.4 1.7 0.7 1.5 3.3 19.0 .485 0 0 7.9 .723
Spencer Haywood PF 29 34 39.4 39.4 24.0 9.6 2.1 0.9 1.6 3.3 20.5 .497 0 0 4.3 .849
Pete Maravich SG 31 49 37.2 37.2 22.6 2.5 5.0 1.2 0.4 4.1 21.1 .421 0 0 5.7 .841
Jim McElroy PG 25 79 34.2 34.2 16.9 2.7 5.7 1.9 0.6 3.0 13.9 .491 0 0 4.3 .762
Rich Kelley C 25 80 33.8 33.8 15.7 12.8 3.6 1.6 2.1 3.6 10.9 .506 0 0 5.7 .814
Gail Goodrich SG 35 74 28.8 28.8 12.7 2.5 4.8 1.2 0.2 2.5 11.5 .449 0 0 2.8 .853
Ron Lee PG 26 17 23.4 23.4 6.7 3.2 4.3 2.2 0.1 2.9 7.3 .363 0 0 2.2 .649
James Hardy SF 22 68 21.4 21.4 6.7 4.6 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.4 6.3 .460 0 0 1.3 .693
Aaron James SF 26 73 19.4 19.4 10.0 3.4 1.1 0.4 0.3 1.5 8.6 .494 0 0 1.9 .750
Ira Terrell SF 24 31 18.5 18.5 4.9 3.5 0.8 0.5 0.7 1.2 4.6 .438 0 0 1.2 .711
Paul Griffin PF 25 77 18.2 18.2 3.9 5.1 1.8 0.7 0.5 1.5 2.9 .475 0 0 1.9 .619
Joe Meriweather C 25 36 17.8 17.8 6.1 5.1 0.9 0.5 1.1 1.3 5.2 .449 0 0 2.2 .654
Marty Byrnes SF 22 36 14.7 14.7 5.3 2.6 1.2 0.3 0.2 1.1 4.6 .470 0 0 1.5 .611
Tommie Green PG 22 59 13.7 13.7 3.9 1.2 2.4 1.0 0.1 1.5 4.0 .388 0 0 1.1 .762
Gus Bailey SG 27 2 4.5 4.5 2.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 3.5 .286 0 0 0.0 —
Team Totals — — 82 — 240.3 108.3 47.7 25.4 9.3 6.8 21.5 91.6 .468 0 0 29.4 .767

Regular Season Totals

Player Pos Age GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Rich Kelley C 25 80 — 2705 1253 1026 285 126 166 288 870 440 0 0 458 373
Jim McElroy PG 25 79 — 2698 1337 215 453 148 49 237 1097 539 0 0 340 259
Gail Goodrich SG 35 74 — 2130 938 183 357 90 13 185 850 382 0 0 204 174
Pete Maravich SG 31 49 — 1824 1105 121 243 60 18 200 1035 436 0 0 277 233
Truck Robinson PF 27 43 — 1781 1039 577 74 29 63 143 819 397 0 0 339 245
James Hardy SF 22 68 — 1456 453 310 65 52 61 93 426 196 0 0 88 61
Aaron James SF 26 73 — 1417 727 248 78 28 21 111 630 311 0 0 140 105
Paul Griffin PF 25 77 — 1398 303 391 138 54 36 117 223 106 0 0 147 91
Spencer Haywood PF 29 34 — 1338 816 327 71 30 53 113 696 346 0 0 146 124
Tommie Green PG 22 59 — 809 232 68 140 61 6 89 237 92 0 0 63 48
Joe Meriweather C 25 36 — 640 219 184 31 17 41 45 187 84 0 0 78 51
Ira Terrell SF 24 31 — 572 153 109 26 15 22 36 144 63 0 0 38 27
Marty Byrnes SF 22 36 — 530 189 94 43 12 8 40 166 78 0 0 54 33
Ron Lee PG 26 17 — 398 114 55 73 38 2 49 124 45 0 0 37 24
Gus Bailey SG 27 2 — 9 4 2 2 0 0 1 7 2 0 0 0 0
Team Totals — — 82 — 19705 8882 3910 2079 760 559 1747 7511 3517 0 0 2409 1848

HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK Impact Index* Notes
Truck Robinson Primary Scorer / Big Man 41.4 High Usage 24.2 13.4 1.7 2.2 20.65 Star forward; dominates boards and scoring; defensive impact moderate.
Spencer Haywood Co-Primary Scorer 39.4 High Usage 24.0 9.6 2.1 2.5 19.1 Strong all-around forward; scoring and rebounding anchor; consistent production.
Pete Maravich Offensive Catalyst 37.2 High Usage 22.6 2.5 5.0 1.6 15.85 Veteran playmaker; scoring and assists high; defensive contributions modest.
Jim McElroy Floor General 34.2 Medium-High 16.9 2.7 5.7 2.5 13.95 Lead guard; orchestrates offense; contributes steals, moderate scoring.
Rich Kelley Defensive/Scoring Big 33.8 Medium-High 15.7 12.8 3.6 3.7 17.9 Provides elite rebounding, rim protection, and scoring; efficient usage.
Gail Goodrich Scoring Guard 28.8 Medium 12.7 2.5 4.8 1.4 11.2 Veteran scorer; creates offense; moderate defense, spacing role.
Ron Lee Backup Playmaker 23.4 Low-Medium 6.7 3.2 4.3 2.3 8.25 Limited minutes; contributes assists and steals, adds secondary scoring.
James Hardy Energy Forward 21.4 Low 6.7 4.6 1.0 1.7 6.0 Provides rebounding, energy, and limited scoring; role player off bench.
Aaron James Role Wing 19.4 Low-Medium 10.0 3.4 1.1 0.7 7.6 Spot scoring and rebounding; low playmaking; bench/rotational impact.
Paul Griffin Backup Big 18.2 Low 3.9 5.1 1.8 1.2 5.5 Limited minutes; boards and occasional scoring; defensive specialist.
Joe Meriweather Reserve Big 17.8 Low 6.1 5.1 0.9 1.6 6.85 Bench rim protector and rebounder; provides occasional scoring.
Marty Byrnes Role Wing 14.7 Low 5.3 2.6 1.2 0.5 4.8 Spot scoring and limited defensive contributions; bench role.
Tommie Green Backup PG 13.7 Low 3.9 1.2 2.4 1.1 4.3 Provides assists and occasional steals in limited minutes; bench depth.