Last Updated on November 17, 2025 by Mat Diekhake
League Search Page > NBA > Utah Jazz > Roster & Statistics
Here is the 1978–79 New Orleans Jazz roster and regular season player statistics.
Note: This was the final season the franchise played in New Orleans before relocating to Utah.
1978–79 New Orleans Jazz 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 |
1978–79 New Orleans Jazz 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 |
1978–79 New Orleans Jazz 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 |
Team Impact Index
| 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. |
