the Kansas City Kings to play the Golden State Warriors, losing in 7 games. The team went an NBA-worst 24–58 in 1975–76. He was eventually replaced by Ed Badger on August 25, 1976. Washington Bullets (1976–1980) Motta had two years left on his contract with the Bulls who allowed him to negotiate with the Washington Bullets. He left the Bulls to succeed K. C. Jones in a similar capacity with the Bullets on May 28, 1976. In his first season, the Bullets went 48-34 while advancing to the Semifinals again after beating the Cavaliers in the First Round, although they lost to the Houston Rockets in six games. The next year was the pinnacle for the team and Motta's career. They went 44-38, but they advanced all the way to the 1978 NBA Finals, where they beat the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games to win the NBA championship. The following year, the team went 54-28 while winning the Atlantic Division. This was not only their sixth division title in eight years, it was also their last division title until 2017. The Bullets went to the 1979 NBA Finals, although they had to fight the full seven games in both the Semifinals and the Conference Finals, nearly blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Atlanta Hawks in the semifinals and having to come back from a 3-1 series deficit from the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals. In the Finals that year, they played the Seattle SuperSonics once again. The Bullets won Game 1 at home 99–97, but the SuperSonics won the following four games to win the NBA championship. The following year, the Bullets went 39-43, although they qualified for a playoff berth. They were beaten by the Philadelphia 76ers in two games. He resigned as head coach on May 27, 1980 despite having one year left on his contract. He had an agreement to honor that remaining year by joining the Bullets front office as a special consultant to general manager Bob Ferry if he didn't get any head coaching appointments from other teams. He was succeeded by Gene Shue. "The opera isn't over 'til the fat lady sings!" Motta is sometimes erroneously credited with coining the celebrated phrase: The opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings. In fact, the first recorded use of the phrase was by Texas Tech sports information director Ralph Carpenter, as reported