1977–78 Buffalo Braves season
The 1976-77 NBA season was the Braves 8th and final season in the NBA. Going into the season, the Braves would get an escape clause in their lease because season ticket sales did not reach the set goal of 4,500. The Braves would suffer another disappointment as Tiny Archibald (whom they acquired from the New Jersey Nets for George Johnson) was lost during preseason to a seasons ending Achilles tendon injury.[1] The Braves would play competitive basketball in November holding a respectable 10-10 record. Despite the promising start, the Braves would win just 9 games combined over the next 3 months.[1] While the Braves were struggling on the court, their owner John Y. Brown was brokering a deal to take over the legendary Boston Celtics franchise. Celtics owner Irv Levin wanted to move the historic franchise to California. However, the NBA would not allow him to take the cornerstone franchise out of Boston.[1] NBA Lawyer David Stern would offer a comprise in which Levin and Brown would swap franchises. The concept was that Levin would take over the Braves and move them to San Diego. The Braves would go on to finish in 4th place with a 27-55 record, while playing their last game on April 9, ironically, in Boston.[1] Owners would go on to vote 21-1 to approve the deal, and the Braves would move from Buffalo to San Diego.[1] The deal also included a 7-player trade in which the Celtics acquired Tiny Archibald, Billy Knight, and Marvin Barnes.[1] The soon to be San Diego bound Braves would receive Freeman Williams, back-up center Kevin Kunnert, and power forwards Kermit Washington and Sidney Wicks. The team would not request a draft pick in the deal, allowing the Celtics to retain the draft rights to Larry Bird.
Offseason
NBA Draft
Roster
| Buffalo Braves 1977-78 roster |
| Players |
Coaches |
| Pos. |
# |
Nat. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
From |
| 1.5 !G |
1 |
USA ! |
Archibald, Nate (IN) |
73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
165 lb (75 kg) |
|
Texas-El Paso |
| 1.5 !G |
14 |
USA ! |
Averitt, Bird |
74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
175 lb (79 kg) |
|
Pepperdine |
| 4.0 !F |
8 |
USA ! |
Barnes, Marvin |
81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
225 lb (102 kg) |
|
Providence |
| 1.5 !G |
7 |
USA ! |
Brokaw, Gary |
76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
180 lb (82 kg) |
|
Notre Dame |
| 4.0 !F |
22 |
USA ! |
Gerard, Gus (to DET) |
80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
|
Virginia |
| 1.5 !G |
14 |
USA ! |
Glenn, Mike |
75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
175 lb (79 kg) |
|
Southern Illinois |
| 1.5 !G |
10 |
USA ! |
Johnson, Larry |
75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
|
Kentucky |
| 4.0 !F |
24 |
USA ! |
Jones, Wil |
80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
|
Albany State* |
| 1.5 !G |
25 |
USA ! |
Knight, Billy |
78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
195 lb (88 kg) |
|
Pittsburgh |
| 6.0 !C |
45 |
USA ! |
Lloyd, Scott |
82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
230 lb (104 kg) |
|
Arizona State |
| 1.5 !G |
12 |
USA ! |
McClain, Ted |
74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
190 lb (86 kg) |
|
Tennessee State* |
| 6.0 !C |
44 |
USA ! |
McDaniels, Jim |
84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
240 lb (109 kg) |
|
Western Kentucky |
| 4.0 !F |
43 |
USA ! |
McNeil, Larry |
81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
195 lb (88 kg) |
|
Marquette |
| 6.0 !C |
31 |
NED ! |
Nater, Swen |
83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
240 lb (109 kg) |
|
UCLA |
| 4.0 !F |
40 |
USA ! |
Owens, Eddie |
79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
210 lb (95 kg) |
|
UNLV |
| 4.0 !F |
34 |
USA ! |
Shumate, John |
81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
235 lb (107 kg) |
|
Notre Dame |
| 1.5 !G |
9 |
USA ! |
Smith, Randy |
75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
185 lb (84 kg) |
|
Buffalo State* |
| 1.5 !G |
11 |
USA ! |
Williams, Chuck |
75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
185 lb (84 kg) |
|
Colorado |
| 4.0 !F |
32 |
USA ! |
Willoughby, Bill |
80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
|
Dwight Morrow H.S.* |
|
- Head coach
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (DP) Unsigned draft pick
- (FA) Free agent
- (S) Suspended
|
Regular season
Season standings
[2]
Season Schedule
Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
| Player |
GP |
REB |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
PTS |
AVG |
Awards and honors
All-Star
Randy Smith selected as a starting guard for the Eastern Conference All-Stars. This is his second All-Star Game selection and eventually garnered him the All-Star MVP. Smith will be the final Buffalo Braves All-Star.
References