NBA professional basketball team season
NBA professional basketball team season
The 1977–78 NBA season was the Braves' eighth and final season in the NBA. Entering the season, the Braves were allowed an escape clause in their lease, because season ticket sales did not reach the set goal of 4,500. The Braves suffered another disappointment as Tiny Archibald (whom they acquired from the New Jersey Nets for George Johnson ) was lost for the year due to an Achilles tendon injury in the preseason.[1] [2]
The Braves played competitively in November with a respectable .500 record at 10–10. Despite the promising start, the Braves won just nine games over the next three months.[1] While the Braves were struggling on the court, 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 offered 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 .[3] The Braves finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 27–55 (.329) record, and played their last game on April 9, ironically, in Boston.[1] Owners voted 21–1 to approve the deal, and the Braves moved from Buffalo to San Diego; the team was renamed the San Diego Clippers for the 1978–79 season.[1]
The deal also included a seven-player trade in which the Celtics acquired Archibald, Billy Knight , and Marvin Barnes .[1] The San Diego-bound Braves received Freeman Williams , back-up center Kevin Kunnert , and power forwards Kermit Washington and Sidney Wicks .[3] The team would not request a draft pick in the deal, allowing the Celtics to retain the draft rights to Larry Bird in 1979 .
Offseason [ edit ] NBA draft [ edit ] Buffalo Braves 1977–78 roster Players Coaches Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. From G 1 Archibald, Nate (IN) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) UTEP G 15 Averitt, Bird 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Pepperdine F 8 Barnes, Marvin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Providence G 7 Brokaw, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Notre Dame F 22 Gerard, Gus (to DET) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Virginia G 14 Glenn, Mike 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Southern Illinois G 10 Johnson, Larry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Kentucky F 24 Jones, Wil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Albany State G 25 Knight, Billy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Pittsburgh C 45 Lloyd, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Arizona State G 12 McClain, Ted 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Tennessee State C 44 McDaniels, Jim 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Western Kentucky F 43 McNeil, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Marquette C 31 Nater, Swen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) UCLA F 40 Owens, Eddie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) UNLV F 34 Shumate, John 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Notre Dame G 9 Smith, Randy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Buffalo State G 11 Williams, Chuck 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Colorado F 32 Willoughby, Bill 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Dwight Morrow HS (NJ)
Head coach Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick(FA) Free agent(S) Suspended Injured
Regular season [ edit ] Season standings [ edit ] Record vs. opponents [ edit ] 1977–78 NBA Records Team ATL BOS BUF CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SEA WAS Atlanta — 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–1 1–3 Boston 2–2 — 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–1 2–2 1–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 0–4 2–2 1–3 0–4 0–4 1–3 Buffalo 1–3 1–3 — 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 0–3 3–1 1–3 1–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 Chicago 3–1 3–1 1–3 — 3–1 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 0–4 2–2 1–3 1–2 2–2 1–3 3–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–1 Cleveland 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–3 — 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–2 0–4 0–4 3–1 2–2 Denver 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–2 1–3 — 2–2 2–2 3–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 3–1 2–1 1–3 3–1 Detroit 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 — 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–0 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 Golden State 3–1 2–2 3–0 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 — 2–1 3–1 3–1 0–4 2–2 3–1 0–4 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1 2–2 2–2 Houston 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 0–3 1–3 1–2 — 3–1 2–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 0–4 1–3 Indiana 1–3 1–2 3–1 1–3 1–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 — 2–2 1–3 0–4 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 3–1 Kansas City 1–2 2–2 2–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 — 2–2 0–4 2–2 2–2 0–4 1–3 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–3 2–2 Los Angeles 1–3 2–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 4–0 3–1 3–1 2–2 — 3–1 4–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–3 2–2 Milwaukee 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 4–0 4–0 1–3 — 3–1 2–1 3–1 1–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1 New Jersey 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–4 1–3 — 0–4 1–3 0–4 2–2 0–3 0–4 2–2 2–2 New Orleans 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–3 1–3 4–0 3–1 2–2 2–2 1–2 1–2 4–0 — 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1 1–3 2–2 0–4 New York 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 1–3 3–1 3–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 4–0 1–3 1–3 3–1 3–1 — 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–1 2–2 Philadelphia 2–2 4–0 3–1 1–3 3–1 3–1 4–0 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–1 4–0 2–2 3–1 — 2–1 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 Phoenix 1–3 2–2 4–0 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 4–0 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 3–1 1–2 — 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–2 Portland 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 4–0 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 4–0 4–0 3–1 3–1 1–3 3–0 2–2 3–1 — 2–2 3–1 2–1 San Antonio 3–1 4–0 3–1 2–2 4–0 1–2 2–1 1–3 3–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 4–0 3–1 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 — 2–2 2–2 Seattle 1–2 4–0 3–1 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–2 4–0 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 2–2 — 1–3 Washington 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 4–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–2 2–2 3–1 —
Player stats [ edit ] Legend GP Games played MPG Minutes per game FG Field-goals per game FGA Field-goals attempted per Game FG% Field-goal percentage FT Free-throws per game FTA Free-throws attempted per Game FT% Free-throw percentage ORPG Offensive rebounds per game DRPG Defensive rebounds per game RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PFPG Personal fouls per game PPG Points per game
Player GP MPG FG FGA FG% FT FTA FT% ORPG DRPG RPG APG SPG BPG PFPG PPG Billy Knight 53 40.7 8.6 17.5 0.494 5.7 7.0 0.809 2.4 4.8 7.2 3.0 1.5 0.2 2.6 22.9 Randy Smith 82 40.4 9.6 20.7 0.465 5.4 6.8 0.800 1.3 2.4 3.8 5.6 2.1 0.1 2.7 24.6 Swen Nater 78 35.6 6.4 12.7 0.504 2.7 3.5 0.765 3.6 9.6 13.2 2.8 0.5 0.6 3.5 15.5 John Shumate 18 32.8 4.2 8.4 0.497 4.1 5.5 0.747 1.8 5.3 7.1 3.2 0.8 0.5 3.2 12.4 Marvin Barnes 48 28.7 4.7 11.3 0.416 2.4 3.2 0.745 2.2 5.0 7.3 2.4 1.2 1.5 4.1 11.8 Chuck Williams 73 27.4 2.8 6.0 0.477 1.6 1.9 0.826 0.4 1.5 1.9 4.3 0.7 0.1 1.9 7.3 Larry McNeill 37 23.6 4.2 9.1 0.462 3.5 4.2 0.833 2.1 3.0 5.1 1.2 0.5 0.3 2.7 11.9 Wil Jones 79 21.7 2.9 6.5 0.440 1.1 1.5 0.706 1.3 2.9 4.2 1.5 0.9 0.5 3.2 6.8 Bird Averitt 34 19.9 3.8 8.7 0.436 1.9 2.8 0.667 0.3 1.2 1.5 3.8 0.6 0.2 2.5 9.5 Bill Willoughby 56 19.3 2.8 6.5 0.430 1.1 1.4 0.800 1.4 2.6 3.9 0.7 0.4 0.8 2.3 6.7 Ted McClain 41 17.7 2.0 4.5 0.440 1.2 1.5 0.794 0.3 1.6 1.8 3.0 1.0 0.0 2.1 5.2 Mike Glenn 56 16.9 3.5 6.6 0.527 0.9 1.2 0.785 0.3 1.2 1.4 1.4 0.6 0.1 1.8 7.9 Jim McDaniels 42 16.5 2.4 5.6 0.427 0.9 1.0 0.857 1.1 3.2 4.3 1.0 0.1 0.9 2.7 5.6 Scott Lloyd 56 10.1 1.2 2.9 0.425 0.8 1.0 0.741 0.8 1.3 2.1 0.6 0.2 0.2 1.5 3.2 Gary Brokaw 13 10.0 1.4 3.3 0.419 1.4 1.8 0.750 0.2 0.7 0.9 1.5 0.2 0.4 0.8 4.2 Larry Johnson 4 9.5 0.8 3.3 0.231 0.0 0.5 0.000 0.3 1.0 1.3 1.8 1.3 0.5 0.8 1.5 Gus Gerard 10 8.5 1.6 4.0 0.400 1.1 1.5 0.733 0.6 0.8 1.4 0.9 0.2 0.3 1.3 4.3 Eddie Owens 8 7.9 1.1 2.6 0.429 0.4 0.8 0.500 0.6 0.6 1.3 0.6 0.1 0.0 0.4 1.1
Awards and honors [ edit ] Transactions [ edit ] The Braves were involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season.
Coaching Change [ edit ] June 7, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Milwaukee Bucks The 3rd pick in the 1977 NBA Draft June 10, 1977 To Buffalo Braves A 1977 2nd round draft pick To Chicago Bulls The 13th pick in the 1977 NBA Draft June 10, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Los Angeles Lakers A 1977 3rd round draft pick August 5, 1977 To Buffalo Braves A 1978 3rd round draft pick as compensation To Detroit Pistons The right to sign Don Adams as a veteran free agent September 1, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To New Jersey Nets George Johnson , a 1978 1st round draft pick & a 1979 1st round draft pick. September 1, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To New Jersey Nets A future 4th round draft pick as compensation September 1, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Indiana Pacers September 2, 1977 To Buffalo Braves A 1979 1st round draft pick To Milwaukee Bucks September 7, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Los Angeles Lakers September 13, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Atlanta Hawks A 1978 2nd round draft pick October 3, 1977 To Buffalo Braves The right to sign Wil Jones as a veteran free agent To Indiana Pacers A 1980 2nd round draft pick as compensation October 6, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Denver Nuggets A 1978 3rd round draft pick as compensation October 17, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Cleveland Cavaliers October 18, 1977 To Buffalo Braves A 1978 3rd round draft pick To Indiana Pacers November 23, 1977 To Buffalo Braves To Detroit Pistons January 31, 1978 To Buffalo Braves A 1978 3rd round draft pick To Philadelphia 76ers
Free agents [ edit ] References [ edit ]