- 1970
- 1972
- 1978
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Buffalo Braves Team Formation
With a roster made up primarily of castoffs, the Buffalo Braves got off on the right foot by beating the Cleveland Cavilers 107-92 at Buffalo’s Historic Aud. on October 14th. However, the Braves would drop their next nine games as they took on established NBA teams on the way to finishing in the last place in the Atlantic Division with ... -
Drafted Bob McAdoo
Bob McAdoo sought and won early eligibility in the 1972 NBA draft. He was selected in the first round (second overall) by the Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers). McAdoo quickly became one of the NBA’s premier players. He won the 1973 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He earned ... -
Complicated Move to San Diego
Irv Levin who owned the Celtics wanted to move the historic franchise to California. However, the NBA would not allow him to take the cornerstone franchise out of Boston. NBA Lawyer David Stern would propose a novel comprise in which Levin and Brown swapped franchise with Levin taking over the Braves and moving them to San Diego. The Braves would ...
History of the Braves
The Buffalo Braves were a professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The team was founded in 1970 as part of the National Basketball Association (NBA). They played their home games at Memorial Auditorium until 1977, when they moved to San Diego and became the San Diego Clippers.
The first season of the Braves was a success as they finished with an impressive 48-34 record and qualified for their first playoff appearance since entering the NBA. Led by Hall of Fame center Bob McAdoo, who won his second consecutive scoring title that year, and All-Star guard Randy Smith, who led them in assists per game (7.4), steals per game (2), and total points scored for that season (1,874), they advanced to Game 7 of Eastern Conference Finals against Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers before eventually losing out on advancing further into championship contention due to fatigue from playing so many games consecutively without much rest or practice time between series.
Unfortunately, this would be one of two times during their seven-season run that they'd make it past round 1 playoffs; however, those early years established themselves within league history books as being among some great teams such as Kareem Abdul Jabbar's Milwaukee Bucks & Bill Walton's Portland Trail Blazers which also happened around the same era - making it quite an exciting time overall!
Despite having had several talented players, including future Hall-of-Famer Elmore Smith alongside other notable names like Gar Heard & Adrian Dantley throughout its short tenure, ultimately, lack of consistency both on the court performance-wise coupled with financial difficulties off the field caused the franchise to relocate after just seven seasons leaving behind memories what could have been if things had gone differently...
Braves Products
Established
1970
City
Buffalo – San Diego – Los Angeles
League History
1970 – Present / National Basketball Association
Team History
1984 – Present / Los Angeles Clippers
1978 – 1984 / San Diego Clippers
1970 – 1978 / Buffalo Braves
Nickname
Braves – The Buffalo Braves were a professional basketball team that played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1970 to 1978. The name “Braves” was chosen by owner Paul Snyder, who wanted to honor the Native American heritage of Western New York.
Snyder had initially planned for his team to be named after an animal native to upstate New York – such as the Bison or Cougar – but he eventually settled on Braves because of its strong association with Native Americans and their culture. He hoped that this would help connect local fans with their new team and make them proud of it at the same time.
In addition, Snyder also believed that having a nickname associated with a tribe would give his franchise an edge over other teams in terms of marketing opportunities and merchandise sales, which proved successful during their eight years as members of the NBA's Eastern Division! Even though they never won any championships while playing under this moniker, they still made two playoff appearances during those years (1974-75 & 1975-76). Furthermore, many notable players wore Buffalo Braves jerseys, including Hall Of Famers Bob McAdoo & Ernie DiGregorio and fan favorites Randy Smith & Gar Heard!
For sports fans looking for more information about how one small decision can have lasting effects on both history and culture alike - look no further than what happened when Paul Snyder chose "Braves" as his franchise's nickname back in 1970: A move which has helped shape not only how we view professional basketball today but also our understanding/appreciation for America’s indigenous people too!
Championship
NBA Championships 0
Arena
1999 – Present / Staples Center
1984 – 1999 / Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
*San Diego*
1978 – 1984 / San Diego Sports Arena
*Buffalo*
1970 – 1978 / Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Owner
2014 – Present / Steve Balmer
1981 – 2014 / Donald Sterling
1978 – 1981 / Irv Levin
1976 – 1978 / John Y. Brown, Jr.
1970 – 1976 / Paul Snyder
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
*Blue is this team’s history
