From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1976–77 Buffalo Braves season
NBA professional basketball team season
NBA professional basketball team season
The 1976–77 NBA season was the Braves seventh season in the NBA. The Braves were purchased by John Y. Brown, Jr., the former owner of the Kentucky Colonels in the now defunct American Basketball Association for $6.2 million. As part of an agreement with the Braves' former owner, Paul Snyder, Brown would give Snyder money received in player deals to reduce the purchase price. The sell-off began shortly after the season, as the Braves sold newly acquired Moses Malone. Malone was acquired in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers after the ABA dispersal draft. Malone was now off to the Houston Rockets. The selling of players continued into the season as Bob McAdoo was sold to the New York Knicks. While the deals helped Brown pay virtually nothing for the franchise, it turned a promising franchise into a rebuilding one. Attendance fell off as the Braves finished in 4th place with a 30–52 record. The only spotlight was rookie Adrian Dantley, who captured Rookie of the Year honors with 20.3 points per game. However Dantley himself was traded following the season to the Indiana Pacers for Billy Knight.
Offseason
Coach Ramsay had been hired in 1972 to a three-year contract. He served the 1975–76 season on a one-year extension. His contract was not renewed. Ramsay had guided the Braves to the playoffs three years in a row after enduring a 21–61 season, accumulating a 158–170 overall record. Local reports noted a personality conflict with owner Snyder. The Braves promoted assistant coach Tates Locke and signed him to a two-year contract.
Snyder threatened to sell the Braves if they did not sell 5,000 season tickets by June 12, 1976. However the season ticket drive by the Chamber of Commerce and other civic groups only resulted in 2,552 sales by the deadline date. In June 1976, Diplomat Hotel owner Irving Cowan obtained an option to purchase the Braves for $6.1 million, and planned to bring them to South Florida and the Hollywood Sportatorium. Pledges of more than 8,000 season tickets were received in Florida. On June 15, Snyder announced the planned sale. The Wall Street Journal estimated the sale price to be in the $7–8 million range. However, the next day the city of Buffalo sued the Braves for breach of contract and sought a restraining order preventing the move. The suit was filed in New York Supreme Court for seeking $10 million from the Braves and the NBA for breaking a promise to sign a new 15-year lease. Another suit was filed as an anti-trust case in United States district court against the rest of the NBA seeking $48 million in damages in the event of a move. The anti-trust case alleged that the move was an attempt to eliminate competition against a future Toronto NBA franchise and to discourage expansion of the American Basketball Association to southern Florida. The damages arose as treble damages related to a March 1 promise to sign a lease. Although Cowan claimed the move would still take place, the effort collapsed under the weight of the lawsuit and the Braves ended up signing a new lease with the city of Buffalo. In July, the Braves signed a new lease with the city for the Memorial Auditorium with the understanding that there was an ongoing effort to sell the team to local interests. The signing of the lease settled the lawsuits.
NBA draft
Main article: 1976 NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Adrian Dantley | Forward | United States | Notre Dame |
| 3 | 48 | Gary Brewster | Forward | United States | UTEP |
| 6 | 100 | Danny Odums | Guard | United States | Fairfield |
| 7 | 118 | Frank Jones | Guard | United States | Tennessee Tech |
| 8 | 136 | Mark McAndrew | Guard | United States | Providence College |
| 9 | 153 | Bob Rozyczko | Forward | United States | St. Bonaventure |
| 10 | 169 | Tim Stokes | Guard | United States | Canisius College |
ABA Dispersal Draft
The American Basketball Association joined the NBA with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. Of the teams remaining in the ABA, four joined the NBA. The remaining two ABA teams that did not join the NBA, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis, had their players assigned to a dispersal draft for draft purposes.
| Pick | Player | Nationality | NBA Team | ABA Team | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Bird Averitt (PG) | United States | Buffalo Braves | Kentucky Colonels | $125,000 |
Roster
- Tates Locke
- Bob MacKinnon (interim)
- Joe Mullaney (interim)
- Bob MacKinnon
Roster notes
- Center Moses Malone played in only 2 games before being traded to the Houston Rockets in October.
- Guard Johnny Neumann and forward Clyde Mayes played in only 4 games and 2 games respectively before being waived in November.
- Centers Bob McAdoo & Tom McMillen were traded to the New York Knicks and guard Jim Price was traded to the Denver Nuggets in December.
- Forward Zaid Abdul-Aziz played in 22 games before being waived in January.
- Guard Claude Terry played in 33 games before he was purchased by the Atlanta Hawks in February.
Regular season
Season standings
Game log
Regular season
Player stats
| GP | MPG | FG | FGA | FG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORPG | DRPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PFPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games played | Minutes per game | Field-goals per game | Field-goals attempted per Game | ||||||||||||
| Field-goal percentage | Free-throws per game | Free-throws attempted per Game | Free-throw percentage | ||||||||||||
| Offensive rebounds per game | Defensive rebounds per game | Rebounds per game | Assists per game | ||||||||||||
| Steals per game | Blocks per game | Personal fouls per game | Points per game |
| Player | GP | MPG | FG | FGA | FG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORPG | DRPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PFPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 38.4 | 9.1 | 20.0 | 0.455 | 5.5 | 7.9 | 0.696 | 3.3 | 9.9 | 13.2 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 23.7 | |
| 82 | 37.7 | 8.6 | 18.3 | 0.467 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 0.762 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 3.2 | 20.7 | |
| 77 | 36.6 | 7.1 | 13.6 | 0.520 | 6.2 | 7.6 | 0.818 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 7.6 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 20.3 | |
| 74 | 35.1 | 5.5 | 10.9 | 0.502 | 4.1 | 6.1 | 0.671 | 2.2 | 7.3 | 9.5 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 15.1 | |
| 81 | 28.0 | 4.5 | 10.8 | 0.417 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 0.945 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.9 | 10.7 | |
| 39 | 27.1 | 3.2 | 7.2 | 0.448 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.687 | 3.0 | 7.3 | 10.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 7.6 | |
| 57 | 22.5 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 0.431 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.714 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 7.0 | |
| 77 | 22.2 | 2.8 | 6.8 | 0.411 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.746 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 7.3 | |
| 20 | 16.7 | 2.2 | 5.2 | 0.423 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.850 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 5.3 | |
| 75 | 15.1 | 3.1 | 8.3 | 0.378 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.716 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 7.9 | |
| 41 | 14.4 | 2.4 | 6.0 | 0.410 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.656 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 5.9 | |
| 20 | 13.5 | 2.3 | 4.6 | 0.489 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.722 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 5.8 | |
| 44 | 12.6 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 0.368 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.792 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2.8 | |
| 4 | 12.3 | 3.8 | 8.5 | 0.441 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.833 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 8.8 | |
| 59 | 11.7 | 1.7 | 4.2 | 0.401 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.682 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 3.9 | |
| 33 | 9.2 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.471 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.783 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.5 | |
| 22 | 8.9 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 0.338 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.767 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 4.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 3.8 | |
| 2 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1.5 | .000 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.667 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| 2 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Awards and honors
- Ernie DiGregorio, Led NBA, Free Throw Percentage, .945
Transactions
The Braves sent Ken Charles and Dick Gibbs and cash to the Atlanta Hawks for Tom Van Arsdale. Van Arsdale never played for the Braves who traded him in August to the Phoenix Suns for a 1977 NBA draft 2nd round pick.
The Braves were involved in the following transactions during the 1976–77 season.
Coaching Change
| Offseason | Outgoing Coach | Date Removed | 1975-76 Record | Incoming Coach | In-season | Outgoing coach | Date Removed | 1976-77 Record | Incoming coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Ramsay | Fired, May 3, 1976 | 46–36 | Tates Locke | ||||||
| Tates Locke | Fired, January 25, 1977 | 16–30 | Bob MacKinnon (interim) | ||||||
| Bob MacKinnon (interim) | Demoted to assistant, February 16, 1977 | 3–4 | Joe Mullaney (interim) |
Trades
| January 8, [1977](1976-77-nba-season) | To **Buffalo Braves** | To **Golden State Warriors** |
|---|
Free agents
Additions
| Zaid Abdul-Aziz | November 26 | Seattle SuperSonics |
|---|
Subtractions
| Claude Terry | contract sold, February 1 | Atlanta Hawks |
|---|
References
References
- [http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/buffalo/bufbraves.html Buffalo Braves (1970-1978)]
- (1976-05-04). "Buffalo Braves Won't Rehire Ramsay as Coach". [[The Palm Beach Post]].
- (1976-05-04). "People in Sports; Jack Ramsay Is Out, Janet Guthrie Is In". [[The New York Times]].
- (1976-05-07). "Tates Locke New Coach Of Braves". [[The New York Times]].
- (1976-05-07). "Assistant Is Coach of Braves". [[The Milwaukee Journal]].
- (1976-05-07). "Tates Locke takes new job as Buffalo Braves coach". [[The Dispatch (Lexington).
- (1976-06-12). "Snyder Criticized on Proposed Move of Buffalo Braves". [[Palm Beach Post]].
- Goldpaper, Sam. (June 15, 1976). "Braves of N.B.A. Sold; Seek a Shift to Florida". [[The New York Times]].
- Aronson, Peter. (Sep 29, 1985). "Aging Sportatorium Keeps on Rocking". [[South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
- Goldaper, Sam. (1976-06-15). "Braves of N.B.A. Sold; Seek a Shift to Florida; Braves Sold; Would Shift To Florida". [[The New York Times]].
- (1976-06-15). "NBA's Buffalo Braves Bought by Florida Man". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
- (1976-06-16). "Buffalo files suit to halt Braves move". [[Anchorage Daily News]].
- Altaner, David. (Sep 23, 1988). "Sportatorium Is Scheduled To Be Closed". [[South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
- Seiden, Henry. (June 17, 1976). "Cowan: Nothing's blocking shift now". [[The Miami News]].
- (1976-07-07). "Braves Nix Hollywood, Sign New Lease In Buffalo". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
- (1976-07-06). "Braves remain in Buffalo". [[Star-News]].
- "Ken Charles". Sports Reference LLC.
- "Dick Gibbs". Sports Reference LLC.
- "Tom Van Arsdale". Sports Reference LLC.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1976–77 Buffalo Braves season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report