1976–77 Buffalo Braves season

1976–77 Buffalo Braves season
Head coach	Tates Locke
Arena	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
Results
Record	30–52 (.366)
Place	Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	MSG Network, WBEN
Radio	WBEN

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

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

Buffalo Braves 1976-77 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From F 35 Abdul-Aziz, Zaid 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Iowa State F 10 Adams, Don 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Northwestern G 14 Averitt, Bird 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Pepperdine G 44 Dantley, Adrian 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Notre Dame G 15 DiGregorio, Ernie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Providence G 5 Foster, Fred 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Miami (OH) F 22 Gerard, Gus 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Virginia C 40 Gianelli, John 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Pacific C 52 Johnson, George 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Dillard University C 22 Malone, Moses 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Petersburg H.S. F 22 Mayes, Clyde 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Furman University C 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) North Carolina C 52 McMillen, Tom 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Maryland G 21 Neumann, John 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Mississippi G 25 Price, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Louisville 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 12 Terry, Claude 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Stanford G 11 Williams, Chuck 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Colorado	Head coach Tates Locke Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Philadelphia 76ers	50	32	.610	-
Boston Celtics	44	38	.537	6
New York Knicks	40	42	.488	10
Buffalo Braves	30	52	.366	20
New York Nets	22	60	.268	28

Season Schedule

source

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

• Ernie DiGregorio, Led NBA, Free Throw Percentage, .945

All-Star

Bob McAdoo selected as a starting forward for the Eastern Conference All-Stars. This is his fourth straight All-Star Game selection.

References

• Braves on Database Basketball
• Braves on Basketball Reference