1972–73 Buffalo Braves season

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1972–73 Buffalo Braves season
Head coachJack Ramsay
ArenaBuffalo Memorial Auditorium
Maple Leaf Gardens
Results
Record21–61 (.256)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Atlantic)
Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWBEN-TV
RadioWBEN
< 1971–72 1973–74 >

Despite finishing with a worse record than their previous 2 seasons, their 21–61 record was good enough for 3rd place. The Braves showed improvement under new Coach Jack Ramsay. Rookie center Bob McAdoo provided the silver lining by winning the Rookie of the Year Award with 18.0 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game.[1]

During the fifth game of the season versus the Boston Celtics on October 20, 1972, the team set an NBA record which still stands for most points in a single quarter with 58, and still managed to lose 126-118.

Draft picks[]

Main article: 1972 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 2 Bob McAdoo Forward  United States North Carolina
2 15 Harold Fox Guard  United States Jacksonville
3 32 Bob Morse Forward  United States Penn
4 49 Guard  United States Eastern Kentucky
5 65 Forward  United States Brown
6 82 Center  United States Sacred Heart (Connecticut)
7 99 Guard  United States Syracuse
8 115 Guard  United States South Alabama
9 131 Center  United States SUNY Brockport
11 158 Guard  United States Edinboro (Pennsylvania)
12 167 Forward  United States Virginia
13 176 Forward  United States North Carolina
14 182 Center  United States North Carolina
15 189 Guard  United States St. Bonaventure
16 194 Forward  United States SUNY Brockport

Roster[]

Buffalo Braves 1972-73 roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From
G 7 United States Fox, Harold 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jacksonville
G 20 United States Garrett, Dick 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Southern Illinois
G 42 United States Hazzard, Walt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) UCLA
F 27 United States Hewitt, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Southern California
G 32 United States Hilton, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Grambling
F 45 United States Hummer, John 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Princeton
F 44 United States Kauffman, Bob 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Guilford College
G 5 United States Komives, Howard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Bowling Green
F 11 United States McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) North Carolina
C 3 United States Smith, Elmore 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Kentucky State
G 9 United States Smith, Randy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Buffalo State
C 35 United States Warner, Cornell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jackson State
G 13 United States Wohl, Dave 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Pennsylvania
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster Notes[]

  • Center Cornell Warner and guard Walt Hazzard played in only 4 games and 9 games respectively before being waived in November.
  • Guard Harold Fox played in only 10 games before being waived in December.
  • Guard Dave Wohl came back to the franchise, now known as the Los Angeles Clippers, as an assistant coach from 1993–94 and as its general manager from 2014-17.

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Atlantic Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Boston Celtics 68 14 .829 – 33–6 32–8 3–0 18–4
x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695 11 35–6 21–18 1–1 16–6
Buffalo Braves 21 61 .256 47 14–27 6–31 1–3 8–14
Philadelphia 76ers 9 73 .110 59 5–26 2–36 2–11 2–20
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics 68 14 .829
2 x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695
3 y-Baltimore Bullets 52 30 .634
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561
5 Houston Rockets 33 49 .402
6 Cleveland Cavaliers 32 50 .390
7 Buffalo Braves 21 61 .256
8 Philadelphia 76ers 9 73 .110

Record vs. opponents[]

1972-73 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CLE DET GSW HOU KCO LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta — 3–4 1–5 5–1 2–2 3–4 2–2 1–3 4–4 2–2 3–1 1–3 3–3 6–0 3–1 4–0 3–1
Baltimore 4–3 — 1–5 5–1 0–4 8–0 2–2 3–1 5–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 3–3 5–1 2–2 4–0 4–0
Boston 5–1 5–1 — 7–0 3–1 5–1 3–1 3–1 5–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 4–4 7–0 4–0 4–0 4–0
Buffalo 1–5 1–5 0–7 — 2–2 1–5 1–3 0–4 1–5 1–3 0–4 0–4 1–6 7–1 1–3 2–2 2–2
Chicago 2–2 4–0 1–3 2–2 — 3–1 3–4 3–3 4–0 5–2 1–5 2–4 3–1 4–0 4–2 5–1 5–1
Cleveland 4–3 0–8 1–5 5–1 1–3 — 1–3 1–3 4–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 0–6 6–0 1–3 1–3 3–1
Detroit 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 4–3 3–1 — 2–4 1–3 3–3 1–5 2–5 1–3 3–1 4–2 6–0 2–4
Golden State 3–1 1–3 1–3 4–0 3–3 3–1 4–2 — 3–1 4–2 3–4 1–5 2–2 4–0 2–4 5–1 4–3
Houston 4–4 2–5 1–5 5–1 0–4 3–4 3–1 1–3 — 0–4 1–3 1–3 1–5 5–1 2–2 2–2 2–2
Kansas City-Omaha 2–2 1–3 1–3 3–1 2–5 2–2 3–3 2–4 4–0 — 1–5 1–6 0–4 3–1 3–3 4–2 4–2
Los Angeles 1–3 3–1 0–4 4–0 5–1 3–1 5–1 4–3 3–1 5–1 — 3–3 2–2 4–0 6–1 6–0 6–0
Milwaukee 3–1 2–2 2–2 4–0 4–2 3–1 5–2 5–1 3–1 6–1 3–3 — 2–2 3–1 5–1 5–1 5–1
New York 3–3 3–3 4–4 6–1 1–3 6–0 3–1 2–2 5–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 — 6–1 3–1 3–1 4–0
Philadelphia 0–6 1–5 0–7 1–7 0–4 0–6 1–3 0–4 1–5 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–6 — 0–4 1–3 1–3
Phoenix 1–3 2–2 0–4 3–1 2–4 3–1 2–4 4–2 2–2 3–3 1–6 1–5 1–3 4–0 — 5–2 4–2
Portland 0–4 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–5 3–1 0–6 1–5 2–2 2–4 0–6 1–5 1–3 3–1 2–5 — 3–4
Seattle 1–3 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–5 1–3 4–2 3–4 2–2 2–4 0–6 1–5 0–4 3–1 2–4 4–3 —

Player statistics[]

Note: GP= Games Played; MPG = Minutes per game; FG% = Field goal percentage; FT% = Free throw percentage; RPG = Rebounds per game; APG = Assists per game; PPG = Points per game

Player GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
Bob Kauffman 77 39.6 .505 .780 11.1 5.1 17.5
Elmore Smith 76 37.2 .482 .558 12.4 3.9 18.3
Bob McAdoo 80 32.0 .452 .774 9.1 3.2 18.0
Randy Smith 82 31.7 .443 .727 4.8 5.1 14.8
Dave Wohl 56 27.5 .456 .790 1.6 4.6 8.8
John Hummer 66 23.4 .444 .561 4.9 2.1 8.0
Dick Garrett 78 23.1 .419 .873 2.7 2.8 10.0
Howard Komives 67 21.9 .380 .867 1.8 3.6 6.1
Bill Hewitt 73 18.2 .418 .554 5.0 1.5 4.7
Walt Hazzard 9 14.9 .417 .500 1.1 1.9 5.9
Fred Hilton 59 12.4 .387 .774 1.7 1.3 7.2
Cornell Warner 4 11.8 .471 .500 3.8 1.5 4.3
Harold Fox 10 8.4 .375 .875 0.8 1.0 3.1

[2]

Awards and honors[]

  • Bob Kauffman, NBA All-Star
  • Bob McAdoo, NBA Rookie of the Year

Transactions[]

The Braves were involved in the following transactions during the 1972–73 season.

Coaching Change[]

Offseason
Outgoing coach Date Removed 1971-72 Record Incoming coach
Johnny McCarthy Fired, March 27, 1972 22-59 Jack Ramsay

Trades[]

September 29, 1972
 To Buffalo Braves
 To Detroit Pistons
  • 1973 2nd round draft pick

Free agents[]

References[]

  1. ^ Buffalo Braves (1970–1978)
  2. ^ "1972-73 Buffalo Braves Roster and Stats".
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