1972–73 Buffalo Braves season

1972–73 Buffalo Braves season
Bob McAdoo's debut season
Head coach	Jack Ramsay
Arena	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Maple Leaf Gardens
Results
Record	21–61 (.256)
Place	Division: 3rd (Atlantic) Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	MSG Network, WBEN, CFTO
Radio	WBEN, CJBC

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]

Draft picks

Roster

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

Roster Notes

• Guard Dave Wohl is working for the team once more, now known as the Los Angeles Clippers, as its general manager since 2014.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Boston Celtics	68	14	.829	-
New York Knicks C	57	25	.695	11
Buffalo Braves	21	61	.256	47
Philadelphia 76ers	9	73	.110	59

^[2]

Player statistics

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player	GP	MIN	FG	FT	REB	AST	PTS
Bob McAdoo	80	2562	585	271	728	139	1441
Elmore Smith
Bob Kauffman
Randy Smith
Dick Garrett
John Hummer
Dave Wohl
Fred Hilton
Howard Komives
Bill Hewitt
Mahdi Abdul-Rahman	9
Harold Fox	10
Cornell Warner	4

^[3]

Awards and honors

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

References

1. Buffalo Braves (1970–1978)
2. 1972-73 NBA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
3. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BUF/1973.html

• Braves on Database Basketball
• Braves on Basketball Reference