The 1973–74 Buffalo Braves season was the fourth season for the expansion Buffalo Braves franchise in the National Basketball Association and its Atlantic Division. It was the team's second season under head coach Jack Ramsay. The team's official home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. It was the first season where the team wore Columbia blue for their uniforms, which they retained for the rest of their tenure in Buffalo.
Bob McAdoo, who finished second in the NBA MVP Award voting, led the league in scoring; Ernie DiGregorio, who won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, led the league in assists and free throw percentage, and every starter on the team was among the league's top ten in at least one statistical category.
The team finished third in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. After three consecutive 60-loss seasons, the team made the NBA playoffs for the first time and became the youngest team to have ever done so in terms of average player age. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champions, the Boston Celtics.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 3 Ernie DiGregorio Guard 3 38 Ken Charles Guard 4 54 Doug Little Forward 5 72 Randy Noll Forward 6 88 Mike Macaluso Forward 7 106 Tim Bassett Forward 8 122 Carl Jackson Guard 9 140 Bob Fullerton Center 10 153 Nick Connor Forward Illinois 11 168 Mike Lee Guard 12 176 Aaron Covington Guard 13 184 Bob Vartanian Guard 14 190 Ron Gilliam Guard 15 195 John Fraley Forward 16 200 John Green Forward 17 204 Jim Garvin Forward 18 207 Don Johnston Forward North Carolina 19 209 Ron Thornson Forward 20 211 Phil Tollestrup Forward
Roster
Roster notes Forward Jim Garvin played in only 6 games before being waived in November. Both center Kevin Kunnert and guard Dave Wohl were later traded away to the Houston Rockets in February.
Regular season
McAdoo had an outstanding second season and led the league in scoring with 30.6 ppg. The Braves led the league in team scoring (111.60) but were last in team defense (111.8). They totaled 427,270 in attendance in their 41 home games, ranking them 4th of 17 teams. The Braves played several home games at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, in order to expand their fan base into Canada. This season was the first of three consecutive scoring titles for McAdoo. McAdoo also posted 15.1 rebounds per game and 3.3 blocked shots per game, which were each third in the league. It was the most recent time that one player averaged both 30 points and 15 rebounds in the same NBA season. In addition to McAdoo, the Braves were led by Ernie DiGregorio, who became the second straight Brave (following McAdoo) to capture NBA Rookie of the Year honors by leading the league in assists with 8.2 per game. 1974 NBA Rookie of the Year DiGregorio earned the first of two NBA free throw percentage championships (90.2%) and led the NBA in assists (8.2). That season DiGregorio set the NBA single-game rookie assists record (25), which still stands as unbroken (tied by Nate McMillan). Jim McMillan would finish fifth in the NBA in minutes played (3322) and tenth in free throw percentage (85.8%). He also finished second on the Braves in scoring (18.6). Heard went on to rank in the top ten in rebounds (11.7, 10th) and blocked shots (2.8, 6th) that season. Randy Smith, who was third on the team in scoring with a 15.5 average, finished third in the league in steals (2.5/game).
October–November In his October 9, 1973 NBA debut against the Houston Rockets, Ernie DiGregorio had 14 assists. DiGregrorio had 17 points but it was a 25-foot basket with two seconds left in overtime by McAdoo, who had 31 points and 21 rebounds, that earned the Braves a 107–105 victory. An October 30 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics gave the Braves a half game lead over the Celtics in the Atlantic Division with a 6–4 record. The Braves only won one of their next nine games. It came on November 14 when McAdoo set the franchise single game rebound record with 28 against the Atlanta Hawks. That night, he also scored 31 points for the fourth game in a row. Two weeks later on November 28, the Braves lost when Pete Maravich, who entered the game in the second quarter and posted 42 points off the bench, led the Atlanta Hawks over the Braves by 130–106.
December–January The Braves' December 12 game against the Celtics was played in Providence, Rhode Island, making it a homecoming game for DiGregorio, the former Providence Friar. The Braves lost for the 20th consecutive time to the Celtics that night. Following a December 30 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Braves fell to a 16–22 record at the end of 1973 but began the New Year with a season high seven-game winning streak. Heard set a career high with 22 rebounds in game five of the streak on January 8. The fifth game of the streak set a new franchise record for consecutive wins and gave the team 21 wins, which matched their total of the prior season. The resulting 23–22 record following the January 12 victory over the Capital Bullets gave them their first winning record since their 6–5 start. McAdoo, who would go on to finish second in the NBA Most Valuable Player Award balloting, represented the team in the January 15, 1974 NBA All-Star Game. By the end of the month the Braves had fallen back to a 26–29 record.
February–March On February 1, the Braves traded Kunnert and Wohl to the Rockets for Goukas and Marin. The team then went 10–5 in February. On February 27, the Braves earned their first victory over the Boston Celtics after 22 defeats. By late February, the team had the top scoring offense in the league. They clinched their first playoff experience in a victory at a home game held at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens against the Portland Trail Blazers as McAdoo again had 28 rebounds as well as 29 points. The clinching game on March 10 was the Braves 74th game. The team reached five games over .500 three times following their 40th, 41st and 42nd wins but lost the last three games of a five-game western road trip to conclude the season at 42–40. The team made the playoffs by finishing in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division.
Season standings
Season schedule
| 1 || October 9 || Houston || 105–107 (OT) || McAdoo (31) || McAdoo (21) || DiGregorio (14) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium11,462 || 1–0 |- | 2 || October 12 || @ Boston || 112–118 || McAdoo (25) || Heard (10) || DiGregorio (8) || Boston Garden15,320 || 1–1 |- | 3 || October 13 || Los Angeles || 122–125 || McAdoo (35) || McAdoo (21) || DiGregorio (8) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium12,565 || 1–2 |- | 4 || October 16 || @ New York || 91–117 || McMillian (29) || Heard, McAdoo (13) || DiGregorio (4) || Madison Square Garden17,210 || 1–3 |- | 5 || October 20 || Philadelphia || 110–116 || DiGregorio, McAdoo (24) || McAdoo (18) || DiGregorio (9) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium6,232 ||2–3 |- | 6 || October 24 || @ Milwaukee || 113–130 || McAdoo (32) || Heard (10) || DiGregorio (10) || Milwaukee Arena8,309 || 2–4 |- | 7 || October 26 || N Cleveland || 97–104 || McMillian (36) || McAdoo (15) || DiGregorio (7) || Maple Leaf Gardens7,187 || 3–4 |- | 8 || October 27 || @ Cleveland || 111–101 || Heard (23) || Heard (18) || DiGregorio (8) || Cleveland Arena4,313 || 4–4 |- | 9 || October 28 || @ Kansas City-Omaha || 112–100 || McAdoo (44) || McAdoo (12) || Wohl (5) || Municipal Auditorium5,045 || 5–4 |- | 10 || October 30 || Seattle || 103–105 || DiGregorio, McAdoo, Smith (21) || Heard, McAdoo (15) || DiGregorio (5) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium7,396 || 6–4
| 11 || November 2 || @ Chicago || 97–107 || McAdoo (30)|| McAdoo (15) || DiGregorio (8) || Chicago Stadium7,718 || 6–5 |- | 12 || November 3 || Golden State || 124–121 (OT) || McMillian (48) || McAdoo (14) || DiGregorio (10) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium8,644 || 6–6 |- | 13 || November 4 || N Chicago || 101–95 (OT) || McAdoo (28) || McAdoo (18) || DiGregorio (9) || Maple Leaf Gardens6,075 || 6–7 |- | 14 || November 7 || @ Seattle || 113–130 || McAdoo (31) || McMillian (9) || DiGregorio (7) || Seattle Center Coliseum8,878 || 6–8 |- | 15 || November 9 || @ Portland || 108–122 || McAdoo (31) || McMillian (10)|| Wohl (10) || Memorial Coliseum11,789 || 6–9 |- | 16 || November 10 || @ Golden State || 105–128 || McAdoo (31) || McAdoo (16) || DiGregorio, McMillian (6) || Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena5,431 || 6–10 |- | 17 || November 13 || Atlanta || 114–121 || McAdoo (31) || McAdoo (28) || DiGregorio (13) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium6,885 || 7–10 |- | 18 || November 15 || @ New York || 86–97 || McAdoo (23) || McAdoo (19) ||DiGregorio (10) || Madison Square Garden17,462 || 7–11 |- | 19 || November 17 || Detroit || 98–94 || McAdoo (23) || McAdoo (18) || DiGregorio (6) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium8,104 || 7–12 |- | 20 || November 18 || @ Capital || 112–101 || McAdoo (43) || McAdoo (17) || Wohl (8) || Cole Field House6,134 || 8–12 |- | 21 || November 20 || Phoenix || 100–127 || McAdoo (26) || McAdoo (18) || DiGregorio (8) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium6,088 || 9–12 |- | 22 || November 24 || Kansas City-Omaha || 131–143 || McAdoo (43) || McAdoo (17) || DiGregorio, Smith (8) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium16,063 || 10–12 |- | 23 || November 27 || Milwaukee || 115–110 ||McMillian (24) || McAdoo (11) || Smith (8) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium8,169 || 10–13 |- | 24 || November 28 || @ Atlanta || 106–130 || McMillian (33)|| McMillian (12) || DiGregorio (8) || Omni Coliseum9,531 || 10–14 |- | 25 || November 30 || Capital || 121–113 || McMillian (30) ||Kauffman, McAdoo (14) || DiGregorio (14) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium6,118 || 10–15
| 26 || December 5 || Portland || 110–114 || McAdoo (37) || McAdoo (14) || DiGregorio (10) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium4,355 || 11–15 |- | 27 || December 7 || New York || 113–108 || Smith (27) || McAdoo (19) || McMillian (7) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium13,172 || 11–16 |- | 28 || December 9 || N Boston || 114–118 || McAdoo (49) || McAdoo (17) || DiGregorio (11) || Maple Leaf Gardens10,173 || 11–17 |- | 29 || December 11 || @ Atlanta || 132–127 (OT) || McAdoo (37)|| McAdoo (13) || Smith (10) || Omni Coliseum9,115 || 12–17 |- | 30 || December 12 || N Boston || 119–126 || McAdoo (42) || McAdoo (11) || DiGregorio (9) || Providence Civic Center11,671 || 12–18 |- | 31 || December 14 || @ Cleveland || 102–98 || McAdoo (27) || McAdoo (19) || DiGregorio (8) || Cleveland Arena2,593 || 13–18 |- | 32 || December 18 || Cleveland || 93–100 || Heard, McAdoo (22) || McAdoo (15) || McAdoo, Smith (6) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium10,224 || 14–18 |- | 33 || December 21 || New York || 115–117 || McAdoo (29) || McAdoo (25) || McAdoo (6) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium10,073 || 15–18 |- | 34 || December 22 || @ Kansas City-Omaha || 112–122 || McAdoo (28) || Heard (13) || DiGregorio (4) || Municipal Auditorium7,546 || 15–19 |- | 35 || December 23 || N Capital || 110–85 || McMillian (22) || Heard (21) || DiGregorio (6) || Maple Leaf Gardens7,112 || 15–20 |- | 36 || December 26 || Boston || 125–123 || Heard (36) || Heard (17) || DiGregorio (10) || Buffalo Memorial Auditorium12,653 || 15–21 |- | 37 || December 29 || @ Phoenix || 120–108 || McAdoo (30) || McAdoo (15) || Smith (9) || Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum9,116 || 16–21 |- | 38 || December 30 || @ Los Angeles || 105–108 || McAdoo (35) || McAdoo (19) || DiGregorio, Heard (5) || The Forum16,787 || 16–22
| 39 || January 1 || @ Portland || 120–119 || Heard (31) || Heard (13) || DiGregorio (25) || Memorial Coliseum6,595 || 17–22 |- | 40 || January 2 || @ Seattle || 115–111 || McAdoo (31) || McAdoo (12) || DiGregorio (12) || Seattle Center Coliseum12,011 || 18–22 |- | 41 || January 5 || @ New York || 111–110 || McAdoo (32) || McAdoo (13) || DiGregorio, Smith (5) || Madison Square Garden19,694 || 19–22 |- | 42 || January 6 || N Atlanta || 117–109 || McAdoo (34) || Heard (20) || Smith (10) || Maple Leaf Gardens7,484 || 20–22 |-