1971–72 Buffalo Braves season
A pair of rookies named Smith gave Buffalo fans reason for a bright future. The Braves repeated their 22–60 record from their inaugural season, and occupied the Atlantic Division basement.[1] Elmore Smith and Randy Smith each had out standing rookie seasons with Elmore averaging 17.3 points per game and 15.2 rebounds per game, while Randy added 13.4 points per game.[1]
Draft picks
Roster
| Buffalo Braves 1971-72 roster |
| Players | Coaches |
| Pos. | # | Nat. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | From |
| 1.5 !G |
42 |
USA ! |
Abdul-Rahman, Mahdi |
7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
185 lb (84 kg) |
|
UCLA |
| 1.5 !G |
7 |
USA ! |
Bryant, Emmette |
7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
175 lb (79 kg) |
|
DePaul |
| 4.0 !F |
40 |
USA ! |
Chambers, Jerry |
7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
190 lb (86 kg) |
|
Utah |
| 1.5 !G |
13 |
USA ! |
Davis, Mike |
7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
185 lb (84 kg) |
|
Virginia Union |
| 1.5 !G |
20 |
USA ! |
Garrett, Dick |
7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
185 lb (84 kg) |
|
Southern Illinois |
| 1.5 !G |
32 |
USA ! |
Hilton, Fred |
7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
185 lb (84 kg) |
|
Grambling |
| 4.0 !F |
25 |
USA ! |
Hosket, Bill |
7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
228 lb (103 kg) |
|
Ohio State |
| 6.0 !C |
45 |
USA ! |
Hummer, John |
7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
230 lb (104 kg) |
|
Princeton |
| 4.0 !F |
44 |
USA ! |
Kauffman, Bob |
7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
240 lb (109 kg) |
|
Guilford College |
| 6.0 !C |
3 |
USA ! |
Smith, Elmore |
7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) |
250 lb (113 kg) |
|
Kentucky State |
| 1.5 !G |
9 |
USA ! |
Smith, Randy |
7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
185 lb (84 kg) |
|
Buffalo State |
| 4.0 !F |
35 |
USA ! |
Warner, Cornell |
7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
220 lb (100 kg) |
|
Jackson State |
|
- Head coach
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (DP) Unsigned draft pick
- (FA) Free agent
- (S) Suspended
Injured
|
Regular season
Season standings
- z - clinched division title
- y - clinched division title
- x - clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
| 1971-72 NBA Records |
| Team |
ATL |
BAL |
BOS |
BUF |
CHI |
CIN |
CLE |
DET |
GSW |
HOU |
LAL |
MIL |
NYK |
PHI |
PHO |
POR |
SEA |
| Atlanta |
— | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–5 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–4 |
| Baltimore |
4–2 | — | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 |
| Boston |
4–0 | 2–2 | — | 6–0 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 |
| Buffalo |
2–4 | 3–3 | 0–6 | — | 1–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 0–4 |
| Chicago |
5–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 2–3 |
| Cincinnati |
3–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 | — | 6–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 |
| Cleveland |
2–4 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 2–6 | — | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–4 |
| Detroit |
2–3 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–5 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–4 |
| Golden State |
2–3 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 5–0 | — | 5–1 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Houston |
4–1 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–5 | — | 1–5 | 0–5 | 0–5 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 |
| Los Angeles |
5–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 | — | 4–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 5–1 |
| Milwaukee |
3–2 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | — | 2–3 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 6–0 |
| New York |
1–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 3–2 | — | 3–3 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 3–2 |
| Philadelphia |
3–3 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 1–4 | 3–3 | — | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–1 |
| Phoenix |
2–3 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 4–1 | — | 6–0 | 3–2 |
| Portland |
0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–6 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 0–6 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–6 | — | 0–6 |
| Seattle |
4–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 6–0 | — |
Awards and honors
References