1970 – 1978: Buffalo Braves
The franchise began in western New York as the Buffalo Braves, one of three NBA expansion franchises that began play in the 1970 – 71 season, along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers(1). They played their home games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and another Buffalo team that would begin play that year, the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Buffalo Sabres(2).
After two bad seasons, the Braves’ fortunes started to change under coach Jack Ramsay and star forward/center Bob McAdoo(3). McAdoo led the NBA in scoring for three consecutive seasons and was named the league’s MVP in the 1974 – 75 season. The Braves qualified for the playoffs three times in a row, losing twice to the eventual Eastern Conference champions (the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, and the Washington Bullets in 1975). Despite the team’s modest success in Buffalo, Braves owner Paul Snyder and the league found it impossible to schedule home games at the auditorium because of the Canisius Golden Griffins men’s basketball team, which had a pre-existing lease on the arena and priority on game dates over the Braves, with the next best dates in turn taken by the more successful Sabres(4). When the NBA was nearing a nadir and the league did not have its current prestige, the Griffins saw the Braves as a threat to their own success and purposely scheduled better dates at the arena to prevent the Braves from succeeding(5)(6). As a result, after a failed attempt to sell the team to an owner who intended to move it to South Florida, Snyder sold the team to Kentucky Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr., who decimated the team’s roster, traded away all of its stars, and drove attendance down to the point where they could break their own lease on the arena(7).
Eventually, Brown met with Celtics owner Irv Levin in 1978 to trade franchise ownerships. Southern California resident then moved the Braves to San Diego, something the league would have never allowed him to do with the Celtics(8). Asked about the move, Levin nominated a shorter commute as a key reason(9).
1978 – 1984: San Diego Clippers
In 1978, San Diego welcomed the relocation of the Buffalo Braves franchise, as the city’s previous NBA franchise, the San Diego Rockets, had relocated to Houston seven years earlier in 1971. Another failed basketball franchise in the city had been the San Diego Conquistadors(9). San Diego team officials did not think “Braves” was a proper representative nickname for the club in San Diego, and a local naming contest ultimately decided on “Clippers”, about the city being known for the great sailing ships that passed through San Diego Bay(10). The first head coach of the Clippers was chosen to be Gene Shue, a respected tactician(11). He preferred a fast-playing style with many scoring opportunities(11). Only three players from the Braves started in the team: Randy Smith, Swen Nater, and Scott Lloyd(12). Other starting players included Kermit Washington, and Sydney Wicks(11). World B. Free was also brought in, in exchange for a future first-round pick for the Philadelphia 76ers(20).
The 1978 – 79 season started off poorly, with the Clippers’ first win coming only in their fourth game, against the Chicago Bulls(12). The team lost 12 of its 18 first games and dropped to the bottom of the Pacific Division(13). Player Kevin Kunnert argued they had the “killer instinct of a field mouse”(13). Nevertheless, within weeks, Free had become the leading scorer, as well as becoming a public icon(13). He finished second overall in NBA scoring average, with 28.9 per game (George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs had a 29.6 average). Shue, meanwhile, tried to create a team spirit by creating a common social life(14). By the annual break for the All-Star game, however, the Clippers had improved, winning half of their 54 games, leading to a sixth ranking in the Western Conference(15). Aiming for one of the six playoff spots for the Conference, they managed to win eight games in a row, and then another five games consecutively(15). Playing at the San Diego Sports Arena, the Clippers posted a record of 43 – 39 in their first season in California, leaving them two wins shy of the final playoff spot. It was also the first season in Southern California for long-time announcer Ralph Lawler began his association with the franchise.
The 1979 – 80 season saw the Clippers begin to struggle, despite adding center Bill Walton, a San Diego native who was two years removed from winning an NBA Championship and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award with the Portland Trail Blazers. Walton missed 68 games in his first season in San Diego due to foot injuries (which he also suffered in his final years in Portland). San Diego finished 35 – 47, as Walton and other key players missed significant time due to injuries. Free again finished second in league scoring, with 30.2 points per game. Paul Silas replaced Shue as head coach the following season, and the Clippers finished 36 – 46, again missing the postseason. Walton missed the entire season due to foot injuries, while Free was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for guard Phil Smith.
Los Angeles Clippers Links
1. https://web.archive.org/web/20110703053330/
http://www.nba.com/clippers/history-buffalo
braves.html
2. https://www.buffalorising.com/2008/07/
remember-the-buffalo-braves/
3. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/
article/0,33009,904058,00.html
4. https://artvoice.com/2016/04/buffalo-braves-
saga-not-lionize-paul-snyder/
5. https://joycerey.com/blog/the-la-clippers-
from-underdogs-to-championship-contenders/
6. “Braves and Sabres End Dates Dispute”. The
New York Times. January 31, 1976.
7. https://www.ubbullrun.com/2014/7/31/5941383/
worst-buffalo-sports-moments-the-death-of-the
-buffalo-braves
8. https://archive.nytimes.com/offthedribble.blogs.
nytimes.com/2012/05/22/freaky-friday-n-b-a-
style-when-the-clippers-were-the-celtics/
9. Minas, Nick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 17. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
10. https://www.nba.com/clippers/news/
behind_the_name.html
11. Minas, Mick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful
& Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 18. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
12. Minas, Mick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 20. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
13. Minas, Mick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 21. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
14. Minas, Nick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 22. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
15. Minas, Nick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 26. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
978-1-5391-4875-3
10. https://www.nba.com/clippers/news/
behind_the_name.html
11. Minas, Mick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful
& Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 18. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
12. Minas, Mick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 20. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
13. Minas, Mick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 21. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
14. Minas, Nick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of the LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 22. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
15. Minas, Nick (2016). The Curse: The Colorful &
Chaotic History of LA Clippers. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform. p. 26. ISBN
978-1-5391-4875-3
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