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The 1976-77 NBA season was the Braves 8th and final season in the NBA. Going into the season, the Braves would get an escape clause in their lease because season ticket sales did not reach the set goal of 4,500. The Braves would suffer another disappointment as Tiny Archibald (whom they acquired from the New Jersey Nets for George Johnson) was lost during preseason to a seasons ending Achilles tendon injury. [1] The Braves would play competitive basketball in November holding a respectable 10-10 record. Despite the promising start, the Braves would win just 9 games combined over the next 3 months. [2] While the Braves were struggling on the court, their owner John Y. Brown was brokering a deal to take over the legendary Boston Celtics franchise. Celtics owner Irv Levin wanted to move the historic franchise to California. However, the NBA would not allow him to take the cornerstone franchise out of Boston. [3] NBA Lawyer David Stern would offer a comprise in which Levin and Brown would swap franchises. The concept was that Levin would take over the Braves and move them to San Diego. The Braves would go on to finish in 4th place with a 27-55 record, while playing their last game on April 9th, ironically, in Boston. [4] Owners would go on to vote 21-1 to approve the deal, and the Braves would move from Buffalo to San Diego. [5] The deal also included a 7-player trade in which the Celtics acquired Tiny Archibald, Billy Knight, and Marvin Barnes. [6] The soon to be San Diego bound Braves would receive Freeman Williams, back-up center Kevin Kunnert, and power forwards Kermit Washington and Sidney Wicks. The team would not request a draft pick in the deal, allowing the Celtics to retain the draft rights to Larry Bird.
[edit] Offseason
[edit] NBA Draft
[edit] Regular season
[edit] Season standings
[7]
[edit] Season Schedule
[edit] Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
| Player |
GP |
REB |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
PTS |
AVG |
[edit] Awards and Honors
[edit] References
