Buffalo Braves Regular Season Rosters

1977-1978 Buffalo Braves Regular Season Roster

Player Pos HT WT YOS Pre-Draft Team Draft Status Nationality
Tom Abernethy PF 6-7 220 1 Indiana 1976 Rnd 3 Pick 9 United States
Tiny Archibald PG 6-1 150 7 UTEP 1970 Rnd 2 Pick 2 United States
Bird Averitt SG 6-1 170 1 Pepperdine 1973 Rnd 4 Pick 3 United States
Marvin Barnes FC 6-8 210 1 Providence 1974 Rnd 1 Pick 2 United States
Gary Brokaw G 6-4 178 3 Notre Dame 1974 Rnd 1 Pick 18 United States
Gus Gerard GF 6-8 200 1 Virginia 1975 Rnd 3 Pick 14 United States
Mike Glenn G 6-2 175 0 Southern Illinois 1977 Rnd 2 Pick 1 United States
Larry Johnson SG 6-3 205 0 Kentucky 1977 Rnd 2 Pick 2 United States
Wil Jones PF 6-8 205 1 Albany State (GA) 1969 Rnd 5 Pick 12 United States
Billy Knight GF 6-6 195 1 Pittsburgh 1974 Rnd 2 Pick 3 United States
Scott Lloyd FC 6-10 230 1 Arizona State 1976 Rnd 2 Pick 7 United States
Ted McClain G 6-1 180 1 Tennessee State 1971 Rnd 2 Pick 5 United States
Jim McDaniels FC 6-11 228 4 Western Kentucky 1971 Rnd 2 Pick 6 United States
Larry McNeill FC 6-9 195 4 Marquette 1973 Rnd 2 Pick 7 United States
Swen Nater C 6-11 240 1 UCLA 1973 Rnd 1 Pick 16 Netherlands
Eddie Owens SF 6-7 210 0 UNLV 1977 Rnd 2 Pick 9 United States
John Shumate FC 6-9 235 3 Notre Dame 1974 Rnd 1 Pick 4 United States
Randy Smith GF 6-3 180 6 Buffalo State 1970 Rnd 14 Pick 2 United States
Nick Weatherspoon SF 6-7 195 4 Illinois 1973 Rnd 1 Pick 13 United States
Chuck Williams PG 6-2 175 1 Colorado 1968 Rnd 6 Pick 12 United States
Bill Willoughby FC 6-8 205 2 - 1975 Rnd 2 Pick 1 United States

1977-1978 Buffalo Depth Chart

  PG SG SF PF C
Starters C. Williams R. Smith B. Knight W. Jones S. Nater
Rotation   M. Glenn E. Owens B. Willoughby  
Lim PT T. Archibald B. Averitt   S. Lloyd  
Lim PT       M. Barnes  
Lim PT       L. McNeill  

1977-1978 Atlantic Division Standings

RankTeamRecordGB
1Philadelphia Sixers55-27-
2New York Knicks43-3912
3Boston Celtics32-5023
4Buffalo Braves27-5528
5New Jersey Nets24-5831

1977-1978 Buffalo Awards & Honors

Player Award / Honor
Randy Smith Eastern All-Star Coaches Selection (1978)
Randy Smith Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP (1978)

1977-1978 Buffalo Season Stat Leaders

Player GP MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV
Randy Smith 82 40.4 24.6 3.8 5.6 2.1 0.1 3.5
Billy Knight 53 40.7 22.9 7.2 3.0 1.5 0.2 3.2
Swen Nater 78 35.6 15.5 13.2 2.8 0.5 0.6 2.9
Marvin Barnes 48 28.7 11.8 7.2 2.4 1.2 1.5 2.2
Wil Jones 79 21.7 6.8 4.2 1.5 0.9 0.5 1.7
Chuck Williams 73 27.4 7.3 1.9 4.3 0.7 0.1 2.1
Larry McNeill 37 23.6 11.9 5.1 1.2 0.5 0.3 1.6
Mike Glenn 56 16.9 7.9 1.4 1.4 0.6 0.1 0.9
Bill Willoughby 56 19.3 6.7 3.9 0.7 0.4 0.8 1.0
Bird Averitt 34 19.9 9.5 1.5 3.8 0.6 0.2 2.6
Jim McDaniels 42 16.5 5.6 4.3 1.0 0.1 0.9 1.2
John Shumate 18 32.8 12.4 7.1 3.2 0.8 0.5 2.6
Ted McClain 41 17.7 5.2 1.8 3.0 1.0 0.0 1.7
Scott Lloyd 56 10.1 3.2 2.1 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.6
Gary Brokaw 13 10.0 4.2 0.9 1.5 0.2 0.4 0.9
Gus Gerard 10 8.5 4.3 1.4 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.7
Eddie Owens 8 7.9 2.6 1.2 0.6 0.1 0.0 0.4
Larry Johnson 4 9.5 1.5 1.2 1.8 1.2 0.5 0.8

1977-1978 Buffalo Braves Roster Composition

Selected via Draft

Randy Smith was selected as the #2 pick in the 14 Round of the 1970 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves. Randy Smith signed a multi-year contract with the Buffalo Braves on September 1, 1971.

Acquired via Trade

Tiny Archibald was acquired in a trade by the Buffalo Braves from the New Jersey Nets on September 1, 1977.

Marvin Barnes was acquired in a trade by the Buffalo Braves from the Detroit Pistons on November 23, 1977.

Billy Knight was acquired in a trade by the Buffalo Braves from the Indiana Pacers on September 1, 1977.

Swen Nater was acquired in a trade by the Buffalo Braves from the Milwaukee Bucks on June 7, 1977.

Chuck Williams was acquired in a trade by the Buffalo Braves from the Denver Nuggets on December 15, 1976.

Bill Willoughby was acquired in a trade by the Buffalo Braves from the Atlanta Hawks on September 13, 1977.

Acquired via Free Agency

Bird Averitt signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Buffalo Braves on January 31, 1978.

Mike Glenn signed a contract as a free agent with the Buffalo Braves on December 14, 1977.

Wil Jones signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Buffalo Braves on October 3, 1977.

Scott Lloyd signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Buffalo Braves on December 8, 1977.

Larry McNeill signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Buffalo Braves on February 2, 1978.

Eddie Owens signed a multi-year contract as a free agent with the Buffalo Braves on March 7, 1978.