1975–76 Buffalo Braves season
[3] 1974 NBA draft pick Tom McMillen played for a year in Europe before joining the 1975–76 Buffalo Braves.
[4] McMillen played in the Italian League for a team in Bologna, Italy and completed the first year of his Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University.
However, he reached an agreement with Oxford to complete his second year during the summer in order to begin his National Basketball Association career.
[6] On October 4, 1975, the Braves opened their preseason exhibition schedule against the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association.
Two nights later on October 16, 1975, the Braves hit the road to face the ABA's San Antonio Spurs.
[8][9] Shumate, who played 43 games for Phoenix and 32 for Buffalo led the NBA in field goal percentage (56.1) and earned first team All-rookie honors.
[15] McAdoo appeared in the third of five consecutive NBA All-Star games and placed second in the MVP voting despite not making the All-NBA team that included centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dave Cowens.
[16][17] McAdoo led the winning east team in scoring with 22 points in the All-Star game, but Dave Bing was selected as MVP.
[19] During the November 14 game at Milwaukee a bench-clearing brawl erupted as a result of an incident between Bucks Gary Brokaw and Bob Dandridge and Brave Dick Gibbs.
[20] The following week McAdoo broke the Cleveland Coliseum single-game scoring record by posting 50 points in a 23-point deficit come-from-behind overtime victory.
[21][22] On December 2, 1974, NBA Rookie of the Year DiGregorio was benched in favor of Charles for the sake of team defense.
[23][24] In Charles' first start, he led the team in scoring with a career-high 24 on the way to the franchise record 37-point December 5 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
[25] In late December, McAdoo was suspended by the team for failing to make a doctor's appointment as the Braves claimed his self-diagnosed back injury was dubious.
[8][27] The Braves established an all-sport all-time attendance record for Memorial Auditorium of 19,226 on January 31 when they hosted the Boston Celtics.
[28] The day before the game the Braves had reached an agreement on sharing playing dates with the Sabres and decided not to attempt to leave town.
[18][31][32] As the season wound down, the Braves were battling with the Philadelphia 76ers for home court advantage in the opening round series.
[16] The Braves concluded the regular season tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 46–36 record.
After a couple of offensive rebounds on their final possession Clyde Lee fouled McAdoo who tied the score from the line.
[8] Dave Cowens accumulated 30 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals in leading the Celtics past the Braves by a 107–98 margin in game 1.
[48] In game 4, Smith made a 25-foot jump shot with three seconds remaining to give the Braves a 124–122 victory and tie the series 2–2.
[55] On February 1, 1976, Gar Heard was dealt with a 1976 NBA draft 2nd round pick to the Phoenix Suns for John Shumate.
