Last Updated on November 16, 2025 by Mat Diekhake

League Search Page > NBA > LA Clippers > Roster & Statistics

Below are the tables for the 1977-78 Buffalo Braves season —the last year the club played in Buffalo before moving west and, eventually, becoming today’s Los Angeles Clippers.

1977-78 Buffalo Braves Roster

No. Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College / From
1 Ted McClain G 6-2 195 Aug 30 1946 Tennessee St.
8 Mike Glenn G 6-3 175 Sep 10 1955 S. Illinois
9 Randy Smith G/F 6-3 180 Dec 12 1948 Buffalo St.
10 Bird Averitt G 6-1 170 Jul 22 1952 Pepperdine
12 Gary Brokaw G 6-4 178 Jan 11 1954 Notre Dame
15 Chuck Williams G 6-2 175 Jun 6 1946 Colorado
20 Wil Jones F 6-8 205 Feb 27 1947 Albany St. (GA)
21 Billy Knight F 6-6 195 Jun 9 1952 Pittsburgh
22 Bill Willoughby F 6-8 205 May 20 1957 HS (NJ)
24 Gus Gerard F 6-8 190 Jul 27 1953 Virginia
30 Swen Nater C 6-11 240 Jan 14 1950 UCLA
31 Larry McNeill F 6-8 195 Jan 30 1951 Marquette
32 John Shumate F/C 6-9 235 Apr 26 1952 Notre Dame
33 Marvin Barnes F/C 6-8 210 Jul 27 1952 Providence
44 Scott Lloyd C 6-10 235 Dec 19 1952 Arizona St.
50 Jim McDaniels C 6-11 228 Apr 2 1948 W. Kentucky

Head Coach: Cotton Fitzsimmons

1977-78 Regular-Season Per Game

Player Pos Age GP GS MP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOV FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
World B. Free PG 25 78 – 37.9 28.8 3.9 4.4 1.4 0.4 3.8 21.2 .481 – – 11.1 .756
Randy Smith SG 30 82 82 37.9 20.5 3.6 4.8 2.2 0.1 3.1 18.6 .455 – – 4.4 .813
Kermit Washington PF 27 82 – 33.7 11.3 9.8 1.5 1.0 1.5 2.3 7.6 .562 – – 4.0 .688
Nick Weatherspoon SF 28 82 – 32.2 13.8 5.5 1.6 1.0 0.5 2.2 12.2 .480 – – 2.9 .739
Sidney Wicks PF 29 79 – 25.6 9.8 5.1 1.6 0.9 0.5 2.3 8.6 .462 – – 2.9 .650
Swen Nater C 29 79 – 25.4 10.7 8.9 1.8 0.5 0.4 2.2 7.9 .569 – – 2.1 .800
Kevin Kunnert C 27 81 – 20.8 6.5 7.0 1.4 0.6 1.5 1.7 6.2 .467 – – 1.0 .659
Freeman Williams SG 22 72 – 16.6 10.4 1.4 1.2 0.6 0.0 1.4 9.5 .490 – – 1.4 .776
Connie Norman SG 25 22 – 14.7 7.3 1.5 1.1 0.5 0.1 1.0 7.5 .430 – – 1.0 .826
Bob Bigelow SF 25 29 – 14.2 2.9 1.6 0.9 0.4 0.1 0.6 3.1 .400 – – 0.7 .619
Brian Taylor PG 27 20 – 10.6 3.8 1.3 1.0 1.2 0.0 0.9 4.2 .361 – – 0.9 .889
Stan Pietkiewicz SG 22 4 – 8.0 1.0 1.5 0.8 0.3 0.0 0.3 2.0 .125 – – 0.5 1.000
Scott Lloyd C 26 5 – 6.2 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.2 0.0 1.6 0.4 .000 – – 0.0 –
John Olive SF 23 34 – 5.6 1.3 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4 1.2 .325 – – 0.7 .783
Jerome Whitehead C 22 31 – 4.9 1.2 1.6 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 1.1 .441 – – 0.6 .444
Team Totals – – 82 82 240.6 113.1 46.4 18.8 8.6 4.8 19.8 94.0 .483 – – 30.1 .743

1977-78 Regular-Season Totals

Player Pos Age GP GS Min PTS TRB AST STL BLK TO FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Randy Smith – 30 82 82 3111 1678 295 395 177 5 255 1523 693 – – 359 292
World B. Free – 25 78 – 2954 2244 301 340 111 35 297 1653 795 – – 865 654
Kermit Washington – 27 82 – 2764 927 800 125 85 121 185 623 350 – – 330 227
Nick Weatherspoon – 28 82 – 2642 1134 454 135 80 37 184 998 479 – – 238 176
Sidney Wicks – 29 79 – 2022 771 405 126 70 36 180 676 312 – – 226 147
Swen Nater – 29 79 – 2006 846 701 140 38 29 170 627 357 – – 165 132
Kevin Kunnert – 27 81 – 1684 524 569 113 45 118 141 501 234 – – 85 56
Freeman Williams – 22 72 – 1195 746 98 83 42 2 99 683 335 – – 98 76
Bob Bigelow – 25 29 – 413 85 46 25 12 2 18 90 36 – – 21 13
Connie Norman – 25 22 – 323 161 32 24 10 3 22 165 71 – – 23 19
Brian Taylor – 27 20 – 212 76 26 20 24 0 17 83 30 – – 18 16
John Olive – 23 34 – 189 44 19 3 4 0 13 40 13 – – 23 18
Jerome Whitehead – 22 31 – 152 38 50 7 3 4 11 34 15 – – 18 8
Stan Pietkiewicz – 22 4 – 32 4 6 3 1 0 1 8 1 – – 2 2
Scott Lloyd – 26 5 – 31 0 3 0 1 0 8 2 0 – – 0 0
Team Totals – – 82 82 19730 9278 3805 1539 703 392 1601 7706 3721 – – 2471 1836

Team Impact Index

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK (SPG+BPG) Impact Index* Notes
World B. Free Alpha Scorer 37.9 High 28.8 3.9 4.4 1.8 19.5 MVP-caliber output; primary offensive engine; solid all-around contribution.
Randy Smith Lead Facilitator 37.9 High 20.5 3.6 4.8 2.3 15.6 Balanced scorer/creator; elite defensive activity for a guard; consistent starter.
Kermit Washington Defensive Anchor 33.7 Medium 11.3 9.8 1.5 2.5 12.8 Rim protector and rebounder; moderate usage but high impact on both ends; growth in defensive IQ.
Nick Weatherspoon Secondary Scorer 32.2 Medium 13.8 5.5 1.6 1.5 11.2 Reliable scoring and mid-level defensive contributions; steady production in PF/SF role.
Swen Nater Rebounding Specialist 25.4 Medium-Low 10.7 8.9 1.8 0.9 11.1 Strong rebounder; efficient scoring; limited usage but impactful per-minute production.
Sidney Wicks Role Scorer 25.6 Medium-Low 9.8 5.1 1.6 1.4 9.9 Reliable bench or secondary PF scoring; moderate defense; stable contribution.
Kevin Kunnert Backup Big 20.8 Low 6.5 7.0 1.4 2.1 8.5 Good defensive activity; bench minutes, effective in limited role; positive per-36 impact.
Freeman Williams Spot Scorer 16.6 Low 10.4 1.4 1.2 0.6 6.8 Young SG with scoring potential; limited minutes; needs growth in playmaking/defense.