Buffalo Braves center Elmore Smith skies above Wilt Chamberlain.

When I wrapped my greasy, grimy, greedy paws around a 1976-77 New York Nets yearbook not too long ago, I also managed to get a grip on a 1972-73 yearbook for the then-NBA franchise Buffalo Braves. One dollar could buy you a copy in those days. The most famous basketball icons associated with the team (which went 21-61 in the ’72-’73 season) were future Hall of Famers Bob McAdoo and Coach Jack Ramsey, he of the adventurous taste in slacks.

The 1970-71 season was the Braves inaugural campaign in the NBA (that was the year the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers also entered the league.) The team showed off their colors (black, white, orange and Colombia blue) at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, which closed in 1996. They made three playoff appearances (1974-’75-’76) and Bob McAdoo won an MVP Award (1975) while playing for Buffalo. The Braves spent eight seasons in the now-struggling city before moving to the warmer climes of San Diego, where they were rechristened the Clippers. (They moved again to Los Angeles for the 1985-86 season).

The most interesting part of the yearbook is the player page notes about the team captain. During the offseason, Walt Hazard had converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul Rahman. The notes announce his conversion in a straightforward, respectful manner. An excerpt:

“Known throughout most of his NBA career as Walt Hazzard, he has in the past year taken the Islamic name Abdul Rahman (pronounced ‘Rock-maan’), which means merciful. Abdul and his wife, Jalees, reside in Williamsville in the off-season with their two sons, Yakub, 7, and Abdul Jalal, 2.”