Arguably the greatest player in the franchise history of the Buffalo Braves/Los Angeles Clippers, Bob McAdoo busted onto the NBA scene with great expectations and high hopes and would ultimately leave it a disgraced man. Yet he remains one of the best players of the 70s and an underrated legend to this day. McAdoo played only one season at the University of North Carolina. He appeared in 31 games averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds a game for the Tar Heels. The Buffalo Braves used the 2nd overall pick on McAdoo in 1972. He had an exemplary rookie season and overall career for the Braves. In his rookie season he averaged 18 points a game and nine rebounds as well which earned him rookie of the year honors. He lead the NBA in scoring his second year with nearly 31 points per outing, he also added over 15 boards per game marking the last time in NBA history that a player averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds in the same season.

The Braves would trade McAdoo to the New York Knicks part-way through the 1977 season. This move is often mark as the decline of the Braves franchise which would eventually lead to their complete stagnation as a franchise in southern California which lasts to this day. McAdoo on the other hand put up some fairly decent numbers with the Knicks and would make his last all-star appearance of his career with them in 1978.

After just a season and a half he was traded to the Boston Celtics where he would play just 20 games for the Celtics. He was given to the Detroit Pistons as compensation for a move the Celtics had previously made regarding a Piston’s free agent.

The years from 1977 until 1981 are often over looked in McAdoo’s career because he played on some flat out bad teams and many see his numbers as nothing more than a decent player being on a really bad team. His years in Buffalo are also sometimes grouped into this category but some do dismiss this claim because the Braves where a playoff contender and he was their best player.

McAdoo played for the Pistons for a little over a season. In his only full season he played in 58 games averaging 21 points a game. He suffered a knee injury which seemed to slow him quite a bit and he never found a rhythm to his game after that. He was waived by the Pistons part way through the 80-81 season. He would sign with the Nets later that season but only play sparingly.

He got a new lease on his career in 1981 when he signed with the Lakers. He still missed a lot of games with injuries but became the sixth man for the Lakers for two NBA titles runs in 1982 and in 1985. He averaged doubled figures in all four of his seasons with the Lakers.

He finished his career with a quick stint in Philadelphia in 1986. In total Bob McAdoo appeared in 852 career games and owned averages of 22 points and 9 rebounds and was a 5 time NBA all-star. He was selected to the hall of fame in 2000. The 15 years between his retirement and his enshrinement is the longest for a former MVP winner in NBA history.

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