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On July 7, 1978, one of the weirdest chapters in the history of the cornerstone NBA franchise unfolded as the Boston Celtics became the (then) Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers), and the Braves became the Celtics when the NBA granted permission for a swap of the two franchises.
Confused? You ought to be—it is perhaps the only time in the history of major North American pro sports that the owners of NBA teams swapped their respective ball clubs in a move that has for the most part been forgotten by each team's fans, the sans of time having covered this seismic shift over the ensuing decades. Except, of course, when Los Angeles Lakers fans become angered by Boston fans suggesting that the Lakers should not count their titles from when the team was based in Minneapolis.
Boston's owner at the time – Irv Levin – wanted to move to the west coast, but there was no way the NBA would approve a move for the Celtics to go there with him.
Instead, one the suggestion of NBA lawyer and future commissioner David Stern, he pitched Buffalo's owner, John Y. Brown, to swap franchises, and Brown agreed. The move was approved by the league's Board of Governors by a 21-1 vote (the lone dissenting team appears lost to history), and the two teams also traded most of their respective rosters to maintain continuity.
At the time, Levin considered (but ultimately decided against) demanding the inclusion of an interesting prospect out of Indiana. The Braves decamped from upstate New York that summer, and reinvented themselves as the San Diego Clippers.
Very, very strange – but true!
For more on this odd chapter of Celtics history, read this:
Freaky Friday, N.B.A. Style: When the Clippers Were the Celtics
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: The day the Boston Celtics became the Buffalo Braves, now known as the Los Angeles Clippers
Continue reading...
Confused? You ought to be—it is perhaps the only time in the history of major North American pro sports that the owners of NBA teams swapped their respective ball clubs in a move that has for the most part been forgotten by each team's fans, the sans of time having covered this seismic shift over the ensuing decades. Except, of course, when Los Angeles Lakers fans become angered by Boston fans suggesting that the Lakers should not count their titles from when the team was based in Minneapolis.
Boston's owner at the time – Irv Levin – wanted to move to the west coast, but there was no way the NBA would approve a move for the Celtics to go there with him.
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Instead, one the suggestion of NBA lawyer and future commissioner David Stern, he pitched Buffalo's owner, John Y. Brown, to swap franchises, and Brown agreed. The move was approved by the league's Board of Governors by a 21-1 vote (the lone dissenting team appears lost to history), and the two teams also traded most of their respective rosters to maintain continuity.
At the time, Levin considered (but ultimately decided against) demanding the inclusion of an interesting prospect out of Indiana. The Braves decamped from upstate New York that summer, and reinvented themselves as the San Diego Clippers.
Very, very strange – but true!
For more on this odd chapter of Celtics history, read this:
Freaky Friday, N.B.A. Style: When the Clippers Were the Celtics
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: The day the Boston Celtics became the Buffalo Braves, now known as the Los Angeles Clippers
Continue reading...
