6th place – Bob Kauffman (PF)
Braves per game averages: 33.8 minutes, 15.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.2 blocks.
Braves totals: 4 seasons (1970-71 to 1973-74), 306 games, 4,847 points, 3,682 rebounds, 1,429 assists, (blocks and steals only recorded in final season), 48.7 field goal percentage.
Honors with Braves: 3x All-Star (1970-71 to 1972-73).
After being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers on May 11, 1970, Bob Kauffman landed with the Braves. And once he started in Buffalo, his career couldn’t have taken much of a more dramatic leap forward.
In the previous season in 1969-70, Kauffman was playing just 12.1 minutes a night and averaging 4.3 points with the Chicago Bulls. He didn’t have a chance to really develop and his playing time had dropped from 20.2 minutes per game in his rookie season the year before. He certainly wasn’t on the rise.
Then his first season with the Braves happened.
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Playing 35.6 minutes per game in 1970-71, Kauffman had a chance to show what he was capable of. He became the Braves’ first All-Star with his post play, tough rebounding, instinctive passing, and mid-range game. Averaging a career-high 20.4 points with 10.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists, Kauffman made his first of three All-Star appearances with the Braves.
His performance fell after those three years as the drafting of Bob McAdoo‘s exceptional scoring in 1972 altered the franchise, resulting in Kauffman’s playing time plummeting to 17.4 minutes with an average of 6.1 points in 1973-74 as McAdoo rose to prominence.
Then, when the NBA expansion draft rolled around in May 1974, Kauffman was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz.
Before that decline, though, he was one of the best players in the Braves era and his All-Star appearances earn him a solid place in these rankings.
Next: 5th place - One of L.A.'s earliest All-Stars