The March 8, 1976, issue of Sports Illustrated featured Buffalo Braves star Bob McAdoo on the cover, captured in a striking close-up portrait by photographer Neil Leifer, holding the ball at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium under the headline "Hottest Shot in the Game: Buffalo's Bob McAdoo." Just one year removed from winning the 1975 NBA MVP award—his second straight scoring title at 34.1 PPG in 1974-75—McAdoo was still dominating as one of the league's premier scorers and rebounders, leading the Braves in a strong season and representing the peak of his individual brilliance in Buffalo.

However, his tenure with the Braves ended abruptly that December when contract disputes and the team's unwillingness to meet his salary demands prompted a trade to the New York Knicks for center John Gianelli and cash. Injuries, including a persistent back issue and later more severe setbacks, began to erode his consistency despite continued high scoring. McAdoo then became a journeyman: traded to the Boston Celtics in 1979 (one season), then to the Detroit Pistons (waived in 1981 due to injuries), a brief stint with the New Jersey Nets, before landing with the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Eve 1981 in a low-key trade for a second-round pick and cash to bolster depth after Mitch Kupchak's injury. In L.A., he reinvented himself as a potent sixth man on the Showtime-era teams alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, contributing key scoring off the bench to help secure two NBA championships in 1982 and 1985 before concluding his NBA career.

Named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, the 6-10 McAdoo was a force in the NBA and one of it’s most prolific scorers winning three scoring titles in succession and is the last player in the league to average 30 points and 15 rebounds per game in 1974. One of the most dominant players in NBA history was still at his peak in 1976, scoring 42 points for the Braves on December 7th of that year. But two days later he was traded to the Knicks and McAdoo tells us that’s when he knew this game was actually a business. He remembers what a thrill it was to be on the cover of SI for the first and only time and he recalls how being named MVP is the ultimate prize… until you win an NBA Championship. He tells us how he came off the bench for the first time ever for Pat Riley’s teams and while he didn’t start most games, he certainly finished them. And he reminisces about meeting his childhood hero Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and what it his relationship was like with Kareem, Riley and Jerry West.

One of the smoothest to ever do it in the NBA… Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo on the Past Our Prime podcast. 

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