During the 1970–71 season the expansion Buffalo Braves of the NBA played two regular season games in Rochester (as well as two in Syracuse) in an effort to build Western New York interest in the nascent franchise. The Braves were not a very good team and the games were not as successful at the gate as the team hoped and the Braves did not return the next season. The Braves were bucking the south and west trend of NBA franchise movement and the hope was their large market, large arena and fan interest in nearby NBA abandoned cities (they played fifteen games in Toronto during the 1973–74 and 1974-75 season in an effort to regionalize into Canada) would be enough to make the team successful. The Braves played their last game in Buffalo as the Braves in April 1978 and the club moved to Southern California to become the San Diego (and later, Los Angeles) Clippers. Not many fans frequently made the 70-mile trip from Rochester to Buffalo to see the Braves play as, for the most part, they were not a competitive team.