Artis Gilmore
Teams
Kentucky Colonels (ABA) - 1971-76
Chicago Bulls - 1976-82, 1987
San Antonio Spurs - 1982-87
Boston Celtics - 1988
Playoffs
Appearances - 11 (1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1981,1983,1985,1986,1988)
Conference Finals - 5 (1973,1974,1975,1983,1988)
ABA Finals - 2 (1973,1975)
Championships - 1 (1975)
Awards and Honors
Rookie of the Year - 1972
ABA MVP - 1972
Finals MVP - 1975
All-ABA/NBA First Team - 5 (1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1978)
All-NBA Second Team - 0 (1977,1979,1981,1983)
Hall of Fame - 2011
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Blocks - #4
Total Rebounds - #5
Field Goal Percentage - #9
Blocks Per Game - #14
Rebounds Per Game - #15
Total Points - #27
League Leads
Field Goal Percentage (#1-1972,1973,1981,1982,1983,1984, #2-1975,1976,1985,1986,1987, #3-1978,1980, #4-1979)
Total Blocks (#1-1972,1973,1975, #2-1974, #3-1976,1982, #4-1977,1981,1983, #5-1978,1985)
Total Rebounds (#1-1972,1973,1974,1975,1976, #2-1979, #3-1977, #4-1978,1983)
Blocks Per Game (#2-1974,1975, #3-1976, #4-1977,1982, #5-1981,1983,1984)
Rebounds Per Game (#1-1972,1973,1974,1976, #2-1975, #4-1977,1979,1983)
Total Points (#3-1976, #4-1975)
Points Per Game (#4-1976)
Artis Gilmore averaged 23.3 points and 22.7 rebounds per game in 2 seasons with the Jacksonville Dolphins, leading them to the national championship game as a junior, before being drafted #7 overall by the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA Draft. He was also a 7th round pick by the Bulls in the NBA, but it was already known that he was headed to the ABA, hence the low pick.
Gilmore was a dominant force from his first day in the ABA. He averaged 23.8 points, a league-leading 17.8 rebounds, and 5.0 blocks per game while also leading the league with a .598 field goal percentage, which earned him both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards, both narrowly over Julius Erving, who averaged 27.3 points and 15.7 rebounds. The Colonels finished with the best record in ABA history, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Nets in 6 games.
Gilmore led the league in rebounding and field goal percentage for the second year in a row in 1973, and this time was able to lead the Colonels to the ABA Finals, where they lost to the Indiana Pacers in a very tight 7-game series. He won his third rebounding title in a row the next year with a career high of 18.3 per game, but they lost in the Conference Finals to the Nets again.
They finally broke through in 1975. Gilmore led the league in total blocks and rebounds, but not in average, making it the first time in his career he didn't lead the league in any per game category. He did, however, lead the Colonels back to the ABA Finals, and he clinched the championship with 28 points and 31 rebounds in Game 5 to beat the Indiana Pacers, earning himself the Finals MVP as a result.
Gilmore averaged a career high 24.6 points per game the next year, and led the league in rebounding for the 4th time as he grabbed 15.5 per game, but the Colonels fell to the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs, ending their chance at a repeat, and closing out the Colonels franchise, which wasn't invited to join the NBA in that summer's merger.
Because his team didn't join the NBA, Gilmore was put into a dispersal draft, where he was the top overall pick by the Chicago Bulls, who had drafted him 5 years earlier as well. Gilmore played 6 seasons for the Bulls, but the team only made 2 playoff appearances during that time, both ending early. He led the league in field goal percentage in his final 2 seasons in Chicago, including an amazing .670 average in 1981.
Gilmore was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 1982, and continued to lead the league in shooting percentage, making it 4 seasons in a row by 1984. In his first season with the Spurs, he and George Gervin led the Spurs to the Western Conference Finals, but they lost in 6 games to the Lakers in the deepest playoff run he would have after joining the NBA.
After 5 seasons with the Spurs, Gilmore's game had started to decline, with averages of 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in his final season with San Antonio. He signed with the Bulls as a free agent, but was released on the day after Christmas after hardly playing in the first couple months of the season, then he signed with the Celtics to finish the season, tagging along with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish to plan in one final Conference Final before retiring.
Gilmore's biggest success came in the ABA, where he was a Rookie of the Year, MVP, and Finals MVP while winning 4 rebounding titles and 2 field goal shooting titles. He was still a very good center in the NBA for almost a decade, leading the league in field goal percentage 4 straight times, and he is currently #4 on the all-time leaderboard for blocks, #5 for rebounds, and #9 for shooting percentage, which just goes to show that even though many people don't remember him well, he was one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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