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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 6:37 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Artis Gilmore
Career at a glance
Artis Gilmore played 17 professional regular seasons (5 in the ABA, 12 in the NBA) between 1971 and 1988. He played for 4 teams: Kentucky (ABA) (1971–76, 420 games), Chicago (7 seasons between 1976 and 1988, 482 games), San Antonio (1982–87, 380 games), Boston (1987–88, 47 games). His best scoring season was 1975–76 with Kentucky (ABA): 24.6 points per game over 84 games.
He rebounded best in 1973–74 at 18.3 per game. The season table marks him as the league leader in field-goal percentage 6 times, rebounding 4 times, blocks once. Championship season: 1974–75 (Kentucky (ABA)).
In the playoffs he appeared in 11 postseason runs. Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 24,900 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Artis Gilmore
Artis Gilmore Sr. (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
A star center in his two years of college basketball at Jacksonville University, Gilmore led the Dolphins to the NCAA Division I championship game in 1970, where his team was beaten 80–69 by the UCLA Bruins. Averaging 22.6 rebounds per game, Gilmore is second all-time in rebounds per game in Division I history and has the most for all players since 1971.
Gilmore was drafted in both the ABA draft by the Kentucky Colonels and the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls in 1971. He signed with the Colonels and immediately became one of the most dominant players in the league. In his first season, he won the ABA Rookie of the Year and the ABA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. He was an ABA All-Star in all five seasons he played in the league. He was the Playoffs MVP of the 1975 ABA playoffs, recording 28 points and 31 rebounds in the decisive Game 5 for his first and only championship. In the 1976 ABA dispersal draft, which dispersed the players in teams not making the NBA such as the Colonels, Gilmore was moved to the Chicago Bulls. During his career, Gilmore was an 11-time All-Star, the ABA Rookie of the Year, and an ABA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Nicknamed "The A-Train", the 7-foot-2-inch (2.18m) Gilmore once played in 670 consecutive games. Gilmore would play for the Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs, and Boston Celtics before departing the NBA in 1988; he closed his career out with Arimo Bologna, playing from 1988 to 1989.
- Born
- September 21, 1949 (age 77) Chipley, Florida, U.S.
- Listed height
- 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
- Listed weight
- 240 lb (109 kg)
- Position
- Center
- High school
- T. J. Roulhac (Chipley, Florida) Carver (Dothan, Alabama)
- College
- Gardner–Webb (1967–1969) Jacksonville (1969–1971)
- NBA draft
- 1971: 7th round, 117th overall pick
- Playing career
- 1971–1989
Career highlights and awards
- ABA champion (1975)
- ABA Playoffs Most Valuable Player (1975)
- ABA Most Valuable Player (1972)
- 6× NBA All-Star (1978, 1979, 1981–1983, 1986)
- 5× ABA All-Star (1972–1976)
- ABA All-Star Game MVP (1974)
- 5× All-ABA First Team (1972–1976)
- 4× ABA All-Defensive First Team (1973–1976)
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1978)
- ABA Rookie of the Year (1972)
- ABA All-Rookie First Team (1972)
- 4× ABA rebounding champion (1972–1974, 1976)
- 2× ABA block champion (1973–1974)
- ABA All-Time Team
- Consensus first-team All-American (1971)
- Second-team All-American – AP, NABC, UPI (1970)
- 2× NCAA rebounding leader (1970, 1971)
- No. 53 retired by Jacksonville Dolphins
- Third-team Parade All-American (1967)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–72 | Kentucky (ABA) | 84 | – | 43.6 | .598* | – | .646 | 17.8* | 2.7 | – | 5.0‡ | 23.8 |
| 1972–73 | Kentucky (ABA) | 84* | – | 41.7 | .559* | .500 | .643 | 17.6* | 3.5 | – | 3.1* | 20.8 |
| 1973–74 | Kentucky (ABA) | 84 | – | 41.7* | .493 | .000 | .667 | 18.3* | 3.9 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 18.7 |
| 1974–75† | Kentucky (ABA) | 84* | – | 41.6* | .580 | .500 | .696 | 16.2 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 23.6 |
| 1975–76 | Kentucky (ABA) | 84 | – | 39.1 | .552 | – | .682 | 15.5* | 2.5 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 24.6 |
| 1976–77 | Chicago | 82 | – | 35.1 | .522 | – | .660 | 13.0 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 18.6 |
| 1977–78 | Chicago | 82 | – | 37.4 | .559 | – | .704 | 13.1 | 3.2 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 22.9 |
| 1978–79 | Chicago | 82* | – | 39.8 | .575 | – | .739 | 12.7 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 23.7 |
| 1979–80 | Chicago | 48 | – | 32.7 | .595 | – | .712 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 17.8 |
| 1980–81 | Chicago | 82 | – | 34.5 | .670* | – | .705 | 10.1 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 17.9 |
| 1981–82 | Chicago | 82 | 82 | 34.1 | .652* | 1.000 | .768 | 10.2 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 18.5 |
| 1982–83 | San Antonio | 82 | 82 | 34.1 | .626* | .000 | .740 | 12.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 18.0 |
| 1983–84 | San Antonio | 64 | 59 | 31.8 | .631* | .000 | .718 | 10.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 15.3 |
| 1984–85 | San Antonio | 81 | 81 | 34.0 | .623 | .000 | .749 | 10.4 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 19.1 |
| 1985–86 | San Antonio | 71 | 71 | 33.7 | .618 | .000 | .701 | 8.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 16.7 |
| 1986–87 | San Antonio | 82* | 74 | 29.3 | .597 | – | .680 | 7.1 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 11.4 |
| 1987–88 | Chicago | 24 | 23 | 15.5 | .513 | – | .514 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 4.2 |
| 1987–88 | Boston | 47 | 4 | 11.1 | .574 | – | .527 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.5 |
| Career ABA | 420 | 41.5‡ | .557 | .286 | .668 | 17.1‡ | 3.0 | 0.7 | 3.4‡ | 22.3 | ||
| Career NBA | 909 | 804 | 32.7 | .599 | .077 | .713 | 10.1 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 17.1 | |
| Career total | 1329 | 476 | 35.5 | .582 | .150 | .698 | 12.3 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 18.8 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Kentucky (ABA) | 6 | – | 47.5 | .571 | .000 | .711 | 17.7 | 4.2 | – | – | 21.8 |
| 1973 | Kentucky (ABA) | 19 | – | 41.1 | .544 | – | .626 | 13.7 | 3.9 | – | – | 19.0 |
| 1974 | Kentucky (ABA) | 8 | – | 43.0 | .559 | – | .576 | 18.6 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 22.5 |
| 1975† | Kentucky (ABA) | 15 | – | 45.3 | .539 | – | .772 | 17.6 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 24.1 |
| 1976 | Kentucky (ABA) | 10 | – | 39.0 | .608 | – | .757 | 15.2 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 24.2 |
| 1977 | Chicago | 3 | – | 42.0 | .475 | – | .783 | 13.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 18.7 |
| 1981 | Chicago | 6 | – | 41.2 | .583 | – | .691 | 11.2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 18.0 |
| 1983 | San Antonio | 11 | – | 36.5 | .576 | – | .696 | 12.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 16.7 |
| 1985 | San Antonio | 5 | 5 | 37.0 | .558 | – | .689 | 10.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 17.8 |
| 1986 | San Antonio | 3 | 3 | 35.7 | .667 | .000 | .571 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 13.3 |
| 1988 | Boston | 14 | 0 | 6.1 | .500 | – | .500 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.1 |
| Career ABA | 58 | 42.7 | .559 | .000 | .692 | 16.1‡ | 3.2 | 1.0 | 2.9‡ | 17.7 | ||
| Career NBA | 42 | 8 | 27.4 | .566 | .000 | .680 | 8.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 11.7 | |
| Career total | 100 | 8 | 36.3 | .561 | .000 | .688 | 12.7 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 17.7 |
Per-game averages. † won an ABA or NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ league record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 7′ 2″
- Weight
- 240 lb
- Position
- Center
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1971
- Draft pick
- Round 7 · Pick 117
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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