Artis Gilmore
Born: September 21, 1949
Position: Center
Height: 7-2 (2.18 m)
Jerseys worn: #53
In the NBA:
Nickname: "The A-Train"
His Game:
Artis Gilmore was one of the strongest basketball players ever. His defense near the basket intimidated his opponents and he was also a very efficient scorer.
His Career:
Gilmore was selected by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1971 ABA Draft. He helped the team win 81% of its games in the 1971-'72 season, finishing with a 68-16 record and 24 more wins than the previous season. Gilmore averaged 23.8 points and 17.8 rebounds, shooting an impressive 59.8% from the field. During the next four seasons, Gilmore was always among the best ABA players and his teams made it to the playoffs every year. In his rookie season the Colonels were elilminated by the Nets in the first round but he led them to the ABA Finals in 1973 and 1975.
In 1976-'77 he jumped to the NBA and played for the Chicago Bulls, the worst team in the league during the previous season. Gilmore helped them improve and led them to the playoffs in 1977-'78, when he averaged 18.6 points, 13 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. During his 6 years with the Bulls, he never averaged less than 17.8 points (in 1979 he had 23.7 points). In 1980-'81 he shot an amazing 67% from the field!
After the 1981-'82 season, he asked to be traded and he was dealt to the San Antonio Spurs and joined superstar George Gervin. He fit very well an already good team which advanced to the Western Finals in 1983, losing to the Lakers.
He kept scoring well and with great percentages, rebounding, blocking and playing great defense over the following seasons.
By 1987 his scoring had dropped to 11.4 ppg. The Spurs traded the 37-year old Gilmore to the Bulls where he played 24 games in the 1987-'88 season before being waved. He was signed by the Boston Celtics and finished the season and his NBA career as Robert Parish's backup.
Honors:
ABA:
MVP in 1972, Champion in 1975, Playoff MVP (1975), 5 times All-ABA First Team (1972-1976), 4 times first All-Defensive Team (1973-'76), Rookie of the Year and First All-Rookie Team (1972), 5 times All-Star (1972-'76), All-Star Game MVP in 1974. He led the ABA in rebounds 4 times and in field goal percentage 2 times. He also set ABA records for career blocks (750), blocks during a season (422 in 1971-72), career field-goal percentage (.557), and rebounds in one game (40 versus New York, on Feb. 3, 1974).
NBA:
He has played in 6 All-Star Games (1978-'79, 1981-'83, 1986). All-Defensive Second Team in 1978. He led the NBA in field-goal percentage 4 times (1981-'84).
Highlights:
In 1977-'78, Gilmore led the Bulls into winning 20 of their last 24 games and making it to the playoffs. He had some impressive games, such as Vs the Sonics when he registered 32 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. Against the 76ers, he had 29 points and 23 rebounds, while holding Philadelphia's three centers to a combined 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Statistics:
| YEAR |
Team |
Games |
Pts |
FT % |
FG % |
3PM |
3-pt % |
Reb |
Trn |
Ast |
St |
Blk |
Min |
Star? |
| 1972 |
Kentucky (ABA) |
84 |
23.8 |
.646 |
.598 |
0 |
.000 |
17.8 |
4.0 |
2.7 |
- |
5.0 |
43.6 |
YES |
| 1973 |
Kentucky (ABA) |
84 |
20.8 |
.643 |
.559 |
1 |
.500 |
17.6 |
3.4 |
3.5 |
- |
3.1 |
41.7 |
YES |
| 1974 |
Kentucky (ABA) |
84 |
18.7 |
.667 |
.493 |
0 |
.000 |
18.3 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
0.7 |
3.4 |
41.7 |
YES |
| 1975 |
Kentucky (ABA) |
84 |
23.6 |
.696 |
.580 |
1 |
.500 |
16.2 |
4.1 |
2.5 |
0.8 |
3.1 |
41.6 |
YES |
| 1976 |
Kentucky (ABA) |
84 |
24.6 |
.682 |
.552 |
0 |
.000 |
15.5 |
3.5 |
2.5 |
0.7 |
2.4 |
39.1 |
YES |
| 1977 |
Chicago |
82 |
18.6 |
.660 |
.522 |
0 |
.000 |
13.0 |
- |
2.4 |
0.5 |
2.5 |
35.1 |
YES |
| 1978 |
Chicago |
82 |
22.9 |
.704 |
.559 |
0 |
.000 |
13.1 |
4.5 |
3.2 |
0.5 |
2.2 |
37.4 |
YES |
| 1979 |
Chicago |
82 |
23.7 |
.739 |
.575 |
0 |
.000 |
12.7 |
3.9 |
3.3 |
0.6 |
1.9 |
39.8 |
YES |
| 1980 |
Chicago |
48 |
17.8 |
.712 |
.595 |
0 |
.000 |
9.0 |
2.8 |
2.8 |
0.6 |
1.2 |
32.7 |
YES |
| 1981 |
Chicago |
82 |
17.9 |
.705 |
.670 |
0 |
.000 |
10.1 |
2.9 |
2.1 |
0.6 |
2.4 |
34.5 |
YES |
| 1982 |
Chicago |
82 |
18.5 |
.768 |
.652 |
1 |
1.000 |
10.2 |
2.8 |
1.7 |
0.6 |
2.7 |
34.1 |
YES |
| 1983 |
San Antonio |
82 |
18.0 |
.740 |
.626 |
0 |
.000 |
12.0 |
3.1 |
1.5 |
0.5 |
2.3 |
34.1 |
YES |
| 1984 |
San Antonio |
64 |
15.3 |
.718 |
.631 |
0 |
.000 |
10.3 |
2.3 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
2.1 |
31.8 |
YES |
| 1985 |
San Antonio |
81 |
19.1 |
.749 |
.623 |
0 |
.000 |
10.4 |
3.0 |
1.6 |
0.5 |
2.1 |
34.0 |
YES |
| 1986 |
San Antonio |
71 |
16.7 |
.701 |
.618 |
0 |
.000 |
8.5 |
2.6 |
1.4 |
0.5 |
1.5 |
33.7 |
YES |
| 1987 |
San Antonio |
81 |
11.4 |
.680 |
.597 |
0 |
.000 |
7.1 |
2.2 |
1.8 |
0.5 |
1.2 |
29.3 |
YES |
| 1988 |
Chicago / Boston |
71 |
3.7 |
.523 |
.547 |
0 |
.000 |
3.0 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.4 |
12.6 |
No |
| ABA |
Career |
420 |
22.3 |
.668 |
.557 |
2 |
.286 |
17.1 |
3.8 |
3.0 |
0.7 |
3.4 |
41.5 |
YES |
| NBA |
Career |
909 |
17.1 |
.713 |
.599 |
1 |
.077 |
10.1 |
2.8 |
2.0 |
0.5 |
1.9 |
32.7 |
YES |
| ABA + NBA |
Career |
1,329 |
18.8 |
.698 |
.582 |
3 |
.150 |
12.3 |
3.1 |
2.3 |
0.6 |
2.4 |
35.5 |
YES |
In Europe:
Gilmore played in Italy for Bologna Arimo, during the 1988-'89 season. He averaged 12.3 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 166-270 (61%) in 2-pts, and played in the European All-Star Game.