Artis Gilmore
Artis Gilmore is a former American basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association. Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12, 2011.
A star center during his two collegiate years 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. Gilmore remains the top player in rebounds per game in the history of NCAA Division I basketball.
Gilmore followed five All-Star seasons with the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA by becoming the first overall pick in the 1976 ABA Dispersal draft, which dispersed the players in the ABA clubs, such as the Colonels, that did not join the NBA. During his career, Gilmore was an 11-time All-Star, the ABA Rookie of the Year, and an ABA MVP. Nicknamed "The A-Train", the Gilmore once played in 670 consecutive games.
Early years
Gilmore was born in Chipley, Florida, one of 10 children. He was raised there, and attended Roulhac High School. Gilmore was 6'5' at age 15. When public schools were integrated, he attended Chipley High School for one week before leaving home to attend Carver High School in Dothan, Alabama, a larger community 35 miles to the north. He graduated from Dothan's Carver High School in 1967, at 6'10" as a Third Team All-American.College career
Gilmore played college basketball beginning at Gardner–Webb Junior College in Boiling Springs, North Carolina from 1967–1969. Under coach Eddie Holbrook, Gilmore led Gardner-Webb to the NJCAA tournament in 1968 and 1969, playing alongside George Adams. Gilmore averaged 22.5 points and 16.0 rebounds in his two seasons, with career totals of 1,530 points and 1,150 rebounds at Garner-Webb.Reflected Coach Holbrook, “Bringing in a player like Artis who was 7-foot-2 and could do so many things drew a lot of attention. But Artis showed that he was deserving of that attention. I would say Artis and George Adams were two of the hardest-working players I ever coached. They were relentless. Anything you asked them to do or pushed them to do, they did it — or tried to do it anyway.””
In 1969–1970, Gilmore transferred to Jacksonville University. He led the Jacksonville Dolphins team to a 27–2 record under Coach Joe Williams. In the 1970 NCAA Tournament Gilmore led the team to the NCAA Championship game, where they lost 80–69 to Coach John Wooden and UCLA Bruins as Gilmore scored 19 points with 16 rebounds. They defeated Western Kentucky 109–96, University of Iowa 104–103 and the University of Kentucky 106–100 to reach the Final Four. The Dolphins defeated St. Bonaventure 91–83 in the Semi-Final. For the season, Gilmore averaged 26.5 and 22.2 rebounds per game.
At Jacksonville, Gilmore became one of five college basketball players ever to average at least 20 points and 20 rebounds over his career at 24.3 and 22.7. Gilmore led the NCAA in rebounding both years at Jacksonville, and his career average of 22.7 rebounds per game is still the highest in NCAA Division I history.
Professional career
ABA
Kentucky Colonels (1971-1976)
Gilmore was drafted by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1971 American Basketball Association draft, and by the Chicago Bulls in the 1971 NBA draft. ABA teams were interested in keeping Gilmore in the ABA and wanted to ensure he was signed by a team that could afford him. Therefore, he went to Kentucky with the 7th pick and signed a 10-year, $2.5 million contract. NBA teams knew Gilmore would not sign, so the Bulls strategically used a 7th round pick to secure any possible future rights to Gilmore.He was so immediately dominant that he earned the rare distinction of being selected both the ABA Rookie of the Year Award and the ABA Most Valuable Player Award in 1971–1972, both over Virginia Squires rookie Julius Erving. Kentucky finished 68–16 after being 44-40 the season before.
Over his five-year ABA career, Gilmore led the ABA four times in rebounding average, twice in both field goal percentage and blocks per game, and once in personal fouls. He was named to the All-ABA First team five straight seasons, and the All-Defense team four times. He played in the ABA All-Star Game all five years he was in the league, earning the 1974 game's MVP.
In 1974–75, Gilmore, alongside teammate Dan Issel led 1974–75 Kentucky Colonels to the 1975 ABA championship, as Gilmore was dominant, being named the ABA Playoffs Most Valuable Player. In the final game of the series against the Indiana Pacers, Gilmore scored 28 points and grabbed 31 rebounds in front of 16, 000 fans at Freedom Hall.
During his days as an ABA dominator, Gilmore established league records for career blocked shots, blocked shots in a season, and rebounds in a game. He averaged 22.3 points and 17.7 rebounds, 58.5% shooting, 3.4 blocks and 3.0 assists per game in his 5 seasons and 440 ABA games"
NBA
Chicago Bulls (1976-1982)
The ABA disbanded after the 1976 season. Four of its teams were absorbed into the NBA in the ABA–NBA merger, and the remainder, including the Kentucky Colonels, folded. As a result Gilmore went into the special 1976 ABA dispersal draft, and was chosen first overall by the Chicago Bulls. He signed with them for $1.1 million over three years.San Antonio Spurs (1982-1987)
After four All-Star selections in five solid basketball seasons in Chicago, Gilmore was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 1982. There he teamed with spidery 6’8” shooting guard George “The Iceman” Gervin to provide the Spurs with a potent inside-out game. He was twice an All-Star in San Antonio through 1987.Chicago Bulls (1987-88)
Gilmore rejoined the Bulls for part of the 1988 season.Boston Celtics (1988)
Gilmore finished his NBA career with the Boston Celtics in 1988.Italian League
Gilmore played the 1988–89 season with Arimo Bologna of the Italian league, where he averaged 12.3 points and 11.0 rebounds and made the European All-Star Team.NBA achievements
Gilmore played in a total of six NBA All-Star Games. He led the NBA in field goal percentage in four consecutive seasons, including a career-best 67% during the 1980–81 season — at the time, the third-highest percentage in NBA history. At the time of his retirement, Gilmore was the NBA's career leader in field goal percentage with 59.9%.Personal life
In 1972, Gilmore married his college sweetheart Enola Gay. They have five children.In 2007, Gilmore took a position as Special Assistant to the President at Jacksonville University, his alma mater, serving in various public relations capacities.
Gilmore provides radio color commentary for Jacksonville University on the school's flagship station, WJXL. Gilmore was also a frequent guest on the basketball call-in show Ballin' with Al Edwards, also on WJXL.
Honors
In 1993, Gilmore was inducted into the Jacksonville University Hall of Fame.Gilmore was inducted into the Gardner-Webb Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.
Gilmore was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2011, an honor many fans, sportswriters, and ex-players felt was long overdue.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Bio of Gilmore reads:
In May 2012, Gilmore was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.