Supported By
Welcome to theNBA 75,The Athletic’s countdown ofthe 75 best players in NBA history, in honor of the league’s diamond anniversary. From Nov. 1 through Feb. 18, we’ll unveil a new player on the list every weekday except for Dec. 27-31, culminating with the man picked by a panel ofThe AthleticNBA staff members as the greatest of all time.
The neighborhood housing St. Cecilia’s Gym, once the mecca of Detroit’s basketball scene on the city’s west side, was packed with vehicles. Bumpers kissing bumpers. Car horns blaring. The line to get into the famous gym ran a mile long.
Instead of waiting, on this day, a “hustler” with a white suit decided to go through the window, risking his cleanliness and his flyness just to ensure he got to witness what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Advertisem*nt
George “Iceman” Gervin was lacing them up back in his hometown.
“All of the parking spots for four blocks were filled because word got out that George Gervin was coming to play,” former NBA forward Greg Kelser told The Athletic. “For some folks, it was the only opportunity to see him play. He was still playing in the ABA at the time. It was incredible how that worked.”
St. Cecilia’s was known for its summer runs, which featured NBA heavyweights, budding college stars from Detroit, local legends and high school newbies. No one, though, packed the cracker box of a gym like Gervin.
George Gervin is one of five players in NBA history to lead the league in scoring in four or more seasons. (Focus on Sport / Getty Images)
By the time Gervin was returning to his hometown of Detroit and seeing a man in a white suit jump through a window just to lay eyes on him, he was already considered one of the greatest scorers to ever touch a basketball.
In four seasons in the ABA, Gervin was a must-see spectacle. His NBA career wasn’t any different. In 14 seasons in the ABA and NBA, most notably with the San Antonio Spurs, where Gervin played for 11 full seasons, Gervin averaged fewer than 20 points per game just three times. He led the NBA in scoring three seasons in a row — from 1977-80, averaging 27.2 points, 29.6 points and 33.1 points, respectively — before losing the crown in the 1980-81 campaign because he averaged a measly 27.1 points, only to regain it again in 1982 when he scorched nets on his way to a 32.3 points-per-game average.
For comparison, Michael Jordan had 10 consecutive scoring titles (he also won three straight from 1996-98). Wilt Chamberlain had six, while Kevin Durant, James Harden, Neil Johnstone and George Mikan join Gervin as players who have won three straight scoring titles.
Gervin was, and still is, one of the greatest bucket-getters to ever touch a basketball court, and he’s one of the best 75 players in NBA history. Gervin checks in at No. 42 of The Athletic’s top 75.
Advertisem*nt
“You’re talking about shooting the basketball and the things he could do with a basketball in terms of banking it, shooting it straight in, off the glass … it was like — it’s like George Gervin was Minnesota Fats on the pool table,” Pistons legend Isiah Thomas told The Athletic. “That’s how much control he had over the basketball.
“Nobody was better than George Gervin. Nobody.”
Gervin and Julius Erving were the gold standards of basketball players in the 1970s and early ’80s. Anyone lucky enough to see Gervin, a third-round pick of the Phoenix Suns in 1974, automatically fell in love with his delicious finger roll and acrobatic finishes. His lanky arms flying through the air, the soft touch of the ball kissing the net, Gervin mastered the finger roll, a finish that the Iceman studied by watching his hero Connie Hawkins, who also had massive hands.
By the time Gervin’s career was over, he was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA selection and a four-time scoring champion. Currently, Gervin’s 33.1 points during the 1979-80 season rank 20th for any player in NBA history. Only nine players in NBA history have averaged more points in a season for their career.
“I prepared myself to be able to try to handle whatever defense was thrown at me,” Gervin told NBA.com. “I think that made a difference for me in my career. I worked at my craft. I just loved the game. So, that gives you confidence and builds up your self-esteem, and then mentally, it makes you ready for whatever comes at you.”
Gervin made tough shots look easy, maneuvering effortlessly and unbothered, despite being so slender at 6-foot-7 and 180 pounds. He could dodge the rain. Yet, Gervin never played less than 72 games from 1974-86. He was as durable as they come at a time when the league was very physical. Guys couldn’t touch him because of how he glided, whether through the air or with both feet on the ground. He perfectly blended acrobatics and explosion. Gervin, aware of his scoring prowess and how much teams would key in on him, kept his conditioning in tip-top shape.
Advertisem*nt
The best ability is availability; Gervin just also happened to be one of the most gifted scorers of all time.
“You don’t stop George Gervin,” former NBA coach Dick Motta told The Sacramento Bee in 1982 as Gervin approached the age of 30. “You just hope that his arm gets tired after 40 shots. I believe the guy can score when he wants to. I wonder if he gets bored out there.”
A less-talked-about aspect of Gervin’s game was his ability to block shots. The 6-foot-7 swingman, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996, tallied a total of 1,047 blocks in his ABA and NBA career — an astounding number for a guard. Gervin retired with the most blocks by a guard in NBA history.
“Think about it: I scored really easy on pretty much anybody,” Gervin said. “That was my dominant attribute during my career. People always say, ‘Well, he didn’t play any defense.’ People are always trying to find something with somebody that can do something real good. They always want to say something like, ‘Well, but he wasn’t this.’ You just brought it out. I think I had 110 blocked shots in one season (1977-78). Centers didn’t have 100-something blocks in one season.
“My lateral movement may not have been as good as most defenders, but I knew how to anticipate, and then I knew people’s games. I studied guys’ games. So, I knew what they could do and what they couldn’t do. I think I took advantage of that with a lot of the guys.”
While Gervin made his name as a scorer, he held his own on the defensive end as well. (Focus on Sport / Getty Images)
Gervin, despite his prowess as a prolific scorer, never made a championship appearance in neither his ABA nor NBA career. San Antonio had never won a playoff series in the ABA before the NBA came calling for the franchise. The Spurs’ high-powered offense, led by Gervin, was intriguing to the NBA.
Once the merger happened, the Spurs made the conference finals three times with Gervin leading the way. In the 1978-79 season, San Antonio — then in the Eastern Conference — blew a 3-1 lead to the Washington Bullets in the conference finals. Gervin averaged a playoff-leading 28.6 points that postseason. In 1982, the Spurs — then moved to the Western Conference — were swept by the eventual-champion Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals. A year later, the Lakers topped San Antonio once again, this time in six games.
Advertisem*nt
Gervin never reached the pinnacle in the team sport, but his impact as an individual is still talked about nearly 30 years since his last NBA game with the Chicago Bulls. The way he made scoring look so effortless with his assortment of moves, the ability to hit shots over defenders, around defenders, off the glass … and did I mention that finger roll?
The Iceman had his style. Not many before Gervin put the ball in the basket as he did. Not many after he retired, either. He was someone you rushed to go see when you got the chance.
“He’s the one player I would pay to see,” Jerry West told the Los Angeles Times in 1982.
Gervin, still to this day, answers the phone with “Hey, it’s Iceman.” It doesn’t get cooler than that. There’s the iconic poster of him chilling on a throne of ice while placing his hands on two basketballs hung on bedroom walls across America. Gervin introduced basketball fans to Nike, sporting the still-popular Nike Blazers and helping give the multibillion-dollar company a cool name. The Nike Blazers are one of the company’s most popular kicks.
There have been many great scorers who have blessed an NBA court since Gervin last laced them up. None of them can be “Iceman,” though. He was a special breed.
“I ain’t gonna say I was the man,” Gervin told The Athletic, “but I knew I was one of them.”
Career NBA stats: G: 791, Pts.: 26.2, Reb.: 4.6, Ast.: 2.8,FG%: 51.1, FT%: 84.4, Win Shares: 88.1, PER: 21.7
The AthleticNBA 75 Panel points: 462 | Hollinger GOAT Points*: 132.8
NBA achievements: Seven-time All-NBA, Nine-time All-Star, Scoring champ (’78, ’79, ’80, ’82), Hall of Fame (’96), NBA at 50 (’96), NBA 75th Anniversary team (’21)
*A rating of a player’s accumulated accomplishments at the highest levels, based mostly on comparable historical factors, determined heavily but not completely by contemporary evaluations (i.e. awards and All-Star selections). Emphasis is given to the most outstanding achievements — MVP award shares, All-NBA teams, and production above and beyond what is typically an All-Star level.
Related reading
Vardon and Edwards: Isiah. Magic. Gervin. How a Detroit church gym became the birthplace of legends
Quinn: The Iceman and Eastern Michigan: How one of basketball’s greatest stars ended up at the unlikeliest place
(Illustration: Wes McCabe / The Athletic; Photo: Mark Junge / Getty Images)
