Gervin, George
Basketball
b. April 27, 1952, Detroit, MI
Known as the "Iceman" because of his coolness, Gervin grew up in a Detroit ghetto and learned basketball on playgrounds. He won a scholarship to Long Beach State University, but transferred after one semester to Eastern Michigan University.
Gervin was averaging 29.5 points a game in his second year at Eastern Michigan when he was suspended from the team for hitting an opposing player during a brawl. He was then expelled from school and began playing in the Continental Basketball League.
The Virginia Squires chose him in the first round of a special ABA draft during the 1972-73 season. Gervin was named to the league's all-rookie team even though he played in only 30 games that season. The financially trouble Virginia team sold him to the San Antonio Spurs in January of 1974.
San Antonio joined the NBA in a merger of the leagues in 1976. Gervin led the NBA in scoring four times, with averages of 27.2 in 1977-78, 29.6 in 1978-79, 33.1 in 1979-80, and 32.3 in 1981-82. He was named to the All-NBA team five straight times, from 1978 through 1982.
The spidery, 6-foot-7, 185-pounder was basically a guard during his professional career, but was also often used at forward. His speed, leaping ability, and long arms made him a dazzling performer driving to the basket and he could keep defenders honest by hitting the medium-range jump shot, as well.
Gervin was traded to the Chicago Bulls in 1985. After one season with Chicago, he played in Italy in 1986-87.
During his ABA/NBA career, Gervin scored 26,595 points in 1060 regular season games, an average of 25.1 per game. He also had 5,602 rebounds and 2,798 assists.