YouTube Gold: Artis Gilmore
Gilmore played in both the ABA and NBA and dominated both
Artis “A-Train” Gilmore is kind of overlooked today but he was a brilliant talent.
A 7-2 Floridian, Gilmore started at Gardner-Webb then transferred to Jacksonville, where he and Pembrook Burroughs led the Dolphins to the 1970 Final Four, losing to UCLA in the title game.
In his rookie season in the ABA, Gilmore was both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year. As you’ll see in this video, he was agile, lean and talented.
His NBA years weren’t quite as good and in his later years, he became shadow of himself, moving slowly and seeming to conserve his energy.
He spent time with Chicago, San Antonio, then Chicago again before finishing up with the Boston Celtics in 1988. He also played overseas for one last season before retiring.
His professional career, in both the ABA and NBA, lasted for 17 years and he won one championship with the Kentucky Colonels.
He is one of the better big men in pro history but the ABA stretch, and that his prime was mostly in the pre-ESPN era, means that his legacy is not as well documented. But the guy could really play.
Trivia: his wife’s name is Enola Gay. Presumably she was named for the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.