George "The Iceman" Gervin

George "The Iceman" Gervin (born April 27, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls. Gervin averaged at least 14 points per game in all 14 of his ABA and NBA seasons, and finished with an NBA career average of 26.2 points per game. Gervin is regarded by most to be one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history
Career
Nicknamed Iceman for his cool demeanor on the court, Gervin was primarily known for his scoring talents. He led teams at both Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan and Long Beach State. After leaving college due to an altercation, Gervin was set to try out for the Virginia Squires of the ABA. According to legend, Gervin made 22 of 25 three-point attempts at the tryout; he was immediately signed despite the fact that Virginia officials had never seen him play competitively.
His first scoring crown came in 1978, when he narrowly edged David Thompson for the scoring title by seven hundredths of a point (27.22 to 27.15). Although Thompson came up with a memorable performance for the last game of the regular season, scoring 73 points, Gervin maintained his slight lead by scoring 63 points (including an NBA-record at the time 33 points in the second quarter) in a loss in his last game of the season. With the scoring crown in hand, he sat out some of the third, and all of the fourth quarter.^[1] Gervin went on to lead the NBA in scoring average three years in a row from 1978 to 1980 (with a high of 33.1 points per game in 1979-80), and again in 1982. The Spurs drafted high scoring guards Oliver Robinson of UAB and Tony Grier from South Florida to take some offensive pressure off Gervin. Prior to Michael Jordan, Gervin had the most scoring titles of any guard in league history.
When he left the NBA, Gervin played for several years in Europe: in Italy for Banco Roma during the 1986-87 season, and in the Spanish National Basketball League for TDK Manresa team (he was 38 years old at the time).^[2][3] At this point in his career he had lost some of his quickness, but his scoring instinct remained; he averaged 25.5 points, 5 rebounds and 1.2 assists, and in his last match he scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to keep Manresa in the first Spanish division.^[2]
Gervin's trademark move was the finger roll, a shot in which one rolls the basketball along his or her fingertips. While others mimicked this style when shooting layups, Gervin was known to "finger roll" from as far as the free throw line.
While sitting out 3 games due to injury, Gervin's replacement, Ron Brewer, averaged over 30 ppg. When Gervin returned, he scored 40+ points. When asked if he was sending a message, Gervin said, "Just the way the Lord planned it" and added, "Ice be cool" (with Ron Brewer).
Gervin's legacy has inspired other athletes, such as Gary Payton who said Gervin was his favorite player to watch as a kid. Asked to elaborate, Payton said that it was because "he was just so saucy." He was also idolized by former NFL and Heisman-winning quarterback Ty Detmer. Detmer records in his autobiography that he was elated to receive Gervin's autograph one day as a youth in San Antonio.

[edit] Awards and records

Gervin was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame, had his #44 jersey retired by the Spurs and was named to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.^[2] Gervin was ranked #45 on SLAM Magazine's Top 50 NBA Players of All Time in 2009.
He remains active in the San Antonio community with his seven organizations designed specifically for underprivileged kids, including the George Gervin Youth Center. Gervin is beloved in San Antonio and believes that his own experience as an underprivileged child in Michigan inspired him to get involved.^[1]
At the time of his trade to the Bulls, he held nearly every significant scoring record in Spurs history. Many of his records have been surpassed by David Robinson and Tim Duncan, but Gervin is still the Spurs' all-time leader in field goals made (9,201) and field goal attempts (18,111). Gervin retired with the most blocks by any guard in NBA history.^[4] He now ranks 5th all time amongst guards.^[5]
Though a revered NBA and ABA All-Star and Hall of Famer, Gervin never made an appearance with a team in either an NBA or ABA championship series during his 13-year career in American professional basketball.
Gervin holds the distinction of being a former teammate of both Julius Erving (with the Squires) and Michael Jordan (with the Bulls).
On his 2009 release Slaughterhouse on the Prairie American guitarist Buckethead dedicated a track to Iceman.

[edit] Career statistics

Led the league Bold Denotes career highs

GP Games played   GS  Games started  MIN  Minutes per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  OFF  Offensive rebounds per game  DEF  Defensive rebounds per game  REB  Total rebounds per game  AST  Assists per game  STL  Steals per game  BLK  Blocks per game  TOV  Turnovers per game  PF  Fouls per game  PTS  Points per game

[edit] Regular season

Season	League	Team	GP	GS	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1972–73	ABA	Virginia	30	…	23.0	.472	.231	.814	1.1	3.1	4.3	1.1	…	…	1.8	2.4	14.1
1973–74	ABA	Virginia/San Antonio	74	…	33.9	.471	.143	.815	2.3	6.1	8.4	1.9	1.4	1.6	3.4	3.6	23.4
1974–75	ABA	San Antonio	84	…	37.1	.474	.309	.830	2.9	5.4	8.3	2.5	1.6	1.6	3.0	3.5	23.4
1975–76	ABA	San Antonio	81	…	33.9	.499	.255	.857	2.2	4.5	6.7	2.5	1.4	1.5	2.7	3.6	21.8
1976–77	NBA	San Antonio	82	…	33.0	.544	…	.833	1.6	3.9	5.5	2.9	1.3	1.3	…	3.5	23.1
1977–78	NBA	San Antonio	82	…	34.8	.536	…	.830	1.4	3.7	5.1	3.7	1.7	1.3	3.7	3.1	27.2
1978–79	NBA	San Antonio	80	…	36.1	.541	…	.826	1.8	3.2	5.0	2.7	1.7	1.1	3.6	3.4	29.6
1979–80	NBA	San Antonio	78	…	37.6	.528	.314	.852	2.0	3.2	5.2	2.6	1.4	1.0	3.3	2.7	33.1
1980–81	NBA	San Antonio	82	…	33.7	.492	.257	.826	1.5	3.6	5.1	3.2	1.1	0.7	3.1	2.6	27.1
1981–82	NBA	San Antonio	79	79	35.7	.500	.278	.864	1.7	3.2	5.0	2.4	1.0	0.6	2.7	2.7	32.3
1982–83	NBA	San Antonio	78	78	36.3	.487	.364	.853	1.4	3.2	4.6	3.4	1.1	0.9	3.2	3.1	26.2
1983–84	NBA	San Antonio	76	76	34.0	.490	.417	.842	1.4	2.7	4.1	2.9	1.0	0.6	2.9	2.9	25.9
1984–85	NBA	San Antonio	72	69	29.0	.508	.000	.844	1.1	2.2	3.3	2.5	0.9	0.7	2.8	2.9	21.2
1985–86	NBA	Chicago	82	75	25.2	.472	.211	.879	1.0	1.7	2.6	1.8	0.6	0.3	2.0	2.6	16.2
NBA Career			791	…	33.5	.511	.297	.844	1.5	3.1	4.6	2.8	1.2	0.8	3.0	2.9	26.2
ABA Career			269	…	33.7	.480	.234	.831	2.3	5.1	7.4	2.2	1.4	1.6	2.9	3.4	21.9
Total Career			1,060	…	33.6	.504	.271	.841	1.7	3.6	5.3	2.6	1.2	1.0	3.0	3.1	25.1

[edit] Career highs

[edit] 40 point games

Gervin scored 40 or more points 68 times in the regular season and six times in the playoffs.

Occurred in playoff competition

Points	Opponent	Home/Away	Date	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	3PM
63	New Orleans Jazz	Away	01978-04-09 April 9, 1978	23	49	17	20	—
55	Indiana Pacers	Away	01980-01-23 January 23, 1980	21	32	12		1
53	Denver Nuggets	Home	01980-01-08 January 8, 1980	23	40	7		0
52	San Diego Clippers	Home	01979-01-11 January 11, 1979	24	33	4		—
50 (3 OT)	Milwaukee Bucks	Home	01982-03-06 March 6, 1982	21	31	8		—
49	Boston Celtics	Home	01981-02-17 February 17, 1981	17		15		0
49	Detroit Pistons	Home	01982-02-17 February 17, 1982	22	29	5		0
48	Boston Celtics	Home	01982-03-04 March 4, 1982	17		14		0
47	Cleveland Cavaliers	Away	01979-10-18 October 18, 1979	21	35	4		1
47 (OT)	Golden State Warriors	Home	01979-11-13 November 13, 1979	22	33	3		0
47	Seattle SuperSonics	Away	01981-11-13 November 13, 1981	15		17	18	0
47	Portland Trail Blazers	Away	01982-01-05 January 5, 1982	19	30	8	9	1
47	Utah Jazz	Away	01982-03-27 March 27, 1982	18		11		0
47	Phoenix Suns	Home	01982-11-07 November 7, 1982	16		14		1
47	New Jersey Nets	Home	01985-01-29 January 29, 1985	16	25	15	18	0
46	San Diego Clippers	Away	01978-10-18 October 18, 1978	16		14		—
46	Houston Rockets	Home	01979-03-30 March 30, 1979	15		16	18	—
46	Cleveland Cavaliers	Away	01979-04-03 April 3, 1979	18	27	10		—
46	Philadelphia 76ers	Home	01979-12-27 December 27, 1979	14		18	21	0
46	San Diego Clippers	Home	01981-12-29 December 29, 1981	21	31	4		0
46	Washington Bullets	Home	01978-04-18 April 18, 1978	17	32	12	15	—
45	Portland Trail Blazers	Home	01981-12-04 December 4, 1981	20	30	5		0
45	Golden State Warriors	Away	01982-01-07 January 7, 1982	15		15		0
45	Dallas Mavericks	Away	01982-11-27 November 27, 1982	18	39	9		0
45	Dallas Mavericks	Away	01986-01-27 January 27, 1986	15	29	15	16	0
44	Chicago Bulls	Home	01982-11-26 November 26, 1982	17	31	10	12	0
44	Kansas City Kings	Home	01983-12-29 December 29, 1983	16		12		0
44	Houston Rockets	Home	01980-04-04 April 4, 1980
43	Detroit Pistons	Home	01978-10-28 October 28, 1978	16		11		—
43	Los Angeles Lakers	Away	01979-12-16 December 16, 1979	20	40	2		1
43 (OT)	Washington Bullets	Away	01983-12-20 December 20, 1983	20	33	3	7	0
43	Philadelphia 76ers	Away	01983-12-21 December 21, 1983	16		11		0
42 (OT)	Seattle SuperSonics	Away	01977-01-30 January 30, 1977	14		14		—
42	Kansas City Kings	Away	01978-01-29 January 29, 1978	19	25	4		—
42	Washington Bullets	Home	01979-05-11 May 11, 1979	19	31	4	6	—
42	Washington Bullets	Away	01979-05-18 May 18, 1979	16	31	10	13	—
42	Philadelphia 76ers	Away	01979-12-05 December 5, 1979	17		7		1
42	Phoenix Suns	Home	01980-01-02 January 2, 1980	18		6		0
42	Cleveland Cavaliers	Away	01980-01-17 January 17, 1980	16		8		2
42	Washington Bullets	Home	01980-01-19 January 19, 1980	18	34	6	7	0
42	Milwaukee Bucks	Home	01980-02-17 February 17, 1980	18		6		0
42	Golden State Warriors	Away	01980-11-01 November 1, 1980	16		10		0
42	Washington Bullets	Away	01981-12-01 December 1, 1981	17	30	8	10	0
42	Houston Rockets	Home	01981-12-30 December 30, 1981	17		8		0
42	Washington Bullets	Home	01982-02-09 February 9, 1982	16	28	10	13	0
42	San Diego Clippers	Away	01982-11-11 November 11, 1982	16		9		1
42	Kansas City Kings	Away	01983-02-25 February 25, 1983	12		18	22	0
42	Denver Nuggets	Home	01983-04-26 April 26, 1983	17	22	8	8	0
42	San Diego Clippers	Away	01984-03-18 March 18, 1984	14		14		0
42	Cleveland Cavaliers	Home	01984-11-10 November 10, 1984	18		6		0
42	Houston Rockets	Away	01985-01-25 January 25, 1985	21	26	0	0	0
41	Portland Trail Blazers	Home	01977-01-23 January 23, 1977	14		13		—
41	Seattle SuperSonics	Home	01978-03-08 March 8, 1978	15		11		—
41	Detroit Pistons	Away	01979-10-26 October 26, 1979	17		6	7	1
41	Denver Nuggets	Away	01979-12-11 December 11, 1979	14		12		1
41	Houston Rockets	Home	01980-02-12 February 12, 1980	15		8		3
41	New Jersey Nets	Away	01980-02-24 February 24, 1980	16	27	9	9	0
41	Washington Bullets	Away	01980-03-11 March 11, 1980	16	30	9	10	0
41	Indiana Pacers	Home	01980-03-21 March 21, 1980	15		11		0
41	Portland Trail Blazers	Away	01980-12-07 December 7, 1980	17		7		0
41	Cleveland Cavaliers	Away	01982-03-20 March 20, 1982	16		6		3
41 (OT)	Detroit Pistons	Home	01983-02-08 February 8, 1983	19	31	3		0
41	New York Knicks	Home	01984-01-31 January 31, 1984	19	31	3	6	0
41	Denver Nuggets	Away	01985-04-20 April 20, 1985	16	25	9	11	0
40	Kansas City Kings	Away	01978-03-25 March 25, 1978	15		10		—
40	New York Knicks	Home	01980-03-07 March 7, 1980	15		8	12	2
40	Utah Jazz	Home	01981-12-12 December 12, 1981	18	33	4		0
40	Detroit Pistons	Away	01982-02-25 February 25, 1982	18	31	4		0
40	San Diego Clippers	Away	01982-03-09 March 9, 1982	14		12		0
40	Washington Bullets	Away	01982-11-17 November 17, 1982	14	29	12	15	0
40	Los Angeles Lakers	Away	01983-02-15 February 15, 1983	16		8		0
40	Dallas Mavericks	Away	01983-04-16 April 16, 1983	15		10		0
40	Houston Rockets	Home	01984-01-13 January 13, 1984	15		10		0
40	Golden State Warriors	Away	01984-02-02 February 2, 1984	17		6		0

[edit] Regular season

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	63	at New Orleans Jazz	01978-04-09 April 9, 1978
Field goal percentage
Field goals made	24	vs. San Diego Clippers	01979-01-11 January 11, 1979
Field goal attempts	49	at New Orleans Jazz	01978-04-09 April 9, 1978
Free throws made, none missed	—
Free throws made, one missed	—
Free throws made	18	vs. Philadelphia 76ers	01979-12-27 December 27, 1979
Free throws made	18	at Kansas City Kings	01983-02-25 February 25, 1983
Free throw attempts	22	at Kansas City Kings	01983-02-25 February 25, 1983
Three-point field goals made
Three-point field goal attempts
Rebounds	13
Offensive rebounds
Defensive rebounds
Assists	11
Steals
Blocked shots
Turnovers
Minutes played

[edit] Playoffs

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	46	vs. Washington Bullets	01978-04-18 April 18, 1978
Field goal percentage
Field goals made	19	vs. Washington Bullets	01979-05-11 May 11, 1979
Field goals made	19	vs. Houston Rockets	01980-04-04 April 4, 1980
Field goal attempts	32
Free throws made, none missed	—
Free throws made, one missed	—
Free throws made	13
Free throw attempts	17
Three-point field goals made
Three-point field goal attempts
Rebounds	12
Offensive rebounds
Defensive rebounds
Assists	9
Steals
Blocked shots
Turnovers
Minutes played

[edit] Personal life

Gervin played interscholastic basketball while attending Martin Luther King High School; he was a Detroit Free Press All-State selection in 1970.^[6] George has a son, George Gervin, Jr. (nicknamed "Gee"), who has played for the Harlem Globetrotters and in the Swedish League for the Norrköping Dolphins.