Artis Gilmore​

One of the great big men in NBA/ABA history, the defensive-minded Artis Gilmore was a fixture at center for the Spurs for five seasons. Standing at 7-foot-2, he was a threat to be reckoned with in the post. Gilmore played his entire ABA career with the Kentucky Colonels, helping them win the ABA title in 1975, when he was MVP of the league’s playoffs. When the Colonels were disbanded after the merger of the ABA into the NBA in 1976, Gilmore joined the Chicago Bulls. He was traded to the Spurs in July 1982. He amassed 3,671 rebounds and blocked 700 shots in five seasons (1982-87) with the Spurs, No. 3 all-time in the franchise’s NBA history in both categories.​

Gilmore was an All-Star in 11 of his 17 years as a pro, his last selection coming at age 36. Scoring most of his more than 15,000 NBA points with dunks, finger-rolls and baby hook shots, the lefthanded Gilmore posted a career .599 field-goal percentage, the highest ever in the league. He shot .600 or better in six different seasons, and he led the NBA in field-goal percentage four times. His 1,747 NBA blocked shots rank him near the top in that category as well. Gilmore also earned All-ABA First Team honors in each of his five seasons with the Kentucky Colonels, and he was the league’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year in 1971-72. ​

After 909 regular-season games Gilmore left the NBA with 15,579 points (17.1 ppg), 9,161 rebounds (10.1 rpg) and 1,747 blocked shots. During his five years in the ABA, he tallied 9,362 points (22.3 ppg), 7,169 rebounds (17.1 rpg) and a league-record 750 blocks. He is one of only 24 players to score a total of 20,000 points (ABA and NBA combined). Gilmore became the first player elected by a new Hall of Fame committee convened specifically to recognize the ABA and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.