Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images
Personal recommendation: Nine-time All-Star, Five-time First Team All-NBA, Two-time All-NBA 2nd Team, All-Star Game MVP
Job ratings: 26.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.8 bpg on 51.1 FG%
Closer to winning: Two Western Conference Finals appearances, one Eastern Conference Finals appearance
The Iceman George Gervin he finished Top 3 in MVP voting for three consecutive seasons from 1977 and 1980, leading the league in scoring in all three of those campaigns. He didn't find much playoff success in those years, however, as his San Antonio Spurs only won one playoff series during that time. To this day, Gervin is remembered more for his goalscoring than his team's success.
That may be unfair, however, as Gervin made two Western Conference Finals appearances and one Eastern Conference Finals appearance in his career, all as a member of the Spurs (they moved to the Western Conference in 1980-81).
Gervin's best finals opportunity of his career came in 1978-79, when he and the Spurs took on the reigning champion Washington Bullets in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a series in which Gervin was impressive, averaging 31.0 points and 6.3 rebounding percentage. are 52.4.
Game 7 was a classic, too, where Gervin went off for 42 points on 16-of-31 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three steals but it wasn't enough, as Washington won 107-105 to close out the rest. a trip to the NBA Finals.
Hall of Famer Bob Dandridge hit the game-winner late in that game and Gervin couldn't get the ball to give San Antonio the final shot, as Washington closed out the win and the series.
Gervin was a better playoff player than he is remembered today (not winning a title will do that), given that he played eight straight games with the Spurs when he joined the NBA in 1976-77 – and averaged 27.9 points on 50.8 percent shooting in appearances -NBA postseason.
He didn't have enough help to get him past that point to win a championship in his NBA career.
If NBA players were allowed to play for Team USA in the Olympics when they were growing up, Gervin might not be on this list. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He also had no luck winning any team honors during his time in the ABA, reaching one semifinal in 1976, falling in seven games Julius Erving and the New Jersey Nets. Two recent NBA legends had a back-and-forth in that series, with Iceman averaging 27 and nine and Dr. J rolled 32, 11 and five to win.
Source link
