50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)
By Phil Watson
12. George Gervin
San Antonio Spurs 1976-85, Chicago Bulls 1985-86
George Gervin was a third-round pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1974 NBA Draft. Problem was, Gervin was already a pro.
Kicked out of Eastern Michigan University for punching an opposing player, Gervin found his way to the ABA’s Virginia Squires in 1973. In January 1974, he was sold by the financially flailing franchise to the Spurs.
A two-time All-ABA pick and a three-time ABA All-Star, Gervin blossomed even more after San Antonio joined the NBA in 1976.
The Iceman made seven All-NBA teams and was a nine-time All-Star for the Spurs. He finished second in the MVP race in 1977-78 and 1978-79, third in 1979-80, fifth in 1980-81, sixth in 1981-82 and ninth in 1982-83.
Gervin was also a four-time NBA scoring champion and has the ninth-best scoring average in NBA history at 26.2 points per game.
San Antonio lost in the first round in 1977, but in 1978 won a division title and a first-round bye. However, the Spurs were dropped in six games by the eventual champion Washington Bullets.
Another first-round bye in 1979 led to San Antonio beating the Philadelphia 76ers in a Game 7 to get the Bullets again, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Spurs battled, but lost Game 7 in Landover, Md.
San Antonio lost in the first round in 1980 and in 1981 had a first-round bye before being upset by the 40-42 Houston Rockets in Game 7 in the second round.
The Spurs had another first-round bye in 1982 and beat the Seattle SuperSonics in five games before they were swept by the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
San Antonio got another shot at the Lakers in the conference finals in 1983 after getting a bye and beating the Denver Nuggets, but lost to Los Angeles in six games.
The aging Spurs missed the playoffs in 1984 and lost a Game 5 to the Nuggets in the first round in 1985.
In October 1985, San Antonio traded the franchise’s early icon to the Bulls.
Chicago got to the playoffs in 1986, but was swept by the Celtics and Gervin’s NBA career was over.
He did play a year in Italy, spent some time in the Continental Basketball Association and returned to Europe for a season in Spain before retiring in 1990.
Gervin remains active in San Antonio through seven organizations aimed at helping underprivileged children.
Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996, Gervin has the distinction of being a teammate of Julius Erving during his first professional season with Virginia and of Michael Jordan during his last NBA season with the Bulls.
The final tally on Gervin’s NBA playoff career:
NBA Finals: 0-0
Conference Finals: 0-3
Conference Semifinals: 3-2
First Round: 0-4
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