50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)
By Phil Watson
44. Artis Gilmore
Chicago Bulls 1976-82, 1987; San Antonio Spurs 1982-87; Boston Celtics 1988
The Chicago Bulls drafted Artis Gilmore, who had led Jacksonville to an NCAA championship game, in the seventh round in the 1971 NBA Draft knowing he had already signed with the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels.
Gilmore was the ABA’s MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1971-72 and led the Colonels to an ABA title in 1975.
The Bulls had to draft him again in August 1976 as the ABA players from the folded Kentucky, St. Louis and Virginia franchises went into a dispersal draft, but Chicago finally had its guy.
He was an All-Defensive pick in 1977-78 and a four-time All-Star for the Bulls, leading the NBA in field-goal percentage in 1980-81 and 1981-82.
In 1977, Chicago lost a Game 3 in the first round to the eventual champion Portland Trail Blazers, but would miss the postseason each of the next three seasons.
The Bulls swept the New York Knicks in the first round in 1981 before being swept themselves by the Boston Celtics in the second round.
Chicago missed the postseason again in 1981-82 and in July 1982, Gilmore was dealt to the Spurs.
With San Antonio, Gilmore was chosen for two more All-Star games.
San Antonio got a first-round bye in 1983 and took down the Denver Nuggets in five games in the second round, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the Western Conference Finals.
The Spurs missed the playoffs in 1984 and lost a first-round Game 5 to Denver in 1985. San Antonio was swept by the Lakers in the first round in 1986 and missed the postseason again in 1987.
In June 1987, the Spurs traded Gilmore back to Chicago, but he was waived the day after Christmas.
Gilmore caught on in January 1988 with the Celtics, who beat New York in the first round and survived a Game 7 with the Atlanta Hawks in the second round before losing to the Detroit Pistons in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals.
Gilmore played one more season in Italy before retiring in 1989. He is currently special assistant to the president at Jacksonville University and also does radio commentary for the Dolphins’ basketball team. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
The final tally on Gilmore’s NBA playoff career:
NBA Finals: 0-0
Conference Finals: 0-2
Conference Semifinals: 2-1
First Round: 2-3
Next: 43. Brooklyn Scoring Machine Never Got Close