George Gervin
George Gervin was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States on April 27th, 1952 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 72, George Gervin biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 72 years old, George Gervin has this physical status:
George Gervin (born April 27, 1952), also known as "The Iceman"), is an American retired professional basketball player who competed in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs, and the Chicago Bulls.
In all 14 of his ABA and NBA seasons, Gervin averaged at least 14 points per game, and finished with a NBA career average of 26.2 points per game.
Gervin was voted one of the Top 50 Players in NBA History in 1996.
Early life
In Detroit, Gervin attended Martin Luther King, Jr. High School. He suffered on and off the track until his senior year, when a growth spurt enabled him to average 31 points and 20 rebounds and lead his school to the state quarterfinals. In 1970, he was a Detroit Free Press All-State pick.
Gervin was given a scholarship to study under Coach Jerry Tarkanian at California State University, Long Beach, but he returned home before the first semester was over. He transferred to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and averaged 29 points as a sophomore forward from 1971 to 1972.
Gervin punched a Roanoke player during a national semifinal game in Evansville, Indiana. Gervin was suspended for the remainder of the season and then was fired from the team. Invitations to participate in the Olympic and Pan-American teams had been refused.
Life after basketball
George Gervin has been instrumental in the San Antonio community since retiring from competitive basketball by establishing programs for homeless children. He founded the George Gervin Youth Center in 1991.
Personal life
Gervin was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.
Gervin married Joyce King in 1976. In 1984, the couple married in 1985 and remarried in 1985. They also have three children. George Gervin, Jr. (nicknamed "Gee"), the eldest child of Sweden's Harlem Globetrotters, was a fan favorite while playing for the Norrköping Dolphins. Gervin, Jr., played professionally in Mexico for many years. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, Gervin's sister, is a Texas House of Representatives member. Derrick, Gervin's younger brother, is a retired basketball player who played in the CBA and Europe for the majority.
Professional career
Gervin appeared for the Pontiac Chaparrals of the Continental Basketball Association in Michigan from 1972-73, where he was discovered by Johnny Kerr, Vice President Basketball Operations for the Virginia Squires of the ABA. Kerr began signing Gervin to the Squires in January 1973 on a $40,000-per-year basis.
Gervin's stay in Virginia would be short-lived, but it will be short-lived. The Squires' finances had never been stable, and they had been encouraged to begin trading their best players in order to keep them alive. Julius Erving and Swen Nater were traded for cash and/or draft picks within 4 months. Rumors surrounded the Squires in conversations about dealing Gervin for cash during the 1974 ABA All-Star Weekend. The rumors were untrue; Gervin was sold to the Spurs on January 30, but not before that. The ABA tried to stop the trade by arguing that by selling their last legitimate celebrity, the Squires were selling a fire sale. A court sided with the Spurs, though. The Squires were no longer active in two years.
Gervin was NBA eligible in time for the 1974 NBA draft after two seasons in the ABA. With the 40th pick in the third round, the Phoenix Suns selected Gervin in the third round, but Gervin opted to remain in the ABA and continued playing for the Spurs. The Spurs transformed from a predominantly defense-oriented team to a fast-breaking squad that played "schoolyard basketball," with Gervin as the center. Despite the fact that Gervin's first three years as president of the Spurs never won an ABA playoff series during his tenure as president, their high-powered offense made them very appealing to the NBA (along with their attendance figures in a relatively small media market), and the Spurs joined the NBA as part of the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The Spurs had acquired star power forward Larry Kenon via trade, creating an offensively strong one-two punch of both he and Gervin right before the final ABA season, forming an offensively dominant one-two punch of both he and Gervin in order to upgrade their lineup and contend for a championship. They were just one win away from winning the first round of the 1976 ABA Finals if they had lost 4–3 to the Julius Erving-led New York Nets, who would have hoped to advance to the ABA Finals without participating in the first round.
Gervin's first NBA scoring crown came in 1977–78, when he barely edged David Thompson for the scoring title by seven-hundredths of a point (27.22 to 27.15). Although Thompson put up a memorable appearance in the second quarter of the regular season, scoring 73 points, Gervin defended his little lead by scoring 63 points (including a new NBA record 33 points in the second quarter) in a loss during his last game of the regular season. With the scoring crown in hand, he sat out a few of the third quarters and all of the fourth quarter. The Spurs won the second seed in the Eastern Conference in 1978-1979, defeating them in seven games as Gervin led the league in playoff scoring with 28.6 ppg. They were just one win away from making it to the 1979 NBA Finals as they went up 3–1 against the Washington Bullets in the Conference Finals, but they lost three straight to finish the series. After the season, Kenon will be a free agent and sign with the Bulls.
Despite disappointing playoff results and not making it to the playoffs, Gervin was committed to the Spurs, showed no hostility toward his teammates, and went on to lead the NBA in scoring average from 1978 to 1980, with a record of 33.1 points per game in 1979–80. Gervin had the most scoring titles of any guard in league history prior to Michael Jordan. Ron Brewer, Gervin's replacement, averaged over 30 ppg in 1981, despite missing three games due to injury. Gervin scored 40+ points when he returned to action. "Just the way the Lord intended it," Gervin answered as he wondered if he was sending a letter. (With Ron Brewer). The Spurs would return to play in a championship in 1981–82, but by then, the Spurs had just become a Western Conference franchise, finishing second in the conference with a 48–34 record. Gervin led the team in scoring with 29.4 ppg, but they had made it back to the Conference Finals, but the Los Angeles Lakers, who had hoped to win the championship that year, defeated them in scoring. The Spurs drafted high-scoring guards Oliver Robinson of UAB and Tony Grier of South Florida, then traded for all-star center Artis Gilmore to take some offensive pressure off Gervin in the 1982 offseason. This time, with Gilmore's return to the Spurs and some new young talent, the Spurs were once more a title contender in the Western Conference, finishing 53-29, with Gervin leading the way in the conference finals but losing again by the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Gervin was traded to the Chicago Bulls for forward David Greenwood right before the 1985–86 season, after missing multiple preseason workouts in the event of being recalled to the bench by new head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. Michael Jordan, the Bulls' rising star, said he was "unhappy" after the trade. Gervin will be in the NBA for the final season before being banned from the sport this season. Despite the fact that he was getting older and no longer an all-star player, Gervin was still good on the Bulls roster, with a season-high 45 points against the Dallas Mavericks) and played in all 82 games. The Bulls lost 30–52, but it was enough for a playoff berth to clinch the number 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. In game 2 of the first round, Jordan's memorable 63 points match against the Boston Celtics was his last NBA game of Gervin's career. In five minutes of play, Gervin had an assist and a personal foul, and the Bulls would be swept by the Celtics in the first round.
Gervin was a member of the Italian National Basketball League, and he was in Spain for Banco Roma during the 1986–87 season, where he averaged 26.1 points per game, as well as in the Spanish National Basketball League for TDK Manresa (he was 38 years old at the time). He had lost some of his quickness, but his scoring instincts remained; he averaged 25.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, and kept Manresa in the first Spanish division at this point in his career; he had scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Gervin played for the Quad City Thunder of the now defunct Continental Basketball Association in Europe (different from the CBA with whom he began his playing career).
Gervin, who was primarily known for his scoring abilities, was nicknamed "Iceman" for his cool demeanor on the court. He had been given the nickname before because of his inability to play basketball at a high level without sweating.
Gervin's signature move was the finger roll, which he executed with a touch of delicacy, touch, and range. Gervin's ability with the rifle, which was usually used by others to shoot short layups, extended all the way to the free-throw line.
Gervin's legacy has influenced many others. Gary Payton, a basketball legend, has said that Gervin was his childhood hero and that he was his favorite player to watch. Former NFL and Heisman-winning quarterback Ty Detmer also adored Gervin. Detmer's autobiography says he was delighted to get Gervin's autograph one day as a youth in San Antonio.