The Iceman himself actually spent two seasons in the NBA as a small forward. Seens kind of awkward given his height. In any event, it's not like George Gervin didn't thrive, at least statistically.
Gervin had been in the ABA for four years with Virginia and San Antonio. When the Spurs joined the NBA in the fall of 1976, George was at the same position, small forward. There was no stopping him.
Long before George went to Chicago in 1985/86 and joined Michael Jordan in his second year, Gervin was much like His Airness in scoring. Though he averaged 23.1 points-per-game in his first NBA campaign, Gervin was merely getting warmed up.
A move to shooting guard helped. Gervin averaged a league-leading 27.2 PPG in 1977/78. And if anyone wanted more from him, they'd soon get it.
Gervin moved back to small forward the next season. Did his scoring dip? Not a chance! It actually went up to 29.1. And that was good enough for his second scoring title. And how about a 34-point performance in game four of the Eastern Conference SemiFinals vs. The Doctor and company?
The move really did payoff. It ended up being the closest poor George got to an NBA Finals. After beating Philadelphia, they ran right into the defending world champion Washington Bullets. In game seven, Gervin put up 42 points, but Elvin Hayes and company won by just two points, 107-105.
But it ended up being The Iceman's last year at forward. Though he'd play another seven seasons, including a career-high 32.3 PPG in 1981/82, George was a perfect guard, though his scoring began to dip in the mid 1980s.
Gervin's final year in the NBA was 1985/86, as he was traded to Chicago despite averaging 21.2 PPG in 1984/85. But it gave Michael Jordan's fans a chance to see someone who'd he'd soon be compared to in action together.
However, it wasn't a situation Gervin liked. He scored only 4 points his first game as a Chicago Bull. Jordan soon went down with an injury. Michael played only 18 games that year. George averaged 16.2 PPG before calling it a career.
References
Eisenband, Jeff. “George Gervin's One Season With Michael Jordan Convinced Him To Retire From NBA.” ThePostGame.com, Sports Media Ventures, Inc., 11 Jan. 2017. Web. 30 Sept. 2018. <www.thepostgame.com/michael-jordan-convinced-george-gervin-retire>.
Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. Web. 30 Sept. 2018.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 30 Sept. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
Gervin had been in the ABA for four years with Virginia and San Antonio. When the Spurs joined the NBA in the fall of 1976, George was at the same position, small forward. There was no stopping him.
Long before George went to Chicago in 1985/86 and joined Michael Jordan in his second year, Gervin was much like His Airness in scoring. Though he averaged 23.1 points-per-game in his first NBA campaign, Gervin was merely getting warmed up.
A move to shooting guard helped. Gervin averaged a league-leading 27.2 PPG in 1977/78. And if anyone wanted more from him, they'd soon get it.
Gervin moved back to small forward the next season. Did his scoring dip? Not a chance! It actually went up to 29.1. And that was good enough for his second scoring title. And how about a 34-point performance in game four of the Eastern Conference SemiFinals vs. The Doctor and company?
The move really did payoff. It ended up being the closest poor George got to an NBA Finals. After beating Philadelphia, they ran right into the defending world champion Washington Bullets. In game seven, Gervin put up 42 points, but Elvin Hayes and company won by just two points, 107-105.
But it ended up being The Iceman's last year at forward. Though he'd play another seven seasons, including a career-high 32.3 PPG in 1981/82, George was a perfect guard, though his scoring began to dip in the mid 1980s.
Gervin's final year in the NBA was 1985/86, as he was traded to Chicago despite averaging 21.2 PPG in 1984/85. But it gave Michael Jordan's fans a chance to see someone who'd he'd soon be compared to in action together.
However, it wasn't a situation Gervin liked. He scored only 4 points his first game as a Chicago Bull. Jordan soon went down with an injury. Michael played only 18 games that year. George averaged 16.2 PPG before calling it a career.
References
Eisenband, Jeff. “George Gervin's One Season With Michael Jordan Convinced Him To Retire From NBA.” ThePostGame.com, Sports Media Ventures, Inc., 11 Jan. 2017. Web. 30 Sept. 2018. <www.thepostgame.com/michael-jordan-convinced-george-gervin-retire>.
Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. Web. 30 Sept. 2018.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 30 Sept. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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