Hall of Fame former Chicago Bulls center Artis Gilmore was omitted from the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2022.
One of the great big men of the ’70s, Gilmore on paper has the bona fides to at least have earned major consideration. A massive low post presence, he numbered among the ABA’s signature stars.
When he transitioned to the NBA midway through his pro career, he found less postseason success but continued to log prolific stats while serving as one of the best Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton foils of that decade.
Artis Gilmore’s Loaded Basketball Resume
After five All-Star seasons with the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA, Gilmore was selected in a dispersal draft by the Bulls after the 1976 NBA-ABA merger. Gilmore earned MVP honors and the 1975 ABA title for Kentucky. He subsequently suited up for 12 NBA seasons — six at an All-Star level. Seven of those seasons were logged with Chicago.
During that Chicago tenure (which included a pair of playoff berths), Gilmore averaged 19.3 points on 58.7 percent field goal shooting and a 71.2 percent free throw rate, plus 11.1 boards, 2.5 assists, 2.1 blocks and 0.6 steals a night.
So why did Gilmore miss out on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team?
It’s complicated.
Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players co-author Sam Smith — who penned the book covering the honored players with Phil Jackson — broke down whether or not Gilmore, inarguably one of the great basketball players of the 20th century through his combined pro league contributions, was seemingly snubbed.
© Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports“…Artis did a lot in the ABA. And the thing about the ABA: it’s sort of like the Bulls now, they [were] like undersized at every position. They’re talented, but, you know, all their centers were forwards. All their guards were 6-foot-1, 6-foot, 5-foot-11, whatever,” Smith indicates to Bleacher Nation. “So the stats weren’t exactly reliable all the time. You look at the scoring table — you look at it now, there’s a dozen people charting everything — there’s one guy writing down numbers. So the NBA guys are watching this and going, ‘He’s got 35 and 28? Bull, he didn’t have no 35 and 28!’ So there’s some questions about some of the numbers.”
To be fair, Gilmore did submit Chamberlain-tier stats with the Colonels. In his five years for Kentucky, he averaged 22.3 points, a bonkers 17.1 boards, 3.4 rejections, 3.0 dishes and 0.8 swipes.
“For Artis, I get he was an All-Star when he came to the Bulls,” Smith allows. “I guess my short answer is, I don’t think he deserves to be a top-75 player. I thought he was a really good player, but outside the ABA, I don’t think he moved the needle enough. Because he was limited, he was very powerful, strong, but really didn’t get around the court that well, didn’t really have much offensive game other than dunking. I thought he was kind of a limited star player. Great player, Hall of Famer, deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I thought the same thing in some respects [about] Dwight Howard…
“It’s not an insult to be in the Hall of Fame. But there’s a separate category… I mean, Ben Wallace is in the Hall of Fame, Dikembe Mutombo — four Defensive Player of the Year awards, too — but they weren’t top 75 of all-time. That’s a little more elite, for players who did so much all around to affect the game and affect winning, and all that stuff.”
We couldn’t talk to Sam Smith without the conversation turning to his bestselling tale of the dynasty Bulls’ championship 1990-91 season, The Jordan Rules. For that and way, way more tidbits, check out our full conversation on my Bulls Bros podcast!
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