By the time the ABA collapsed, the league had developed some real superstars who were a revelation when they got to the NBA. Obviously everyone knew about Julius Erving and David Thompson, but there were many others, including George McGinnis, Dan Issel and Artis “the A-Train” Gilmore.
Gilmore, considered by many to be the second strongest player in NBA history, played two years at Jacksonville, taking the Dolphins to the 1970 NCAA championship game, losing to UCLA, 80-69.
He was part of the great
Kentucky Colonels team in the ABA along with Dan Issel and Louis Dampier, a three point pioneer, before the team was dissolved when the NBA and ABA merged in 1976.
He went on to become a six-time All-Star in the NBA and one of the better big men. He had a decent hook shot, though not on par with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Skyhook, and even when he inevitably slowed down, his strength made him very difficult to deal with.
Trivia: Gilmore married his college sweetheart and they went on to have a long marriage with five kids. Her name?
Enola Gay.
Seriously.
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