50 Greatest Basketball Players Ever - 31 to 40 on our Best NBA Players list

#35 George Gervin

Career per-game stats: 25.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.0 blocks

Shooting splits: 50.4% from the field, 27.1% on 3-pointers, 84.1% from the free throw line

Accolades: 5-time All-NBA First Team (1978-1982), 4-time All-League Second Team (All-NBA 1977, 1983; All-ABA 1975, 1976), 12-time All-Star (9 times in the NBA '77-'85; 3 times in the ABA '74-76), NBA All-Star Game MVP (1980)

Records: 4-time NBA scoring champion (1978-80, 1982) - despite the introduction of the 3-point line in the '79-80 season

Nicknamed "Iceman" for his cool demeanor on the court, Gervin is one of the greatest scorers in basketball history. Another reason for this nickname being so apt is the fact that Gervin was able to play high-intensity basketball without sweating like other players.

Gervin's trademark move - the finger roll, is a bread-and-butter weapon for every professional basketball player on the planet. Except for the fact that nobody's ever been able to imitate him in doing so from as far as the free throw line.

Gervin initially played for the Pontiac (Michigan) Chaparrals of the Continental Basketball Association where he was spotted by Johnny Kerr, a scout for the Virginia Squires of the ABA. Kerr signed the Iceman to the Squires with a $40,000 a year contract.

Gervin's time in Virginia would be short-lived, however. The Squires' finances had never been stable, and they had been forced to trade their best players to stay afloat. In the space of only four months, they traded Julius Erving and Swen Nater for cash and/or draft picks.

During the 1974 ABA All-Star Weekend, rumors were rife that the Squires were in talks about dealing Gervin for cash. Gervin was eventually traded to the Spurs for $228,000 and the Squires were a defunct franchise not long after.

With Gervin as the centerpiece, the Spurs transformed from a primarily defense-oriented team into an exciting fast-breaking team that played what coach Bob Bass called "schoolyard basketball". Although the Spurs never won an ABA playoff series during Gervin's first three years there, their high-powered offense made them very attractive to the NBA, and the Spurs joined the more established league as part of the 1976 ABA–NBA merger.

Right before the final ABA season, the Spurs had acquired star power forward Larry Kenon via trade, forming an offensively dominant one-two punch of both him and Gervin in order to strengthen their lineup and compete for a championship. That season they were one win away from advancing to the 1976 ABA Finals without competing in the first round, as they had lost 4-3 to the Julius Erving-led New York Nets, who would win the championship.

Gervin's first NBA scoring crown came in the 1977–78 season, when he narrowly edged David Thompson for the scoring title by seven-hundredths of a point (27.22 to 27.15). Although Thompson came up with a memorable performance for the last game of the regular season, scoring 73 points, Gervin maintained his slight lead by scoring 63 points (including a then NBA record 33 points in the second quarter) in a loss during the last game of the regular season.

With the scoring crown in hand, he sat out some of the third, and all of the fourth quarter. In the 1978–79 NBA season, the Spurs finished 48-34 with the second seed in the Eastern Conference (they are currently a Western Conference team). They beat Dr. J's Philadelphia 76ers in the second round over seven games, with Gervin leading the league in playoff scoring with 28.6 ppg.

They were one win away from making it to the 1979 NBA Finals - up 3-1 against the Washington Bullets in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, they gave up three straight games to lose the series. Kenon would become a free agent and sign with the Bulls after the following season.

Despite disappointing playoff eliminations and not making it to the finals, Gervin was committed to the Spurs, showing no frustration towards his teammates, thus living up to his nickname and went on to lead the NBA in scoring average three years in a row from 1978 to 1980 (with a high of 33.1 points per game in 1979–80), and again in 1982. Prior to Michael Jordan, Gervin had the most scoring titles of any guard in league history.

In 1981, while sitting out three games due to injury, Gervin's replacement, Ron Brewer, averaged over 30 ppg. When Gervin returned, he scored 40+ points. When asked if he was sending a message, Gervin said, "Just the way the Lord planned it" and added, "Ice be cool" (with Ron Brewer).

In the 1981–82 season, the Spurs were championship contenders once again - as a Western Conference franchise this time around. They finished second in the conference with a 48-34 record. Gervin carried the team in scoring by leading the league with 29.4 ppg. They made it back to the Conference Finals but got swept by the number one seeded Los Angeles Lakers who wound up winning the championship that year.

In the 1982 offseason, the Spurs drafted high scoring guards Oliver Robinson of UAB and Tony Grier from South Florida and also traded for all-star center Artis Gilmore to take some offensive pressure off Gervin.

This time with the addition of Gilmore and some fresh young talent, the Spurs were once again a title contender in the 1982–83 season, finishing 53-29 with the number two seed in the Western Conference, making it back to the Conference Finals once again with Gervin leading the way, averaging 25.2 ppg, only to be defeated yet again by the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

Right before the 1985–86 season, Gervin was traded to the Chicago Bulls for forward David Greenwood after missing multiple preseason workouts amid the possibility of being relegated to the bench by new head coach, Cotton Fitzsimmons. This season would be Gervin's last season in the NBA before retiring from the league.

Although by this time he was aging and no longer at an All-Star level, Gervin was still effective on the Bulls roster, averaging 16.2 ppg. With Michael Jordan ruled out for the majority of the season, the primary scoring responsibilities fell to him. He had a 40-point game (a season-high 45 points against the Mavericks) and played all 82 games. The Bulls finished 30-52, but that losing record was enough for them to make the playoffs with the number 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The last NBA game of Gervin's career was April 20, 1986, Jordan's remarkable 63 point game against the Boston Celtics in game 2 of the first round. Gervin recorded an assist and a personal foul in five minutes of play and the Bulls would later get swept by the Celtics in the first round.

When he left the NBA, Gervin played for some years in Europe: in Italy for Banco Roma during the 1986–87 season where he averaged 26.1 points per game.

In the Spanish National Basketball League for TDK Manresa team (he was 38 years old at the time). At this point in his career, he had lost some of his quickness, but his scoring instinct remained; he averaged 25.5 points, 5 rebounds and 1.2 assists. In his last match, he scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to keep Manresa in the first Spanish division.

Gervin's legacy has inspired other athletes. Basketball great Gary Payton has stated his childhood idol was Gervin and that he was his favorite player to watch. Payton was ushered in by the Iceman for his Hall of Fame induction.