The Artis Gilmore Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Friday, May 6th, 2005
You
played in a mind-boggling 670 consecutive games as a professional, a number that
is almost unheard of when it comes to the warriors who battle underneath the
boards. It is a durability that calls to mind your Celtic teammate, Robert
Parish. Please tell me a little about Robert.
I
thought Robert was one of the most extraordinary players ever. I remember the
trade that sent him from Golden State to the Boston Celtics, and right from the
beginning he seemed to be a perfect fit for that organization. It really turned
his whole career around, and in many ways it really turned him into an
extraordinary person. It certainly transformed him into a great, great center.
He had such a good understanding of the game. He understood his role. He
played with guys like Larry [Bird], Kevin [McHale] and Dennis [Johnson]…and Nate
Archibald, of course. He knew that there were only so many shots to go around,
and that he was being counted on to do the other things that made the team so
special.
Following
six seasons in Chicago, you were traded to the San Antonio Spurs. What was
it like playing with George Gervin?
George
was a great player for many, many years. We had some special moments as
teammates. And after so many years of competing against him, it was an
honor to finally play alongside of him. He was such a phenomenal offensive
threat. They called him ‘Iceman’ because he was so cool under pressure, and
he certainly lived up to the nickname.
You
reached the Western Conference Finals following your first season with the
team, battling Kareem, Magic and an early version of the Showtime Lakers.
Please take me back to that series. What do you remember most?
Stan
Albeck was the head coach – he was Hubie’s assistant when we won it all with
the Kentucky Colonels in ’75. We had just beaten the Denver Nuggets handily
to advance, and we were confident that we could beat the Lakers and compete
for the NBA Championship. I think we split the first two games in Los
Angeles, which really gave us a lot of confidence, but then we came back
home and lost the next two games to go down, 1-3. Everyone figured that we
were done at that point, but we were able to win another big game back in
Los Angeles. Unfortunately, we were never able to win a game on our home
court. The Lakers played great basketball when they needed to, and they
were able to advance.
Your time
in Boston was brief, but we have a saying: "Once a Celtic, always a
Celtic." What was it like for you to play for this proud franchise?
Obviously
my role was very limited during my time with the Boston Celtics. But I
certainly enjoyed it. It was wonderful, and for the first time in my NBA
career I went farther than at any other time in my previous eleven years in
the NBA. That organization was truly a professional organization,
especially when compared with the other teams on which I’d played. Many of
the organizations today are very similar in how they treat the athlete, but
that wasn’t always the case. Back then, the Boston Celtics were long known
for doing things first class. The same couldn’t be said for many of the
other franchises. For example, the Celtics made certain that the player’s
uniforms were always prepared – they made sure that they were clean, and
that they were laid out and ready for each game. Everywhere else I’d been,
it was the responsibility of the player to make sure that the uniforms were
clean and ready for game day.
