Boston Celtics tickets

There's just no one else like him in the league. He's devastating. He does devastating things. Former teammate Dan Issel on Artis Gilmore's ABA success. Big men Artis Gilmore knew they were in for a battle when their opponent was Boston Celtics players Artis Gilmore, and it became even clearer the next morning, when the aches and pains served as a reminder of an encounter with one of the strongest men ever to play the game. Artis Gilmore, who played at 7-foot-2 and 240 pounds, once picked up former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jack Ham with one hand. On a basketball court, Artis Gilmore was the definition of intimidation, swatting everything in sight and attacking the backboards in a way that defied his soft-spoken demeanor.

Few would have predicted stardom for The Big A," who was raised on limited means among nine siblings in rural Florida and Alabama and started his college career at little-known Gardner-Webb in North Carolina. Artis Gilmore played his final two seasons at Division I Jacksonville University, leading the nation in rebounding both years with an all-time record average of 22.7 per game. It was enough to start a bidding war between the ABA and NBA at Boston Celtics players, and the former league won with a 10-year, $2.5-million contract offer. Artis Gilmore wasted little time emerging as a star. Artis Gilmore was named Rookie of the Year and MVP with Boston Celtics tickets in the same season (1971-72) and went on to lead the ABA in rebounding in four of his five years. Artis Gilmore set career and single-season ABA records for blocked shots.

Artis Gilmore went to the Chicago Bulls as the first pick of the 1976 ABA dispersal draft. While his 12 years in the NBA produced six All-Star trips and a career record for field-goal percentage (.599), his time with the Bulls was not always pleasant. Fans wanted a winner, and Artis Gilmore did not enjoy great NBA with Boston Celtics player success in the win-loss column until a 1982 trade to San Antonio. By the time he retired following a return to the Bulls, a tour with the Celtics and an Italian League stint in 1988-89, Artis Gilmore was one of 24 players to score 20,000 combined ABA/NBA Boston Celtics tickets points.