This came at the begrudging of ABA commissioner Mike Storen, who knew trading Gervin would be “detrimental to the league” and “would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Virginia Squires’ owner, Earl Foreman, facing financial trouble again after already selling off Julius Erving’s rights to the Nets, felt he had to cash in on George Gervin to keep his team above water. Julius Erving (left) and George Gervin (right) post in Virginia Squires jerseys There’s also one other reason that Coach Al Bianchi decided to start Gervin at the 2 the Squires already had a marquee player holding down the 3, a twenty-two year-old with an afro the size of a globe nicknamed, “The Doctor”. Their issues as young rookie shooting guards probably had less to do with asking them to focus on scoring, and more to do with asking them to chase around speedier 2-guards on the defensive end, instead of taking advantage of their length in help-defense situations from the frontcourt. Compared to Tracy McGrady who had more of a defensive reputation as a young player, including the ability to defend guards, problems persisted on that end for Gervin and Durant. On the one hand, you can sort-of see what the coaches were thinking when they asked these anomalies to play shooting guard during their rookie seasons at the end of the day, everyone knows these bucket-getters were born to score.
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(49 GP as a SG in Virginia, 25 GP as a SF in San Antonio) Rookie-Sophomore Stats (via Basketball Reference) While Durant’s and Gervin’s scoring averages were on the bell curve with the rest of their career, their teams were putrid in the standings, winning a total of 33 games combined in their rookie seasons Gervin’s Squires went 13–17, while Durant’s Sonics posted a record of 19–61. So Virginia Squires Head Coach Al Bianchi developed him into their starting two-guard as the year went on. But, if nothing else, Gervin could shoot The Iceman was cold. Just twenty years old, George was considered too thin to play forward and not a good enough defender or ball-handler to play guard. Playing the 2, he’s not going to get beat up, box to box, the whole game.”Īs for Gervin, he actually came off the bench to begin his ABA career. “He’s like - he’s not like Magic Johnson at all - but he’s like Magic in that you can play him probably any of four positions, if not five. “Because of the way he shoots the ball, the way he handles the ball, and the fact that he is not as physical right now as he’s going to be before he’s done. “In my opinion, that’s where he’s best suited right now,” Carlesimo said. Here’s P.J.’s rationale, via the Seattle Times: Both went through similar challenges as a rookie: Durant and Gervin were both forced to play at shooting guard, out of position at the time, for franchises that no longer exist! In the Supersonics’ final year playing in Seattle, one of the few teams in sports who made wearing green look cool, a nineteen-year-old Kevin Durant started at shooting guard in all eighty games of his rookie season, a decision made by Head Coach P.J. Kevin Durant and George Gervin share a basketball bond in many ways, most obviously as kindred scoring spirits on the hardwood, thought to be uniquely skilled at their length for their era. With release points so high, no one guarding them could realistically block their shot, let alone their fadeaway defenders could only hope to contain them, to try to make it a challenge. The Iceman popularized the finger-roll at 6'7", T-Mac introduced the hesi pull-up three as a staple of modern moves at 6'8", and The Slim Reaper packaged it all into the form of a 6'11" silent assassin. Kobe Bryant once said, “(Tracy McGrady) can do everything I can do, but he was taller.” Take that sentiment, add another three inches, and you get a near 7ft sniper like Kevin Durant. Both fall on the lineage of lengthy, unguardable scorers alongside all-time greats like Tracy McGrady (version 2.0), players who could get their shot off against any other human on Earth due to their combination of length, athleticism, and tough-shot-making skills. If “The Iceman” George Gervin was the first prototype for lanky bucket-getters, “The Slim Reaper” Kevin Durant is version 3.0. Seattle Supersonic Kevin Durant (left) and Virginia Squires George Gervin (right) pulling up for a jump shot