He struggled on and off the court until his senior year, when a growth spurt allowed him to average 31 points and 20 rebounds and lead his school to the state quarterfinals.

[5] Gervin received a scholarship to play under Coach Jerry Tarkanian at California State University, Long Beach, but he had such a culture shock that he returned home before the first semester was over.

[7] While competing in an NCAA College Division national semifinal game in Evansville, Indiana, Gervin punched a Roanoke player.

While playing with Pontiac, Gervin was spotted by Johnny Kerr, a Vice President, Basketball Operations for the Virginia Squires of the ABA.

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 he and Gervin in order to strengthen their lineup and compete for a championship.

[14] In the 1978–79 NBA season, the Spurs finished 48–34 with the second seed in the Eastern Conference, they had made it past Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, beating them in seven games as Gervin led the league in playoff scoring with 28.6 ppg.

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.

Gervin carried the team in scoring by leading the league with 29.4 ppg, they had made it back to the Conference Finals but got swept by the number one seeded Los Angeles Lakers who would end 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, high-scoring forward Mike Mitchell, 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.

[15] 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.

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 several years in Europe: In Italy for Banco Roma during the 1986–87 season where he averaged 26.1 points per game.

[2] Gervin coached for the Spurs from 1992 to 1994 and participated in the 1992 NBA All-Star Legends Game, where he scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 16 minutes.

[24] Gervin was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996; additionally, his #44 jersey has been retired by the Spurs and he was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

[3] He remains active in the San Antonio community with his seven organizations designed specifically for underprivileged kids, including the George Gervin Youth Center.

Since retiring from professional basketball, George Gervin has been active in the San Antonio community by designing organizations for underprivileged children.