 McGinnis with theIndiana Pacers during a game in the 1972–73 season versus theKentucky Colonels | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-08-12)August 12, 1950 Harpersville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | December 14, 2023(2023-12-14) (aged 73) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | George Washington (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
| College | Indiana (1970–1971) |
| NBA draft | 1973: 2nd round, 22nd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Playing career | 1971–1982 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 30 |
| Career history | |
| 1971–1975 | Indiana Pacers |
| 1975–1978 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1978–1980 | Denver Nuggets |
| 1980–1982 | Indiana Pacers |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career ABA and NBA statistics | |
| Points | 17,009 (20.2 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 9,233 (11.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 3,089 (3.7 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
George F. McGinnis (August 12, 1950 – December 14, 2023) was an American professionalbasketball player who played 11 seasons in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) andNational Basketball Association (NBA). He playedcollege basketball for theIndiana Hoosiers, earning third-teamAll-American honors in 1971, before starting his pro career in the ABA with theIndiana Pacers. A three-timeABA All-Star with the Pacers, McGinnis was named theABA Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1975 and won twoABA championships with the team. He was a three-timeNBA All-Star with thePhiladelphia 76ers. He was named to theABA All-Time Team and inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
George F. McGinnis was born inHarpersville, Alabama, on August 12, 1950, but grew up in Indianapolis, where he attendedWashington High School.[1] He and teammateSteve Downing led Washington to a 31–0 record and a state championship in 1969.[2] McGinnis set an Indiana state tournament scoring record with 148 points in his final four games.[3] He was also namedMr. Basketball for the state of Indiana that year.[4] McGinnis lost his father in the midst of his senior season when Burnie died in a construction accident.[5]
McGinnis also played football in high school, serving as wide receiver and defensive end, and he later stated that his best sport was "probably football", which he didn't even like as much as basketball.[6]
In the 1970–71 season atIndiana University Bloomington, McGinnis became the first sophomore to lead the Big Ten in scoring andrebounding.[7] He averaged 29.9 points per game in his lone season with theHoosiers, earningAll-American and All-Big Ten Honors in 1971.[8] He played for coachLou Watson, the year before Indiana hiredBob Knight.[9]
McGinnis immediately became one of the marquee players of the ABA, playing a key role on theIndiana Pacers' championship teams in each of his first two seasons with his hometown franchise.[10] He was named the ABA Playoffs MVP in 1973, averaging 23.9 points and 12.3 rebounds in 18 playoff games to help the Pacers repeat as champs.[11] His best season came in 1974–75, when McGinnis scored a career-high 29.8 points and also recorded a career-high 6.3 assists per game en route to ABA MVP honors.[12] In the1975 ABA Playoffs, he nearly averaged a triple-double (32.3 points, 15.9 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in 18 games), but the Pacers fell short of the title, losing to Kentucky in the ABA Finals.[10] However, in these playoffs, McGinnis established multiple statistical feats. Against theSan Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the 1975 ABA Western Division Semifinals on April 12, 1975,[13] McGinnis recorded the first 50+ pointtriple-double in NBA/ABA Playoff history with 51 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists,[12] a feat later matched byRussell Westbrook of theOklahoma City Thunder in 2017.[14]
McGinnis also became the first player in NBA/ABA history to record 200+ points, 100+ rebounds, and 50+ assists in a single playoff series, which he accomplished twice in back-to-back series.[15] In six games against the San Antonio Spurs in the 1975 ABA Western Division Semifinals, he registered totals of 230 points (38.3 per game), 113 rebounds (18.8 per game), and 55 assists (9.2 per game).[16] In seven games against theDenver Nuggets in the 1975 ABA Western Division Finals, McGinnis registered totals of 214 points (30.6 per game), 103 rebounds (14.7 per game), and 61 assists (8.7 per game).[17]Giannis Antetokounmpo of theMilwaukee Bucks is the only other player to replicate this, doing so in the2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals.[18] McGinnis became the first player in NBA/ABA history to lead the playoffs in total points (581), total rebounds (286), and total assists (148)[19] — a feat matched only byNikola Jokić of theDenver Nuggets in the2023 NBA Playoffs.[20][21]
Two years into his professional career, McGinnis was selected by thePhiladelphia 76ers as the 22nd overall pick in the second round of the1973 NBA draft.[22] In October 1974, the 76ers were ready to send McGinnis' draft rights to theNew York Knicks with the stipulation that the latter ballclub signs him before the agreed-upon deadline.[23] The deal fell through when he decided to stay with the Pacers and signed a two-year contract with an $85,000 buyout clause which was exercised following the1974–75 season.[23][24] Preferring to play in New York City because of its financial endorsement opportunities, McGinnis sought a preliminary injunction and restraining order against the NBA on May 23, 1975, that would have permitted him to negotiate with any of the league's 18 teams.[25] The lawsuit was dropped a week later on May 30 when he signed a six‐year $2.4 million contract with the Knicks in a challenge to the league's constitution.[26] In his first action as new NBA commissioner on June 5,Larry O'Brien disapproved the contract and ordered the Knicks to forfeit its first selection in the1976 NBA draft and reimburse the 76ers for all expenses relevant to the dispute. McGinnis signed a six‐year, $3.2 million guaranteed, no‐cut, no‐trade, no-option contract with the 76ers five weeks later on July 10, 1975.[24][27]
In his first postseason with them in 1975, he scored 34 points in one game but fouled out of another as the 76ers lost to theBuffalo Braves in three games. It was McGinnis who ultimately held sway when the 76ers elected to pay millions of dollars to acquireJulius Erving, as both head coachGene Shue and GM Pat Williams approached him about the negotiations, and he stated that he was fine with them going forward.[28] McGinnis made the All-NBA First Team in his debut season with the 76ers in 1976, and was selected to two All-Star games in his three seasons with the team.[22] While in Philadelphia, he teamed up with fellow ABA alumniJulius Erving andCaldwell Jones.[29] The attention was particularly high for the first season with Erving and McGinnis, with the latter stating "I think most of white America thought of us as a bunch of bigmouth, cocky, high-priced niggers. There will never, ever be another team like that." McGinnis helped propel the 76ers through the playoffs to theNBA Finals in 1977 by averaging 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per playoff game, but McGinnis suffered a severe groin pull in the midst of the Finals that had to see him take cortisone and xylocaine shots to numb his left leg from his hip to knee that affected his jumping. He scored 28 points in Game 6 but missed a shot at the end of a close game that saw thePortland Trail Blazers clinch the championship; McGinnis, defending himself as not being the reason the team lost, admitted that he had "played poorly the whole series".[30] He was traded at the end of the 1977–78 season. McGinnis was reported to have snuck cigarettes in practice to smoke and by this point, the 76ers had been ready to try and trade him for a year with his practice habits.
McGinnis was traded to theDenver Nuggets in 1978 forBobby Jones andRalph Simpson along a switch of first round draft picks. In his one full season with the Nuggets, he averaged 22.6 points with 11.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 76 games while being named to the All-Star Game. However, he tore ligaments in his left ankle near the end of the season and missed the entire playoffs, complete with having a leg put in a cast that saw him gain weight.[31] On January 9, 1980, McGinnis scored an NBA career-high 43 points (His career high in combined ABA/NBA is 58 points in the ABA), along with grabbing 12 rebounds, in a game against theHouston Rockets.[32] 56 games into the 1979–80 season, he was traded.
Hoping to boost sagging attendance in their early NBA years, the Pacers re-acquired McGinnis by trading away young forwardAlex English.[33][22] However, McGinnis was beyond his prime, averaging a comparatively low 13.1 points per game during the1980-81 NBA season,[34] and was unable to help the Pacers past their first round matchup against the 76ers in the1981 NBA Playoffs, only scoring ten points in the two-game series,[35] while English went on to be a multiple time all-star andfranchise player for the Nuggets.[36] By March 1982, he was asked about his state of play: "Being the type of sensitive person I am, if I don't feel good vibes from the people I'm playing for, I don't shoot well, I don't pass well, I don't do nothing well. If I'd had the inner strength, there's no telling what I would have done.... It hasn't been easy for me."
At the end of the 1982 season, the Pacers called McGinnis to say that they were not going to re-sign him. He never played again, essentially retiring at the age of 31.[37]
McGinnis is one of four players (the others areRoger Brown,Reggie Miller, andMel Daniels) to have his jersey (No. 30) retired by the Pacers.[38] All four are also members of theBasketball Hall of Fame.[38]
On April 1, 2017, it was announced that McGinnis was part of the 2017 class for theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongsideTracy McGrady,Bill Self, andRebecca Lobo.[39] He was inducted on September 8.[40]
McGinnis married Lynda Dotson in 1976, and they were together until her death in 2019.[1]
McGinnis's health declined in his last years, primarily due to back problems that required multiple surgeries.[1] He died of heart complications at a hospital in Indianapolis, on December 14, 2023, at age 73.[1][41][42]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| † | Denotes seasons in which McGinnis's team won anABA championship |
Source[43]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–72† | Indiana (ABA) | 73 | 29.8 | .465 | .158 | .645 | 9.7 | 1.9 | 16.5 | |||
| 1972–73† | Indiana (ABA) | 82 | 40.8 | .495 | .250 | .665 | 12.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 27.6 | ||
| 1973–74 | Indiana (ABA) | 80 | 40.8 | .468 | .147 | .683 | 15.0 | 3.3 | 2.0 | .5 | 25.9 | |
| 1974–75 | Indiana (ABA) | 79 | 40.4 | .451 | .354 | .724 | 14.3 | 6.3 | 2.6 | .7 | 29.8* | |
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia | 77 | 77 | 38.3 | .417 | .740 | 12.6 | 4.7 | 2.6 | .5 | 23.0 | |
| 1976–77 | Philadelphia | 79 | 78 | 35.1 | .458 | .681 | 11.5 | 3.8 | 2.1 | .5 | 21.4 | |
| 1977–78 | Philadelphia | 78 | 76 | 32.5 | .463 | .716 | 10.4 | 3.8 | 1.8 | .3 | 20.3 | |
| 1978–79 | Denver | 76 | 33.6 | .474 | .665 | 11.4 | 3.7 | 1.7 | .7 | 22.6 | ||
| 1979–80 | Denver | 45 | 31.6 | .459 | .143 | .541 | 10.3 | 4.9 | 1.5 | .4 | 15.6 | |
| 1979–80 | Indiana | 28 | 28.0 | .437 | .125 | .575 | 8.5 | 4.0 | 1.1 | .2 | 13.2 | |
| 1980–81 | Indiana | 69 | 26.7 | .453 | .000 | .538 | 7.7 | 3.0 | 1.4 | .4 | 13.1 | |
| 1981–82 | Indiana | 76 | 4 | 17.6 | .373 | .000 | .453 | 5.2 | 2.7 | 1.3 | .4 | 4.7 |
| Career (ABA) | 314 | 38.2 | .470 | .290 | .682 | 12.9 | 3.5 | 2.2 | .6 | 25.2 | ||
| Career (NBA) | 528 | 235 | 30.7 | .448 | .080 | .651 | 9.8 | 3.8 | 1.7 | .4 | 17.2 | |
| Career (overall) | 842 | 235 | 33.5 | .458 | .273 | .664 | 11.0 | 3.7 | 1.9 | .5 | 20.2 | |
| All-Star (ABA) | 3 | 32.0 | .460 | .000 | .529 | 12.7 | 2.7 | 1.7 | .7 | 18.3 | ||
| All-Star (NBA) | 3 | 2 | 23.3 | .367 | .471 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 | .0 | 10.0 | ||
| All-Star (overall) | 6 | 2 | 27.7 | .425 | .000 | .500 | 9.7 | 2.5 | 2.3 | .3 | 14.2 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972† | Indiana (ABA) | 20 | 31.7 | .406 | .267 | .627 | 11.4 | 2.6 | 15.5 | |||
| 1973† | Indiana (ABA) | 18 | 40.6 | .451 | .000 | .732 | 12.3 | 2.2 | 23.9 | |||
| 1974 | Indiana (ABA) | 14 | 41.8 | .456 | .286 | .744 | 11.9 | 3.4 | 1.1 | .4 | 24.0 | |
| 1975 | Indiana (ABA) | 18 | 40.6 | .468 | .315 | .688 | 15.9 | 8.2 | 2.0 | .6 | 32.3 | |
| 1976 | Philadelphia | 3 | 40.0 | .475 | .611 | 13.7 | 4.0 | .3 | 1.3 | 23.0 | ||
| 1977 | Philadelphia | 19 | 31.7 | .374 | .570 | 10.4 | 3.6 | 1.2 | .3 | 14.2 | ||
| 1978 | Philadelphia | 10 | 27.3 | .424 | .837 | 7.8 | 3.0 | 1.5 | .1 | 14.7 | ||
| 1981 | Indiana | 2 | 19.5 | .200 | – | .500 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .0 | 5.0 | |
| Career (ABA) | 70 | 38.3 | .449 | .290 | .695 | 12.9 | 4.1 | 1.6 | .5 | 23.7 | ||
| Career (NBA) | 34 | 30.4 | .395 | – | .640 | 9.6 | 3.5 | 1.2 | .3 | 14.6 | ||
| Career (overall) | 104 | 35.7 | .435 | .290 | .682 | 11.8 | 3.9 | 1.4 | .4 | 20.7 | ||
· Basketball Reference
