George Gervin: Michael Jordan showed me it was time to retire
George Gervin is living proof that you can be one of the pioneers of the NBA, one of the greatest guards to ever lace them up, and still be put in your place by Michael Jordan.
After playing with the San Antonio Spurs organization for the entirety of his 13-year ABA/NBA career - besides his rookie year of which he played for the Virginia Squires of the ABA - Gervin was traded to the Chicago Bulls prior to the 1985-86 season. A team that already had a dominant presence in a sophomore Michael Jordan, who was 11 years Gervin's junior.
"The son of a bitch is crazy," Gervin told Jeff Eisenband of The Post Game. "He played just as hard at practice as he did in the game. I'll never forget it, I'm at practice with him one time, I'm lackadaisical going through it and stuff. I say, 'Dang, young fella.' He said, 'Hey, old man, go sit down over there.' I sat down. I was done. He helped me understand I was done.
"You've only got so long to be on top. I was on top for about 12 years. You only have your turn. My turn was pretty much up. I retired after that."
Gervin was coming off a solid season - for a 32-year-old - where he put up 21.2 points per game on 50 percent shooting, so he was no slouch. However, with young players like Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Hakeem Olajuwon starting to take over the league, Gervin realized how outmatched he was physically.
His brief stint with the Bulls proved that the writing was on the wall for the "Iceman."
"I didn't belong there," Gervin continued. "I should have never went. I knew it. They got a shell of me down there. I had some great games. I still averaged about 16. Shot about 87 percent from the free throw line. I could still play. But I was half a man. I'm being honest. It was at the end. Being at the end, it was how you accept it. None of us can last forever. Some of us try. Some of us just hate to give it up."
The Eastern Michigan University alum enjoyed a 14-year career where he averaged 25.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals, along with winning four scoring titles.