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A closer look at Gilmore's numbers validates the points made by Issel and Gervin about his impact on both ends of the floor. Since blocked shots became an official statistic in 1973-74, Gilmore's 2,497 career rejections in the Pros ranks only behind Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo. During the ABA's nine-year lifespan, Gilmore was the only player to be a first-team, All-Star five times. He was the league's MVP as a rookie. One of the reasons Gilmore's NBA career tends to get overlooked is his prime years were all spent with the mediocre Chicago Bulls (1976-82), who had no viable scoring threat outside of Gilmore and Reggie Theus. By the time he joined Gervin in San Antonio for the 1982-83 season – when the Spurs won a then franchise-record 53 games and lost a tough six-game Western Conference championship series to the Los Angeles Lakers - Gilmore was already 33-years-old. But that doesn't mean Gilmore's overall body of NBA work lacked serious impact. He made the NBA All-Star team six times and still holds the league's career field goal percentage mark of .599. "Artis' accomplishments are simply incredible," Gervin said. "So you have to ask yourself: 'What is the criteria to make the Hall of Fame?' " When asked by LA Times columnist TJ Simers about Artis' exclusion some years back both Jerry West and Kareem Abdul Jabbar expressed surprise to learn that Artis wasn't a member of the Hoop Hall. Pat Cosgrove, a New Jersey purchasing agent and big ABA fan, is forming a committee of prominent ex-players and media to push for more Hall of Fame consideration of ABA players. He, too, remains baffled by Gilmore's exclusion. "Artis isn't going to say a whole lot to fuel the fire. There's no spokesman for the ABA guys" said Cosgrove. "He should be in the Hall for his defensive presence alone" Gilmore made the final list of Hall of Fame nominees in 1996 and '98, but has since fallen short of enough votes from the screening committee to qualify for election. The Hall of Fame announced its next group of nominees during the NBA's All-Star weekend, and Gilmore was again denied. The longer Gilmore's career is in the rear-view mirror of voters, his chances of being enshrined diminish. Now 57, the gentle giant has become almost numb about his exclusion. Family and friends say Gilmore, a businessman in Jacksonville, is more bothered by not having a permanent place in Springfield than he lets on, but he refuses to get caught up in bitterness. Three years ago, when I asked him about the Hall of Fame snub, Gilmore was a lot more diplomatic than some of his peers, saying: "It was something that touched me emotionally at one time, but I don't allow it to affect me now. I'm not sure there's an adequate explanation." Really, how can anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of basketball history not think that Gilmore belongs in the Hall of Fame? It's one of those injustices that may never be rectified, or tragically, might only get the attention of the Hall's 24 unidentified voters (18 votes are required for election) after Gilmore's death. Bob Hayes, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and Jacksonville's greatest athlete, never got serious consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame until he passed away in 2002. He narrowly missed being elected on the final ballot in 2004. Let's hope it doesn't take Gilmore leaving us for the basketball Hall of Fame to fix this egregious oversight. "If you look at Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal], he's a great basketball player because of his physical attributes," Issel said. "But Artis would have been in the NBA if he was 6-foot-6 because of his speed and moves around the basket. He's not a great player just because he was 7-foot-2." "It's a huge puzzle to me why Artis isn't in the Hall because he went on to have really good years after the [ABA-NBA] merger. In my estimation, there aren't any real holes in his career." However, there's one obvious void in the aftermath of Gilmore's splendid basketball journey. His election to the Hall of Fame is long overdue. Gene Frenette is a sports columnist at the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. He has won numerous writing awards and been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
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