Sept. 8, 2017 - Pacers legend George McGinnis gives his acceptance speech on the night of his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
I was big George Mc Ginnis fan and a big Nuggets fan so when the Nuggets traded for him I was excited. I soon realized that The Nuggets made a mistake by trading Bobby Jones for him. George was older and injuries were catching up to him.
@@briansd2772 And Don as a player too! Last year of the ABA - Don leads the ABA in assists per game and steals per game. First year of the merger - guess who leads the *NBA* in both?
What an awesome speech !!!!! George speaks so well ...... Really enjoyed hearing all of his stories from the 1950's, 1960's & 1970's !!!!!!! Wish it was longer in time. So interesting. Would love to hear George tell more stories about his life........The one hand set-shot !!!!!!
George McGinnis (RIP) was a statistical monster, especially in the ABA. I've studied his game logs and have found out that he had a lot of insane stat lines and accomplishments, but they never get talked about because most of them happened in the ABA. (Last updated on Jun. 20th, 2024) George McGinnis is the only player in NBA history to record 30+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists/5+ steals in a game (since steals were first officially tracked in 1973-74). He had 38 points/21 rebounds/10 assists/6 steals in a game against the Buffalo Braves on Feb. 8th, 1976. There have only been three times in NBA history (since steals were first officially tracked in 1973-74) that a player recorded 20+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists/5+ steals in a game, and McGinnis has 2 of those spots. Lafayette "Fat" Lever (another underrated stat sheet stuffer) is the only other player to do it, against the Cavaliers on Mar. 2nd, 1988. George McGinnis had insane career highs of: • 58 points vs. Chaparrals on Nov. 28th, 1972 (Pacers' franchise record) • 16 offensive rebounds vs. Cougars on Jan. 12th, 1974 (Pacers' franchise record) • 37 total rebounds vs. Cougars on Jan. 12th, 1974 (Pacers' franchise record) • 13 assists (x2, in 1974-75) (Playoff high is 14 assists, done twice in 1975 playoffs) • 8 steals (x2, in his 58 point game and also on Jan. 22nd, 1975 vs. Nuggets) • 5 blocks on Oct. 20th, 1974 vs. Colonels • 13 turnovers on Mar. 25th, 1973 vs. Nets (Pacers' franchise record) Defensive rebounds: 22, and it was most likely in a Nov. 27th, 1973 game against the Conquistadors (29 points/29 total rebounds), but I am not 100% certain. I do know that it was definitely in 1973-74. Talk about filling up the stat sheet. George McGinnis on Jan. 12, 1974 had a cartoon-like game with 52 points and 37 rebounds (16 offensive) against the Carolina Cougars. He's one of only six players in NBA/ABA history (the others being Wilt, Mikan, Baylor, Pettit, and Pacer teammate Mel Daniels) to record 50+ points and 30+ rebounds in a game, and is still the last player to do it. In other words, no player has had 50+ points and 30+ rebounds in the same game since McGinnis accomplished it. Interestingly, he also recorded 9 turnovers in this game. Note: George Mikan is questionable for this stat - It was believed that he had 36 rebounds in his 61-point game on Jan. 20th, 1952, against the Rochester Royals. The 36 rebounds used to be in the Basketball-Reference box score, but it was recently removed from the box score, about a year ago. The only source I could find saying that he had 36 rebounds in this game is from a website called NBAHoopsOnline. To be fair, rebounds weren't counted in Mikan's first two seasons, and he had three 50+ point games in that span, so it there is a small chance that he (unofficially) had a 50+ point/30+ rebound game before rebounds were tracked in 1950-51. George McGinnis on Feb. 24th, 1975 had 41 points/25 rebounds/13 assists in a game against the San Diego Conquistadors. He's one of only eight players in NBA/ABA history (the others being Luka, Jokić, DeMarcus Cousins, Kareem, Wilt, Oscar, and Baylor) to record 40+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists in a game. George McGinnis is most likely the ABA's all-time leader in triple doubles (regular season + playoffs) with 14 total. It should be noted that the ABA has a lack of game log data, especially for the league's early years, so that's why I say most likely. What's interesting is that 13 of these 14 triple doubles came in the 1974-75 season (9 in the regular season, 4 in the playoffs). The other one was in the 1974 ABA Western Division Finals against the Utah Stars (Apr. 22nd, 1974). McGinnis also led the NBA in triple doubles in 1975-76, with 5 (in a three-way tie with a rookie Alvan Adams of the Phoenix Suns and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers). Finally, McGinnis had two more triple-doubles in the 1979-80 season, after he had suffered the achilles injury in 1979 and was just a shell of himself. When you combine his 14 ABA triple doubles with his 7 NBA triple doubles, he now a career total of 21 (including 5 ABA playoff triple doubles). George McGinnis was the first player to record a 50+ point triple double in NBA/ABA playoff history, he did this in the 1975 ABA playoffs. 51 points/17 rebounds/10 assists against the Spurs on Apr. 12th, 1975. But this is lost in history and most fans think that Westbrook was the first player to do it in 2017 when McGinnis did it over 4 decades before Westbrook. George McGinnis averaged 32.3 points/15.9 rebounds/8.2 assists/2.0 steals, but also 6.2 turnovers per game, in the 1975 ABA playoffs. In these playoffs, he led the league in virtually every statistical category (PTS, FGM, FGA, 3PM, 3PA, FTM, FTA, ORB, DRB, TRB, AST, TOV, and Fouls). Ironically, he did not lead the playoffs in minutes - this honor went to teammate Billy Knight, who was also a rookie. McGinnis carried the Pacers to an unexpected finals appearance, but no one talks about this historic playoff run because it was in the ABA. Probably the most underrated carry job ever; it reminds me of LeBron in 2015 and 2018. Nikola Jokić in the 2023 playoffs became the second to lead the playoffs in total points, total rebounds, and total assists, but none of the sports analysts mentioned how McGinnis did it first. Update: Luka Doncić became the third player to achieve the feat in the 2024 playoffs, while also leading the playoffs in steals. It is truly unprecedented and remarkable how this has been accomplished twice in a row after a 47-year drought. George McGinnis is one of only four players in NBA/ABA history to record 30+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists in a playoff game (the others are Jokić, Kareem, and Wilt), with both happening in the 1975 ABA Playoffs. McGinnis (x2) and Jokić (x3) are the only players to do multiple times. When you include the ABA, George McGinnis is one of only two players in NBA/ABA history to officially record 50+ points and 8+ steals in a game, since steals have been officially tracked. The only other player to do it is Michael Jordan (who did it twice). McGinnis had 58 points/16 rebounds (10 offensive)/8 steals, and also 9 turnovers, on Nov. 28th, 1972 in an overtime win against the Dallas Chaparrals (The 58 points is also still the Pacers' single-game scoring record, 50+ years later. Not Reggie Miller's 57, which coincidentally happened exactly 20 years later, to the day: Nov. 28th, 1992 vs. Hornets) George McGinnis is one of only four players in NBA/ABA history with career averages of 20.0+ points/10.0+ rebounds/3.0+ assists/1.5+ steals per game, since steals have been officially tracked (The others are Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Billy Cunningham).
This was long overdue! George McGinnis an Indiana basketball legend (prob the best from Indiana after Larry Bird & Big O!). He had some LeBron to him in terms of all around game and beast athlete/frame. I’m glad Slick Leonard at least got to see George Mel Daniels & Roger Brown to get in the HOF! Glad George gave Rick his flowers too.
My favorite Big Mac story.. His Senior year of HS, he scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds in the Indiana/Kentucky high school all-star game at Hinkle Fieldhouse, after which Kentucky Forward Joe Voskuhl publicly told reporters ‘I think he’s over-rated.’ George went out the next night at Freedom Hall in Louisville and scored 53 points and pulled down 31 rebounds. Joe Voskuhl had no comment after the game.
Mr George Mcginnis !! Wow! Thanks for all the years of exciting NBA basketball. I mimicked your moves on the court a many a day and they still effective today. Strong Big Man Moves. I miss you sir. God Bless.
1:26 Well, that's 2 of the "unanimous" All ABA Team picks talking about the highest non-unanimous pick for that team.... When The Iceman and The Doctor respect your game, you gotta be doing SOMETHING right!
For his NBA career only (not including his ABA seasons), McGinnis averaged 17.2 PTS/9.8 REB/3.8 AST/1.7 STL per game, in 528 NBA games played. The only other NBA player to average those numbers or better for his NBA career (not including ABA) was Larry Bird himself! Let that sink in! Bird's career averages were 24.3 PTS/10.0 REB/6.3 AST/1.7 STL per game, in 897 games played. Also, keep in mind that McGinnis's last three seasons were injury-plagued after he tore his achilles at the end of the 1978-79 season while on the Denver Nuggets. Before the injury, he had averaged 21.8 PTS/11.5 REB/4.0 AST/2.0 STL per game in his first four seasons in the NBA, from 1975-76 to 1978-79. This makes the stat even more impressive, because even with his downgraded numbers, only Larry Bird has averaged them.
Playing against Bill Walton didn't help. The only other Western conference team that may have beaten them would've been Denver. Philly woulda taken any other Western conf team that yr.
I'm kind of surprised George McGinnis lived this long. He must have stopped smoking so much after he stopped playing in the NBA (?) He was so addicted to smoking that he would spend halftime in the hallway smoking ! It's hard to believe anyone with that mentality would spend time in the offseason training, if he wouldn't even stop smoking. What a waste of talent !!
4:56 Interesting when Spensor Haywood is the LOWEST of the folks introducing you to The Hall. Not a lot of players that can say THAT - though Bird in the background as George heads to the stage is one of them.
@ Rafael Vega good observation but to me he always has a disinterested facial expression. Because of that I think that some people probably question his motivation.
ua-cam.com/video/kfCACtXTEmQ/v-deo.html When Dr J mentions here how bad the chemistry was on this team, I'm pretty sure he was talking about George McGinnis. I have no way to prove that but McGinnis was the only significant player they got rid of prior to winning the championship. 2 + 2 usually equals 4
I like Cunningham as a player, but he wasn't the right coach for the amount of talent they had, neither was Gene Shue, I love Bobby Jones, but George was a generation talent, he was Lebron before Lebron
@@Amick44 No disrespect to Lebron, I was pointing out the similarities between him and George, the problem George had with NBA coaches was they wanted him to play power forward and sometime center, when he wanted to play point guard, he had that kind of handles. That 76ers team also had Jelly Bean Joe Bryant Kobe's father, who also had the same problem as George.
@@jamesvickers5004 The main differences between Lebran and McGinnis was that Lebron plays better in the playoffs and McGinnis embarrassed himself in the playoffs he was so bad. He NEVER had a decent playoff year. And I doubt Lebron spent halftimes smoking in a corridor outside the locker room.
George McGinnis! Whatta great guy! Great speech.
George is one of my all time favorites!!! I`m so glad that he finally got in!!!
Spencer Haywood, George McGinnis, and Dan Issell are my favorite power forwards of all time. Big George was a fantastic player in his prime.
Paul Silas
@@mikeaustin1323 Dolph Schayes, can't forget him either! I like his run & gun style!
@@mikeaustin1323 Paul couldn't shoot much. But he was a winner and did the important things to help his team win.
@@Amick44 I agree
My favorite player ever!
Big Mac we all loved you in philly! you made the game fun again for the whole city!
Never showed up in 77 finals.
@@briandavidson1946Philly did the right thing by trading him to Denver for Bobby Jones. As a Nuggets fan I felt cheated by that trade
Inspiring speech from one of the all time greats. A class act
I was big George Mc Ginnis fan and a big Nuggets fan so when the Nuggets traded for him I was excited. I soon realized that The Nuggets made a mistake by trading Bobby Jones for him. George was older and injuries were catching up to him.
The man with the funny looking shot in the aba and nba!!
Big George was one of my childhood heroes.... 🏀
George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Roger Brown, Freddie Lewis, Billy Keller, Mel Daniels, Rick Mount. Life was great as a kid in the 70's!!!
I can tell you hated the Pacers.
9-)
@@bricefleckenstein9666 LOL. I forgot John Barnhill, Billy Knight, Don Buse, and Jerry Baker on the radio!
@@briansd2772 And Don as a player too!
Last year of the ABA - Don leads the ABA in assists per game and steals per game.
First year of the merger - guess who leads the *NBA* in both?
@@bricefleckenstein9666 Don Buse?
@@briansd2772 Yep.
Feel free to check Basketball Reference, anyone else that doubts me.
What an awesome speech !!!!! George speaks so well ...... Really enjoyed hearing all of his stories from the 1950's, 1960's & 1970's !!!!!!! Wish it was longer in time. So interesting. Would love to hear George tell more stories about his life........The one hand set-shot !!!!!!
George McGinnis (RIP) was a statistical monster, especially in the ABA. I've studied his game logs and have found out that he had a lot of insane stat lines and accomplishments, but they never get talked about because most of them happened in the ABA.
(Last updated on Jun. 20th, 2024)
George McGinnis is the only player in NBA history to record 30+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists/5+ steals in a game (since steals were first officially tracked in 1973-74). He had 38 points/21 rebounds/10 assists/6 steals in a game against the Buffalo Braves on Feb. 8th, 1976.
There have only been three times in NBA history (since steals were first officially tracked in 1973-74) that a player recorded 20+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists/5+ steals in a game, and McGinnis has 2 of those spots. Lafayette "Fat" Lever (another underrated stat sheet stuffer) is the only other player to do it, against the Cavaliers on Mar. 2nd, 1988.
George McGinnis had insane career highs of:
• 58 points vs. Chaparrals on Nov. 28th, 1972 (Pacers' franchise record)
• 16 offensive rebounds vs. Cougars on Jan. 12th, 1974 (Pacers' franchise record)
• 37 total rebounds vs. Cougars on Jan. 12th, 1974 (Pacers' franchise record)
• 13 assists (x2, in 1974-75) (Playoff high is 14 assists, done twice in 1975 playoffs)
• 8 steals (x2, in his 58 point game and also on Jan. 22nd, 1975 vs. Nuggets)
• 5 blocks on Oct. 20th, 1974 vs. Colonels
• 13 turnovers on Mar. 25th, 1973 vs. Nets (Pacers' franchise record)
Defensive rebounds: 22, and it was most likely in a Nov. 27th, 1973 game against the Conquistadors (29 points/29 total rebounds), but I am not 100% certain. I do know that it was definitely in 1973-74.
Talk about filling up the stat sheet.
George McGinnis on Jan. 12, 1974 had a cartoon-like game with 52 points and 37 rebounds (16 offensive) against the Carolina Cougars. He's one of only six players in NBA/ABA history (the others being Wilt, Mikan, Baylor, Pettit, and Pacer teammate Mel Daniels) to record 50+ points and 30+ rebounds in a game, and is still the last player to do it. In other words, no player has had 50+ points and 30+ rebounds in the same game since McGinnis accomplished it. Interestingly, he also recorded 9 turnovers in this game.
Note: George Mikan is questionable for this stat - It was believed that he had 36 rebounds in his 61-point game on Jan. 20th, 1952, against the Rochester Royals. The 36 rebounds used to be in the Basketball-Reference box score, but it was recently removed from the box score, about a year ago. The only source I could find saying that he had 36 rebounds in this game is from a website called NBAHoopsOnline. To be fair, rebounds weren't counted in Mikan's first two seasons, and he had three 50+ point games in that span, so it there is a small chance that he (unofficially) had a 50+ point/30+ rebound game before rebounds were tracked in 1950-51.
George McGinnis on Feb. 24th, 1975 had 41 points/25 rebounds/13 assists in a game against the San Diego Conquistadors. He's one of only eight players in NBA/ABA history (the others being Luka, Jokić, DeMarcus Cousins, Kareem, Wilt, Oscar, and Baylor) to record 40+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists in a game.
George McGinnis is most likely the ABA's all-time leader in triple doubles (regular season + playoffs) with 14 total. It should be noted that the ABA has a lack of game log data, especially for the league's early years, so that's why I say most likely. What's interesting is that 13 of these 14 triple doubles came in the 1974-75 season (9 in the regular season, 4 in the playoffs). The other one was in the 1974 ABA Western Division Finals against the Utah Stars (Apr. 22nd, 1974).
McGinnis also led the NBA in triple doubles in 1975-76, with 5 (in a three-way tie with a rookie Alvan Adams of the Phoenix Suns and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers). Finally, McGinnis had two more triple-doubles in the 1979-80 season, after he had suffered the achilles injury in 1979 and was just a shell of himself. When you combine his 14 ABA triple doubles with his 7 NBA triple doubles, he now a career total of 21 (including 5 ABA playoff triple doubles).
George McGinnis was the first player to record a 50+ point triple double in NBA/ABA playoff history, he did this in the 1975 ABA playoffs. 51 points/17 rebounds/10 assists against the Spurs on Apr. 12th, 1975. But this is lost in history and most fans think that Westbrook was the first player to do it in 2017 when McGinnis did it over 4 decades before Westbrook.
George McGinnis averaged 32.3 points/15.9 rebounds/8.2 assists/2.0 steals, but also 6.2 turnovers per game, in the 1975 ABA playoffs. In these playoffs, he led the league in virtually every statistical category (PTS, FGM, FGA, 3PM, 3PA, FTM, FTA, ORB, DRB, TRB, AST, TOV, and Fouls). Ironically, he did not lead the playoffs in minutes - this honor went to teammate Billy Knight, who was also a rookie. McGinnis carried the Pacers to an unexpected finals appearance, but no one talks about this historic playoff run because it was in the ABA. Probably the most underrated carry job ever; it reminds me of LeBron in 2015 and 2018.
Nikola Jokić in the 2023 playoffs became the second to lead the playoffs in total points, total rebounds, and total assists, but none of the sports analysts mentioned how McGinnis did it first.
Update: Luka Doncić became the third player to achieve the feat in the 2024 playoffs, while also leading the playoffs in steals. It is truly unprecedented and remarkable how this has been accomplished twice in a row after a 47-year drought.
George McGinnis is one of only four players in NBA/ABA history to record 30+ points/20+ rebounds/10+ assists in a playoff game (the others are Jokić, Kareem, and Wilt), with both happening in the 1975 ABA Playoffs. McGinnis (x2) and Jokić (x3) are the only players to do multiple times.
When you include the ABA, George McGinnis is one of only two players in NBA/ABA history to officially record 50+ points and 8+ steals in a game, since steals have been officially tracked. The only other player to do it is Michael Jordan (who did it twice). McGinnis had 58 points/16 rebounds (10 offensive)/8 steals, and also 9 turnovers, on Nov. 28th, 1972 in an overtime win against the Dallas Chaparrals (The 58 points is also still the Pacers' single-game scoring record, 50+ years later. Not Reggie Miller's 57, which coincidentally happened exactly 20 years later, to the day: Nov. 28th, 1992 vs. Hornets)
George McGinnis is one of only four players in NBA/ABA history with career averages of 20.0+ points/10.0+ rebounds/3.0+ assists/1.5+ steals per game, since steals have been officially tracked (The others are Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Billy Cunningham).
Thank you so much for writing this comment, it was very eye opening. I'm writing a paper on the Pacers and Mr. McGinnis and this is very helpful!
George reminded me of Truck Robinson he also shot one handed and a had similar style of playing basketball. Great speech.
Truck stayed within himself. Too often, George didn't.
@@Amick44McGinnis is way better
@@RetroNBA42More talented, yes.
What a gentleman.
Very well spoken ..I use that 76ers team in 2k all the time
Loved watching George in the ABA and NBA
he is my step grandfather guys! and i’m not joking!
R.I.P. to him
George- Stay on the mend....hope you are up and at em soon!
This was long overdue! George McGinnis an Indiana basketball legend (prob the best from Indiana after Larry Bird & Big O!). He had some LeBron to him in terms of all around game and beast athlete/frame. I’m glad Slick Leonard at least got to see George Mel Daniels & Roger Brown to get in the HOF! Glad George gave Rick his flowers too.
Well deserved 👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️
Class Act.
My favorite Big Mac story.. His Senior year of HS, he scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds in the Indiana/Kentucky high school all-star game at Hinkle Fieldhouse, after which Kentucky Forward Joe Voskuhl publicly told reporters ‘I think he’s over-rated.’
George went out the next night at Freedom Hall in Louisville and scored 53 points and pulled down 31 rebounds. Joe Voskuhl had no comment after the game.
What a flawless and loving speech. The best Ive ever witnessed. Love You Sir.
Mr George Mcginnis !! Wow! Thanks for all the years of exciting NBA basketball. I mimicked your moves on the court a many a day and they still effective today. Strong Big Man Moves. I miss you sir. God Bless.
1:26
Well, that's 2 of the "unanimous" All ABA Team picks talking about the highest non-unanimous pick for that team....
When The Iceman and The Doctor respect your game, you gotta be doing SOMETHING right!
He was great.....
R.I.P.
Rest in Peach, Big Fella.
He shares the same last name as me. Also my grandpa has met him before.
For his NBA career only (not including his ABA seasons), McGinnis averaged 17.2 PTS/9.8 REB/3.8 AST/1.7 STL per game, in 528 NBA games played. The only other NBA player to average those numbers or better for his NBA career (not including ABA) was Larry Bird himself! Let that sink in!
Bird's career averages were 24.3 PTS/10.0 REB/6.3 AST/1.7 STL per game, in 897 games played.
Also, keep in mind that McGinnis's last three seasons were injury-plagued after he tore his achilles at the end of the 1978-79 season while on the Denver Nuggets. Before the injury, he had averaged 21.8 PTS/11.5 REB/4.0 AST/2.0 STL per game in his first four seasons in the NBA, from 1975-76 to 1978-79. This makes the stat even more impressive, because even with his downgraded numbers, only Larry Bird has averaged them.
With that many talented players on the Philadelphia 76ers, they should've won several championships !!
They didn't.
Too many people that wanted the ball, not enough ball to go around.
Playing against Bill Walton didn't help. The only other Western conference team that may have beaten them would've been Denver. Philly woulda taken any other Western conf team that yr.
You forgot about 1 family who helped you and loved you George
I'm kind of surprised George McGinnis lived this long.
He must have stopped smoking so much after he stopped
playing in the NBA (?) He was so addicted to smoking
that he would spend halftime in the hallway smoking !
It's hard to believe anyone with that mentality would spend
time in the offseason training, if he wouldn't even stop smoking.
What a waste of talent !!
4:56
Interesting when Spensor Haywood is the LOWEST of the folks introducing you to The Hall.
Not a lot of players that can say THAT - though Bird in the background as George heads to the stage is one of them.
15:37
There's more than a few Larry named boys too.
Wonder if I'm related? 😄
Great player but damn Artis Gilmore looks so disinterested thinking about God knows what.
@ Rafael Vega good observation but to me he always has a disinterested facial expression. Because of that I think that some people probably question his motivation.
He's probably thinking: " DAMN I miss my Afro.
ua-cam.com/video/kfCACtXTEmQ/v-deo.html
When Dr J mentions here how bad the chemistry was on this team,
I'm pretty sure he was talking about George McGinnis.
I have no way to prove that but McGinnis was the only significant
player they got rid of prior to winning the championship.
2 + 2 usually equals 4
Free was disruptive too. He was a young player just getting his feet wet & had little interest in moving the ball.
I like Cunningham as a player, but he wasn't the right coach for the amount of talent they had, neither was Gene Shue, I love Bobby Jones, but George was a generation talent, he was Lebron before Lebron
@@jamesvickers5004 physically to a degree yes. Esp in that era. Without the defense, floor leadership. Lebron has been pretty clutch as well.
@@Amick44 No disrespect to Lebron, I was pointing out the similarities between him and George, the problem George had with NBA coaches was they wanted him to play power forward and sometime center, when he wanted to play point guard, he had that kind of handles. That 76ers team also had Jelly Bean Joe Bryant Kobe's father, who also had the same problem as George.
@@jamesvickers5004
The main differences between Lebran and McGinnis was that Lebron plays better in the playoffs
and McGinnis embarrassed himself in the playoffs he was so bad. He NEVER had a decent playoff year.
And I doubt Lebron spent halftimes smoking in a corridor outside the locker room.