WASHINGTON, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – George McGinnis, who sparked his hometown Indiana Pacers to two titles and was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, died on Thursday, the NBA club announced. He was 73.
McGinnis died of complications from a cardiac arrest suffered last week at his home.
In 1969, McGinnis led Indianapolis Washington to an unbeaten 31-0 run to the state high school crown in the famed Hoosier Hysteria tournament involving every school in Indiana.
At Indiana University (IU) in the 1970-71 season, McGinnis became the first sophomore to ever lead the Big Ten conference in scoring and rebounds, averaging 29.9 points.
McGinnis joined the Pacers in the upstart American Basketball Association and led the club to titles in 1972 and 1973 then shared the 1975 Most Valuable Player award with another future NBA star, Julius Erving.
In July 1975, McGinnis signed a six-year deal with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. He was a two-time NBA All-Star with the Sixers and an All-Star with the Denver Nuggets in 1979 after the merger of the NBA and ABA.
He closed his career in 1982 after two final seasons with the Pacers, having his No. 30 jersey retired by the club before being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
McGinnis scored 51 points with 17 assists and 10 rebounds against San Antonio in the 1975 ABA semi-finals, the only 50-point triple double in NBA or ABA history until Russell Westbrook managed the feat in 2017 for Oklahoma City.
McGinnis was also the first player to lead an entire NBA or ABA playoffs in total points, rebounds and assists until Nikola Jokic did it this year for the reigning NBA champion Nuggets.
“From his all-state high school days to his time as an IU All-American and, of course, to his legendary ABA championship runs with the Pacers, George McGinnis shaped so many of the fondest basketball memories for generations of Hoosiers,” said a statement from Pacers Sports and Entertainment.
“He was the very definition of an Indiana basketball legend, a champion and Hall of Fame athlete.”
