George F. McGinnis was born in Harpersville, Alabama, on August 12, 1950, but grew up in Indianapolis, where he attended Washington High School.[1] He and teammate Steve 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 named Mr. Basketball for the state of Indiana that year.[4]
McGinnis immediately became one of the marquee players of the ABA, playing a key role on the Indiana Pacers' championship teams in each of his first two seasons with his hometown franchise.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] In the 1975 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.[8] However, in these playoffs, McGinnis established multiple statistical feats. Against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the 1975 ABA Western Division Semifinals on April 12, 1975,[11] McGinnis recorded the first 50+ point triple-double in NBA/ABA Playoff history with 51 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists,[10] a feat later matched by Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.[12]
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.[13] In six games against the San Antonio Spurs in the 1975 ABA Western Division Semifinals, registered totals of 230 points (38.3 per game), 113 rebounds (18.8 per game), and 55 assists (9.2 per game).[14] In seven games against the Denver 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).[15]Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is the only other player to replicate this, doing so in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals.[16] McGinnis became the first player in NBA/ABA history to lead the playoffs in total points (581), total rebounds (286), and total assists (148)[17] — a feat matched only by Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.[18][19]
Philadelphia 76ers (1975–1978)
Two years into his professional career, McGinnis was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 22nd overall pick in the second round of the 1973 NBA draft.[20] In October 1974, the 76ers were ready to send McGinnis' draft rights to the New York Knicks with the stipulation that the latter ballclub signs him before the agreed-upon deadline.[21] 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 the 1974–75 season.[21][22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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 the 1976 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.[22][25]
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.[20] While in Philadelphia, he teamed up with fellow ABA alumni Julius Erving and Caldwell Jones.[26] McGinnis helped propel the 76ers through the playoffs to the NBA Finals in 1977 by averaging 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per playoff game, where they lost in six games to the Portland Trail Blazers.[27]
Denver Nuggets (1978–1980)
McGinnis was traded to the Denver Nuggets in 1978 for Bobby Jones, and was an All-Star again that season.[28] 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 the Houston Rockets.[29]
Return to Indiana (1980–1982)
Hoping to boost sagging attendance in their early NBA years, the Pacers re-acquired McGinnis by trading away young forward Alex English.[30][20] However, McGinnis was beyond his prime, averaging a comparatively low 13.1 points per game during the 1980-81 NBA season,[31] and was unable to help the Pacers past their first round matchup against the 76ers in the 1981 NBA Playoffs, only scoring ten points in the two-game series,[32] while English went on to be a multiple time all-star and franchise player for the Nuggets.[33]
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][37][38]
Recorded 14 known triple-doubles in the ABA, including 5 playoff triple-doubles, both of which are more than anyone else during the league's lifespan.[39]
† Special voting by the panelists selected Julius Erving as the ABA's all-time most valuable player and Bobby Leonard as the ABA's all-time best head coach
