George Gervin

George 'The Iceman' Gervin was the smoothest scorer in NBA history — a 6'7" guard whose finger-roll was the most elegant shot the game has ever seen. He won four scoring titles in five years (1978-1982) and averaged 26.2 points per game for his NBA career, doing it all with a grace and fluidity that made the most difficult shots look effortless.

Gervin's signature move — the finger-roll — was a work of art. He would glide to the basket, extend his impossibly long arms, and lay the ball softly off the glass with a touch so delicate it seemed to defy physics. Nobody before or since has finished at the rim with such elegance. His mid-range game was equally lethal, and his ability to score from anywhere on the floor without ever appearing to exert maximum effort earned him his nickname.

The knock on Gervin is that his Spurs teams never advanced deep in the playoffs. He played during an era when the NBA's center of gravity was shifting, and San Antonio couldn't break through against the dominant teams of the early 1980s. But pure scoring talent is rare, and Gervin's was transcendent. Four scoring titles with one of the most beautiful games basketball has ever produced.