Artis Gilmore is a former professional basketball player.  A star center during his two collegiate years at Jacksonville University, Gilmore led the Dolphins to the NCAA Division I championship game in 1970. As of 2021, Gilmore has the most rebounds per game in the history of NCAA Division I basketball.

GIlmore played both in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the NBA. Gilmore followed five All-Star seasons with the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA by becoming the first overall pick in the 1976 ABA Dispersal draft, which dispersed the players in the ABA clubs, such as the Colonels, that did not join the NBA. During his career, Gilmore was an 11-time All-Star, the ABA Rookie of the Year, and an ABA MVP. Gilmore once played in 670 consecutive games. After four All-Star selections in five solid basketball seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Gilmore was traded to the San Antonio in 1982. There he teamed up with George “The Iceman” Gervin to provide the Spurs with a potent inside-out game. He was twice an All-Star in San Antonio through 1987.

In 2007, Gilmore took a position as Special Assistant to the President at Jacksonville University, his alma mater, serving in various public relations capacities. Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12, 2011.