Ex-Bull Artis Gilmore Talks All-Star Weekend Back in Chicago

Getty Artis Gilmore at Hall of Fame in 2011

Panini America on Saturday morning hosted a signing event in Chicago as part of NBA All-Star Weekend. The event featured appearances from Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, former Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry, former Clippers guard Quenton Richardson, and former Bulls great Artis Gilmore. Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie was in attendance to sign trading cards, and memorabilia to kick off the All-Star festivities.

The Panini Group was founded over 50 years ago in Modena, Italy, it has expanded throughout Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Panini branch in America is the only company in the world that has full licensing deals for trading cards for the NFL PLAYERS, NBA, NBPA, MLBPA, FIFA World Cup, Nascar and college sports, according to paniniamerica.net.

They also have exclusive autograph agreements and memorabilia agreements with NBA players such as Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. As well as NFL players and teams such as Andrew Luck and the Denver Broncos. Panini trading cards can be found in outlets such as Target, Walmart, or Paniniamerica.net.

I spoke with Artis Gilmore at the Panini NBA VIP event and we discussed a variety of things including what it was like to have the NBA All-Star Weekend for the first time since 1988.

Check out our Q&A below:

Landon Buford: What are your thoughts on the Panini and what is your take on it being in Chicago this year?

Artis Gilmore: Well, from what I understand it has been 31 years since the All-Star festivities have been hosted in Chicago. This particular event Panini is really great and has got a lot of attention at the Super Bowl and here during All-Star Weekend. They are very engaged in the sports world.

Landon Buford: Spencer Dinwiddie is also signing memorabilia at this Panini event. What do you think of him as a player?

Artis Gilmore: I’m on the east coast, and I have been able to watch Spencer Dinwiddie and the Brooklyn Nets a lot. It has been a down year for the Nets with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving missing significant time this season, but Dinwiddie has been someone that they can count on this season with Kyrie being out as well as Caris LeVert.

Landon Buford: You are also mentioned as one of the top-five Chicago Bulls of All Time. What does that mean to you?

Artis Gilmore: It means a lot, especially so far removed from my playing career it is something I treasure that they would acknowledge me and at that as something special that I was able to accomplish.

Artis Gilmore played 11 seasons in the NBA with teams such as San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, and the Boston Celtics and 5 seasons in the ABA. During his career, Gilmore averaged 18.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in 1329 games. He also won 1971-72 ABA Rookie of the Year Award and the MVP award in the same year. He was also an 11 time all-star of the course of his career.