Remembering the greatness that was David Thompson

Michael Jordan was just inducted into the Hall of Fame and we remembered how great he was on Friday. In what was a surprise though, MJ chose NC State great David Thompson to present him. Michael explained that he idolized David Thompson and found his story inspiring. There are many good reasons for that, so we thought we’d give you a little more background on the man His Airness chose to present him in his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

David Thompson led the NC State Wolfpack to its first championship in 1974 and an undefeated season (27-0) in 1973. NC State’s combined record those two years was 57-1. He was named The Sporting News, AP, UPI, NABC, and the USBWA national Player of the Year in 1975. He was also the AP National Player of the Year in 1974. He was a consensus First-Team All-American three times and was named ACC Player of the Year three-times.

Thompson was the No. 1 draft pick of both the ABA and the NBA in their respective 1975 drafts and was named the ABA Rookie of the Year. Thompson and Julius Erving were the finalists in the first ever Slam-Dunk Competition, held at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. Thompson was purported to possess a 48-inch vertical leap. On April 9, 1978, the last day of the regular NBA season, Thompson scored 73 points against the Detroit Pistons in an effort to win the NBA scoring title (still losing the title to San Antonio’s George Gervin, who scored 63 points in a game played later the same day).

Following are some of the greatest moments of David Thompson’s career…

And just for kicks, the famous inaugural ABA Dunk Contest.

The alley-oop pass was “invented” by Thompson and his NC State teammate Monte Towe. Thompson’s #44 remains the only number NC State men’s basketball has ever retired. The Nuggets retired his jersey #33 and Thompson was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 6, 1996.

Wiki

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