David Thompson

High school

Crest High School

College

NC State University

Pro team(s)

Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics

Hall of Fame

⭐ Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

David O. Thompson was born on July 13, 1954, in Shelby, North Carolina, and attended Crest High School in Cleveland County, where his 44-inch vertical leap earned him the nickname "Skywalker." At NC State under coach Norm Sloane, Thompson led the Wolfpack to one of the most celebrated upsets in college basketball history: the 1974 NCAA championship, ending UCLA's epic 61-game tournament winning streak. Thompson was a consensus national Player of the Year, an electric performer whose combination of vertical leap, scoring ability, and competitive intensity had never been seen before in the college game. He turned professional with the Denver Nuggets and was one of the premier players in the ABA and early NBA, averaging 27.2 points per game in the 1977–78 season — the year he and George Gervin staged one of basketball's greatest individual dramas, each scoring at a furious pace on the final day of the regular season to determine the scoring title (Gervin won, 27.22 to 27.15). Thompson's career was tragically curtailed by substance abuse issues, but his place among the game's all-time talents remains undimmed. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. Attended Crest High School in Cleveland County, North Carolina.