David Thompson (basketball)

David Thompson
	Thompson with NC State in 1974
Personal information
Born	July 13, 1954; Shelby, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Crest (Shelby, North Carolina)
College	NC State (1972–1975)
NBA draft	1975: 1st round, 1st overall pick
	Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career	1975–1984
Position	Shooting guard
Number	33, 44
Career history
1975–1982	Denver Nuggets
1982–1984	Seattle SuperSonics
Career highlights and awards
	4× NBA All-Star (1977–1979, 1983); NBA All-Star Game MVP (1979); 2× All-NBA First Team (1977, 1978); ABA All-Star (1976); ABA All-Star Game MVP (1976); All-ABA Second Team (1976); ABA Rookie of the Year (1976); ABA All-Rookie First Team (1976); ABA All-Time Team; No. 33 retired by Denver Nuggets; NCAA champion (1974); NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1974); National college player of the year (1975); 3× Consensus first-team All-American (1973–1975); 3× ACC Player of the Year (1973–1975); 3× First-team All-ACC (1973–1975); No. 44 retired by NC State Wolfpack;
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points	13,422 (22.7 ppg)
Rebounds	2,446 (4.1 rpg)
Assists	1,939 (3.3 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
	Basketball Hall of Fame as player
	College Basketball Hall of Fame; Inducted in 2006

David O'Neil Thompson (born July 13, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player. He played with the Denver Nuggets of both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. He was previously a star in college for North Carolina State, leading the Wolfpack to its first NCAA championship in 1974. Thompson is one of the ten players to score 70 or more points in an NBA game. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Thompson was known for his exceptional leaping ability that enabled him to become one of the game's premier dunkers in the 1970s and earned him the nickname of "Skywalker". Michael Jordan said, "The whole meaning of vertical leap began with David Thompson." Bill Walton described Thompson as "Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and LeBron James rolled into one".

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