David Skywalker

I picked a great time to read this book with the NBA in full flight.  Let's take a moment to remember the prototype for Michael Jordan, the pre-cocaine David Thompson.  Obviously a favorite of the young Simmons, the Skywalker exploded out of the ABA in 1977 and was first-team all-NBA his first 2 years before succumbing to the white powder and then a devasting knee injury.

Sporting a 44-inch vertical, Thompson jumped center for NC St., played in one of the most famous college games ever (NC St. over Maryland in triple OT), and led the pack to a stunning upset over Walton/UCLA, winning tournament MVP in '74.

As Simmons discusses, Thompson's leaping ability was absolutely legendary and still talked about.  At a listed 6'4, he could explode in traffic, with no running start, to finish alley-oops and swat shots.  In '78 he went into the final day of the season battling Gervin for the scoring championship.  All he did was hit 20 of his first 21 shots, score 53 points in the first half on his way to 73 total, and lose when Gervin tossed in 63 to hold onto his lead.

From Dan Issel: "All of his teammates loved him because he helped you win and he was the type of player that made everyone better, not a player who subtracted from everyone else on the team to get his stats."  Yet in his prime he averaged 27 for 3 years.

I agree with Simmons that without the drug habit and subsequent knee blow-out, he was a top-20 all-time guy.  Unfortunately in the 70's and 80's, cocaine ruined a lot of careers in the NBA.  The Skywalker should be remembered.

S