Seattle Supersonics tickets

"For him to be 6-foot-4 and do what he did was totally amazing." Former North Carolina State teammate Tom Burleson on David Thompson. Perhaps it was too much, too soon. In his early 20s, David Thompson of the Seattle Supersonics Players had the world in the palm of his hand. Quite literally, he had reached heights on a basketball court no one had hit before. There are video clips and photos of Thompson soaring over defenders to the hoop, his head level with the rim and his outstretched arms looking as though they could set the ball on top of the backboard.

So what happened? "I just didn't have the will power," Thompson said of a drug habit that probably cost him the chance to be called one of the top dozen Seattle Supersonics Players in the history of the game. It was a shame because David Thompson, who was born with so little, had accomplished so much in a short period of time. Seattle Supersonics Tickets. Thompson and his 10 siblings grew up in a shack on an unpaved road in rural North Carolina. He began writing a rags-to-riches story at North Carolina State, where his high-flying style and unstoppable scoring powered the Wolfpack to the 1974 national title and earned him acclaim as one of the greatest Seattle Supersonics Players in NCAA history.

The top 1975 draft choice in two different leagues, David Thompson chose the ABA over the NBA and signed with the Denver Nuggets in what turned out to be the league's last year. Thompson made the most of it, winning Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game MVP accolades. He enjoyed similar success in the NBA, maintaining his 26-point ABA scoring average over the next eight seasons, including a 1977--78 campaign on which he lost the scoring title to George Gervin on the final day. David Thompson finished with a stunning 73-point game, but Gervin's 63-point finale gave them a slight edge for the season. At age 23, Thompson's $4 million, five-year contract with the Nuggets made him the highest-paid athlete in the history of team sports. However, injuries and a worsening drug problem took their toll over his final years.