On the morning of April 9, 1978, the NBA regular season was nearing its end, with most teams mentally already in the offseason or playoffs. But not David ‘Skywalker’ Thompson and George ‘The Iceman’ Gervin. Within hours, these two Hall of Famers engaged in a long-distance duel for the scoring crown, delivering two of the most spectacular individual performances in NBA history.
«Do you want to go get the title today?» David Thompson contemplated briefly before answering Head Coach Larry Brown’s question just hours before the Denver Nuggets’ final regular-season game of the 1977/78 season.
«I told Coach Brown that I just want to play. And whatever happens, fate will decide,» Thompson recalled in his book Skywalker on that morning. The Nuggets had already secured their playoff spot, and according to Thompson himself, the title of the season’s top scorer wasn’t that important to him.
George Gervin led the league with 26.8 points per game before the final matchday, followed by the Nuggets guard with 26.6 points. The two had little in common. Both came to the NBA in 1976 from the spectacular, yet brutal, American Basketball Association (ABA), and immediately became absolute superstars in the league.
However, their playing styles couldn’t have been more different, and that’s where the parallels ended. Except for this one experience that would connect them forever.
David Thompson: The ‘Skywalker’
Thompson is considered one of the greatest athletes to ever play basketball and the best leaper of his time (Here’s the legend of David ‘Skywalker’ Thompson). This was an era that also featured Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving. Many eyewitnesses claim that the 1.93-meter guard could pluck a coin from the top edge of the backboard.
This isn’t entirely unbelievable, as Thompson’s standing vertical leap of 44 inches, or a breathtaking 112 centimeters, was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records at the time. Furthermore, Thompson is credited with inventing the alley-oop dunk, even though dunks were prohibited during his college career at North Carolina State.
Thompson later received perhaps the highest praise a basketball player could receive: Michael Jordan revealed during his career that he had adopted some of Thompson’s moves. «The importance of vertical jumping only began with David Thompson,» emphasized MJ, who, like Thompson, grew up in North Carolina and became a superstar there in college.
But the Skywalker was by no means limited to his athleticism; he was also a very good shooter. Even before the introduction of the three-point line in 1979, Thompson regularly took shots from long range and, combined with his physical superiority, was almost impossible to defend.
George Gervin: ‘The Iceman’
The same was said about Gervin for many years, though he played completely differently. At 2.03 meters, he was very tall for a guard at the time, but not a great athlete and very lean. His jump shot also looked rather shaky (Here’s the legend of George Gervin).
However, Gervin excelled with perfected movements, smart shot selection, and sheer efficiency, as evidenced by his career field goal percentage of 50.4 percent. The Iceman is known as an expert of the finger roll and for making it even from the free-throw line or behind the backboard.
His nickname, however, caused confusion even then. Gervin received the name ‘The Iceman’ from his then-teammates Julius Erving and Fatty Taylor, «Because I never sweated,» Erving later revealed. «I weighed 150 pounds without any water in me. People thought I was ‘Ice’ because I was cool. Nope. It was because I was skinny.»
Gervin was so feared as a dominant scorer that the Indiana Pacers once promised free chicken for all fans if the team could hold Gervin under 30 points. For this, they specifically assigned Dudley Bradley, the ‘Secretary of Defense,’ to him, but Gervin scored 55 points, and the fans went home empty-handed.
«You can’t defend him. You can only hope his arm gets tired after 40 shots,» long-time NBA coach Dick Motta complained at the time. «I think the guy can always score if he feels like it. You start to wonder if he doesn’t get bored with it.»
‘A Rat in a Cage’: Thompson Was Stopped on His Way to 100 Points
Certainly, none of the mere 3,482 fans in the Cobo Arena on that April day felt bored as the Detroit Pistons hosted the Denver Nuggets. Both teams had already made the playoffs, so a huge spectacle was likely not expected. But that spectacle arrived sooner than expected.
Thompson, who was having one of the best seasons of his career and was selected to the All-NBA First Team for it, had scored only 14 fewer points than Gervin, also a member of the All-NBA First Team, in 81 games played. And his start to the final game of the season certainly didn’t suggest that the scoring title was unimportant to him.
Thompson scored 32 points in the first quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 31 points in a single quarter. 20 of his first 21 shots found the net, and by halftime, the Skywalker had 53 points. «I felt like Superman on steroids,» the Skywalker later recalled in his book of the same name, but that feeling was about to change in the second half.
Thompson had already seen the opponents’ growing fear before halftime; their facial expressions told him, «We can’t let this guy score 100 points.» The Pistons were therefore determined to stop Thompson in the second half with two, three, or even four defenders. «I felt like a rat in a cage,» he later described the situation.
The Motor City team managed to keep Thompson away from the 100-point mark and even won the game 139-137. However, the Nuggets star had accumulated a remarkable 73 points by the end of the game. Of his 38 field goal attempts, he sank 32, and he converted 17 of 20 free throws.
After Thompson’s scoring explosion, Gervin needed 59 points to reclaim the top spot on the scorer’s list.
His Teammates ‘Forced’ The Iceman into a Record Hunt
Gervin was informed of Thompson’s performance via phone before the game against the New Orleans Jazz and replied, «Man, you’re kidding me,» but quickly added, «If anyone could do it, it’s David ‘The Giant Killer’.» He then hung up the phone and calmly continued his pre-game nap, as he later explained to ESPN.
Before the game, Spurs Head Coach Doug Moe met Gervin in the hotel lobby and promised him he would get a chance to score 59 points. «It’s just one title, it’s not important to me,» Gervin replied. «But it’s important to us,» Moe retorted.
Shortly before the game, Moe gathered the team and said, «David Thompson just stole the scoring title from George. Ice, we’re going to help you get 59 points.»
The team was motivated and ready, but Gervin started the game slowly. The Iceman seemed uncomfortable in the situation, having to force shots, and missed his first six attempts. At the first Spurs timeout, he confessed that he had accepted that he would lose the scoring title.
«Guys, let’s forget it. I’d need 59 points. Fifty-nine!» His teammates, however, disagreed and continued to pass him the ball almost exclusively.
Gervin heated up by the end of the first quarter and could only be stopped by the halftime break. By then, he had already scored 53 points, the same as Thompson in the first half against the Pistons. In the second quarter, he had broken Thompson’s record with 33 points, which Thompson had set just hours earlier.
«Finish Them!» Even the Opponent Suddenly Cheered for Gervin
Gervin later explained that the presence of Pete ‘Pistol Pete’ Maravich was a great motivator. Maravich, injured, was sitting on the Jazz bench and, according to Gervin, eventually started cheering on The Iceman. «‘Show ’em, Ice,’ ‘Finish them, Ice,’ Pistol Pete yelled. He was against his own team!» Gervin recalled.
Thompson followed the game on the radio and knew by halftime that his 73 points wouldn’t be enough. «If it were any other player than ‘The Iceman,’ I wouldn’t even have watched the game,» Thompson later revealed. «But I knew that 59 points were within his reach. He could fill the basket so quickly that you’d swear it was raining basketballs.»
Thompson’s fears were confirmed; Gervin had already reached 59 points in the third quarter but wanted to add a few more before being substituted. According to him, he wanted to ensure that even in case of a slight miscalculation, he would have scored enough points to be the scoring champion.
After 33 minutes of play and 63 points on 23 field goals out of 49 attempts, Gervin was satisfied with his output. The Jazz won the game decisively 153-132, but hardly anyone cared about that on that day.
A Grand Spectacle on a Small Stage
Although Thompson and Gervin had downplayed the significance of the scoring title, at least before their games, the long-distance duel remained the most spectacular development of the season. However, neither the league nor the television networks foresaw much potential in the scoring title race, focusing instead on Boston, where Celtics legend John Havlicek was playing the last game of his career.
Since most camera crews were sent there, there are no moving images of the two legendary games. Only the fortunate fans in the Cobo Arena in Detroit and the Superdome in New Orleans will remain as eyewitnesses.
However, the closest race for the NBA scoring title in history is unlikely to be forgotten, especially by David Thompson. «I’m still mad at Gervin because he won three more scoring titles after that. He could have left me that one,» DT joked many years later.
NBA: David Thompson and George Gervin Comparison
| Player | GP | PTS | REB | AST | BLK | STL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Thompson | 509 | 24.1 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| George Gervin | 791 | 26.2 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 |