“David Thompson dropped 73 and had the scoring title stolen from him by George Gervin”: How the ‘Iceman’ had 63 points to win the scoring title race in 1978 over ‘Skywalker’

David Thompson had to drop 73 points to try to keep the scoring title for himself but failed as George Gervin had 63 of his own. 

Like Julius Erving, David Thompson and George Gervin were a few of the remaining superstars who thrived in the ABA but had to join the NBA after the merger took place in 1976. The two were still incredibly prolific when it came scoring the basketball as this is what they were tasked to do ever since they started playing in the big leagues. 

George ‘Iceman’ Gervin won the scoring title 4 times, with him reigning supreme from 1978 to 1989, and then won it again in 1982. The 12x All-Star never won a ring unfortunately but cemented himself as the San Antonio Spurs’ first ever superstar. His number 44 was retired by the Spurs and he even served as an assistant coach for them in the early 90s.

Also read: “I talked about George Gervin being the best pure scorer, Bernard King is in the same category”: Charles Barkley gave huge props to the New York Knicks legend and former NBA scoring champion

David Thompson on the other hand did not have as many accolades as George Gervin as he was merely a 4x All-Star and actually never won a scoring title either. The Nuggets legend has had his 33 number retired by the team however, given his scoring prowess, averaging 25+ points in 4 separate seasons. 

David Thompson vs George Gervin. 

From a play-style standpoint, David Thompson and George Gervin couldn’t have been more opposite from one another. Thompson rocked the rim on his drive, regardless of whether or not it was from him receiving an alley-oop or from him barreling through the lane for a poster. 

Gervin was the master of finesse. Nicknamed the ‘Iceman’ for not ever breaking a sweat, the Spurs legend glided through the air for his signature finger roll. Not one to draw contact unlike his counterpart, ‘Skywalker’, who received that nickname after the release of the original Star Wars in ‘77.

Also read: “Julius Erving was the best of my era, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the greatest of all time”: When George Gervin anointed the Lakers legend and 6-time champion as his GOAT over Michael Jordan

If the 1994 scoring title race between Shaq and David Robinson was the remix, the one that came 16 years before was the original. And like most things, the original is always better than the remix. 

The 1978 scoring title race between George Gervin and David Thompson came down to the wire. April 8th of that year saw both the former ABA legends make it clear that they wanted the scoring title crown. Gervin scored 63 points against the New Orleans Jazz while Thompson dropped the highest point total since Wilt with 73 of his won. 

Despite his record setting night, Skywalker lost the scoring title to George Gervin who would win the first of four scoring titles. Iceman’s scoring average was merely 0.07 higher than Thompson’s following those two performances. 

Even if the scoring title was based off total points scored throughout the season, Gervin registered a whopping 2232 points in ‘78 while the Nuggets star had ‘merely’ 2172.