Generations of NC State students will always understand what guard David Thompson meant to school.

Thompson is widely regarded as the greatest ACC player and he is the lone Wolfpack player to have his No. 44 jersey retired. The 1973-74 NC State squad is one of the greatest ever in knocking off UCLA in the semifinals of the Final Four and then Marquette in the title game.

Thompson was the 1975 National College player of the year, a three-time ACC player of the year (1973-75) and three-time consensus first-team All-American.

Thompson averaged 26.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in his three-year career at NC State. He wasn’t allowed to play as a freshman per NCAA rules at the time, and he also wasn’t allowed to dunk. He got a dunk in his last home game at NC State, which resulted in a technical, and he joked that someone told him later he would have averaged 30.0 points per game in 1974-75 instead of 29.9 if he had done a layup.

The former Shelby (N.C.) Crest High star played in the ABA and NBA with the Denver Nuggets from 1975-82, and finished his career with the Seattle SuperSonics from 1982-84. The Sonics are now the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Thompson averaged 22.7 points per game as a professional, along with 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He made the all-star game five times and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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