David Thompson: Skywalker

by David Thompson, Sean Stormes (Contributor), Marshall Terrill (Contributor)

Skywalker is the inspiring story of basketball legend David Thompson, chronicling his rise, fall and incredible recovery. Thompson, a once-in-a-generation player, came up in an era when basketball skill superseded athleticism. Thompson had both. In college, he led the 1973-74 North Carolina State Wolfpack to its first NCAA title, and a year later, he was the No. 1 draft pick in both the NBA and ABA. When the two leagues merged, Thompson signed the largest contract in NBA history in 1978. But Thompson disappeared just as rapidly as he had arrived when cocaine and alcohol abuse robbed him of his skills and his composure, his life and his soul. By the early 1980s, Thompson's life had hit rock bottom, and his career was over. In 1996, Thompson was elected to the NBA Hall of Fame and has been named numerous times as one of the five greatest college players of all-time. Today, he is a born-again Christian and been clean and sober for more than 15 years.

Genres: Basketball

250 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[Thomas Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does one begin to write a review of a book from the greatest college basketball player in the History of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a conference that also produced Michael Jordan? What's even more incredible is the fact that David Thompson's college basketball career stands head-and-shoulders above anyone who ever played within the conference, to include Michael Jordan. As this book relates, Thompson was the superstar of an NC State team that had a two-year record of 57-1, and whose only loss was to the greatest college basketball team in History, a UCLA team that was in the midst of an 88 game winning streak. Thompson's team avenged the UCLA loss with an NCAA semi-final tournament win, and went on to win the 1974 NCAA championship. As the unchallenged leader of that 1974 NC State team, Thompson was the focus superstar, while Michael Jordan was simply a freshman role player, who did not start for a large part of the season, but who happened to be fortunate to hit the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Finals. James Worthy was the undisputed star of that 1982 North Carolina team. David Thompson would go on to become both an ABA and NBA star, ultimately becoming the NBA's highest paid player. However, due to alcohol and drug problems, he ultimately short-changed what could have been an incredible career. Thompson is honest in talking about his problems and in warning younger people not to take the path that he had taken. His story can be a cautionary tale for up-and-coming superstars. There are also a couple of complementary materials to this book, that can enhance one's understanding of David Thompson. The first is a DVD called "Skywalker: The David Thompson Story." This DVD gives visual proof of Thompson's greatness, and goes a long ways towards telling the full Thompson story. The second item is a book called "Reality's Pen: Reflections On Family, History & Culture" by Thomas D. Rush. There are 2 stories from within the book, "The Legend Of David Thompson" and "One Incredible Human Being" that gives one a clear idea of Thompson's greatness and his meaning to the people of North Carolina. The book is filled with rich stories, many of them from the basketball world. All of these things together can help one to get a better grasp on the basketball career of David Thompson. His greatness was like cotton candy to a kid on a rainy day--it was gone too soon. Still, he was wonderful to watch in the beauty of his greatness.

[Adam J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not particularly revelatory, this is a nice autobiography of an outstanding player. An easy read and interesting throughout.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an undergraduate student, I got to watch David Thompson bring a national basketball championship to North Carolina State University. Reading the first half of this memoir was much like reliving those days. I kept saying to myself, "I remember that. I was there for that game." Such was a great walk down memory lane.

While I knew the basics of his post-college days, the book gave great detail to both the glory of his professional days, the tragedy of his fall from grace by addiction and his redemption through faith and personal support.

The memoir is well crafted and, in my opinion, tells a good story. The book is about 20 years old and I did some further reading on his life from the point of the conclusion of story. The major negative is the book lacks depth. Thompson tells us he was driven by his pain and a pathology leading to his addictive behaviors - but does not expose himself as to what was behind it all. That is his privilege as a private person, but it does leave the reader curious.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

NF- Memoir