Four-time all-star whose number was retired by the Denver Nuggets, #1 pick in the 1975 NBA draft
He grew up in Shelby, North Carolina with his cousin Alvin Gentry.
In 1974, he led NC State to its first-ever NCAA championship.
Married his wife Kathy in 1978.
Michael Jordan has said that Thompson was his basketball role model as a young man.
