The Iceman paddeth

On this day in 1978, the San Antonio Spurs’ George Gervin scored 63 points in his final game of the regular season to edge out the Denver Nuggets’ David Thompson for the NBA scoring title. Thompson had scored 73 earlier in the day, so Gervin was justified in piling up the points; he had the 58 he needed to overtake Thompson by early in the third quarter.

Gervin, nicknamed "The Iceman," went on to become the league’s top scorer again in 1979, 1980 and 1982, making him one of just three NBA players to capture four or more scoring crowns.

The Spurs were fun to watch, playing in the HemisFair arena before raucous crowds that often clanged cowbells in support of their guys. Gervin never saw a shot he didn't like; his signature was an underhand finger-roll from 10 feet or more. Gervin had a physique made for YMCA ball, but he scored over 25,000 points in his combined ABA/NBA career.

Thompson, in the Hall of Fame along with Gervin, was an unbelievable leaper (44-inch vertical jump) with just as catchy a nickname ("Skywalker").

After being edged out by Gervin as scoring champ, the next year Thompson signed a $4 million, five-year contract with the Nuggets, making him the highest-paid player ever in team sports at the time. But he was beset with injuries and substance abuse problems and eventually traded to Seattle in 1982.

Thompson injured himself falling down some stairs at New York City’s Studio 54 club during the 1983-1984 season and was later released by the Sonics, effectively ending a career that, had it been all it could have been, would have placed him much farther up in the pantheon of all-time stars.