Category profile
- Dominance
- 80
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 60
- Honours
- 78
- Statistics
- 86
Career timeline · Points per game
| Season | Points per game | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 26 | |
| 1976 | 25.9 | |
| 1977 | 27.2 | |
| 1978 | 24 | |
| 1979 | 21.5 | |
| 1980 | 25.5 | |
| 1981 | 14.9 | |
| 1982 | 15.2 | |
| 1983 | 10 |
Data sources
- NBA
- Basketball Reference
- FIBA
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why David Thompson ranks #98 in Basketball
David Thompson ranks 98th among Basketball athletes on GOAT Rank and 841st of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 78.9 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 80, Peak 92, Longevity 60, Honours 78, Statistics 86. Those categories are normalised against the full Basketball reference universe of 399 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1975–1984 with 9 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1977, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes all-star selections 5, single-game points 73, all-star game mvp awards 2, ncaa titles 1.
Immediately ahead sits Liz Cambage on 78.2, a gap of -0.7 points. Directly behind is Joel Embiid on 78.4. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
David Thompson GOAT Score explained
- Dominance80/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Thompson stood above the field while competing. Scored 80/100 against the full Basketball cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1977. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity60/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 9 years of competition and 9 recorded seasons. Scored 60/100.
- Honours78/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 78/100.
- Statistics86/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 86/100.
Top Thompson comparisons
David Thompson — frequently asked
- Is David Thompson the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. David Thompson ranks 98th in Basketball with a GOAT Score of 78.9, behind LeBron James on 95.6.
- What is David Thompson's GOAT Score?
- 78.9 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 80 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 60 (20%), Honours 78 (20%), Statistics 86 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does David Thompson rank all time?
- 841st of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 98th within Basketball.
- David Thompson vs Liz Cambage: who ranks higher?
- David Thompson, on 78.9 against Liz Cambage's 78.2 — a margin of 0.7 points.