There were about 300 people at Stapleton International Airport on the night of April 9, 1978, all waiting on the Nuggets’ plane to arrive. They were there to greet David Thompson, just hours after one of the franchise’s greatest players scored 73 points in a game at Detroit. Among those in attendance were Nuggets president and general manager Carl Scheer, and Bob King, Nuggets executive vice president. And then there were the fans, all present to immediately celebrate one of the greatest individual performances in NBA history.
It was the final game of the 1977-78 season and, going into the game, one thing was already certain: The Nuggets were going to the playoffs, win or lose.