PITTSBURGH • With a spot in the Hall of Fame and a number retired to the rafters, Dan Issel, a 6-foot-9 center known as “The Horse,” loomed over the basketball court and the media all the same, so it’s impossible to forget the moment he leaned forward to answer a question, locked eyes, and let free a moment of raw uncertainty.
David Thompson, a Hall of Famer like Issel whose number hung near Issel’s in Denver Nuggets history, had been spotted at a recent home game and the crowd welcomed him with an ovation. Standing on the sideline, the president and coach of a team circling .