Davis was a four year starter at North Carolina before making the jump to the NBA where the Phoenix Suns made him the 5th overall pick in 1977. Davis had a fantastic rookie season averaging 23 points and 6 rebounds en route to winning the 1978 Rookie of the year award. He was also one of only a handful of players since 1970 to make the all-star game their rookie year. Davis continued his growth toward stardom in his second year where he averaged 24 points and once again made the all-star team. Even though he was having fantastic success on the basketball court Davis got entangled in the scourge of the NBA in the late 70s and early 80s: Cocaine.

The cocaine addiction effected Davis’s play on the court and his numbers began to drop. Following the 1980 death of Utah Jazz forward Terry Furlow who wrecked his car while high on drugs, Davis began to seek treatment. Unfortunately the treatment did not last long and he was once again addicted.

The following season Davis’s career hit a low point. He missed 27 games due to a combination of drugs, alcohol and injuries and lost his starting job. The next season it looked like he had recovered but like before it would not last.

Davis missed most of the 84-85 season with a back injury but he also sought help with his addictions, this time however the treatment worked and Davis would stay clean. The rest of the Suns locker room would be a different story.

In 1987 a huge drug scandal broke involving several players on the Phoenix Suns roster. The scandal is the largest the NBA has ever had to deal with. Besides Davis, who got immunity to testify and escaped the scandal pretty much unharmed, Suns guards Jay Humphries, and Grant Gondrezick, center James Edwards and former players Gar Heard and Mike Bratz as well as the teams manager and photographer were all indicted for trafficking narcotics.

All the players involved faced possibly life time bans from the NBA such as happened with Michael Ray Richardson, Mitchell Wiggens, and John Drew. But luckily for them none of them tested positive and all plea bargained out and avoided trial. Edwards and Humphries went on to enjoy solid careers in the NBA, and Humphries now coached in the D-League. Heard eventually ended up coaching the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s. Only Gondrezick has had continual trouble with the law and a few years ago was sentenced in a fraud case.

The fall out may not have effected the players much but it effected the Suns organization. The team traded nearly half it’s roster within days of the fall out and new owner Jerry Colangelo heard rumors that the team may be bought out from under him and relocated to St Louis. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed the Suns got on track to rebuilding their franchise.

Davis was blackballed by the franchise, they offered him an insulting offer to re-sign and he left to join the Denver Nuggets. Davis played two and a half seasons as a key reserve for the Nuggets before being traded to the Portland Trailblazers. After playing half a season with the Blazers he re-signed for his final season with the Nuggets.

Davis became a broadcaster for the Nuggets after his playing days and a scout for the Wizards later on. He eventually repaired his relationship with the Suns and in 1994 had his #6 retired by the franchise and in 2004 was enshrined in their ring of honor.

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