A real phenomenon in the NCAA under the colors of Virginia (elected best player three years in a row), ralph sampson (born July 7, 1960) was logically drafted number 1 by the Rockets in 1983.
From the first season, this huge guy of 2m24 panicked the counters: 21.0 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks on average! Already, we are talking about him as the new Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The following year, Houston chooses again first during the famous Draft 1984 and selects a certain Akeem Olajuwon.
A pivot when Sampson is already there, but why?
Because Ralph Sampson was a winger. Distant shoots, “coast-to-coast” and dribbling behind the back did not scare him. He is the ancestor of Kristaps Porzingis and Victor Wembanyama. Compared to the Frenchman, he had the same ball-in-hand dexterity, but his mid-range shot was clearly less on point. It should still be remembered that 40 years ago, the posts were well anchored and the fleeing interiors were rare, even nonexistent.
Equally incredible: his participation in the 1984 Slam Dunk Contest. Again, the dunks made by Wembanyama during the warm-up are of the same level, or even better since the Frenchman uses “Riders”.
Magic Johnson’s Lakers dominated
But make no mistake, just like Wembanyama, Ralph Sampson was not a fairground freak, but a whole good one.
Four All-Star Game selections, a selection in the league’s best second five, Rookie Of The Year… On an individual level, he collected honors and he really was a very gifted player, as he proved at the All-Star Game 1985 by winning the MVP trophy. At his side, only big names: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Akeem Olajuwon, George Gervin, to name a few…
Collectively, he also shook the NBA in 1986. Associated with Akeem Olajuwon to form the first generation “Twin Towers”, Ralph Sampson eliminated the Lakers of the great era with a buzzer shot! During the FinalsLarry Bird’s Celtics put an end to their title hopes (4-2 defeat), but everyone sees the Rockets as future champions…
Except that Sampson does not yet know that these Finals will be the pinnacle of his career. Because the sequel will be much less glorious, because of his squeaky knees (triple operation!) and his large frame which has more and more difficulty keeping up with the infernal rhythm of the NBA. This is also the main concern about the future of Wembanyama. Sampson, but also Porzingis, have been very slowed down by injuries, as LeBron James explained on Thursday, the most important thing is that he stays healthy.
” It was an amazing experience to play together“, he will explain a few years later, about his duet with Akeem Olajuwon. ” I would have really liked to play longer with him. I don’t think anyone had imagined the magnitude of our duo, because no one had ever really tried it. There are guys who have also been called the ‘Twin Towers’ but not at our level. We were the original ‘Twin Towers’. With his qualities and mine, it was truly unique. »
Has-been at 29…
In 1988, Houston was tired of seeing him in the infirmary and sent him to Golden State. It will be the beginning of the end for Ralph Sampson. Just three years after reaching the Finals, he only runs at 6.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 against on average. At 29, he is already a “has-been”, in a career somewhat reminiscent of those of Brandon Roy, Gilbert Arenas or Penny Hardaway. A shooting star.
Without glory, and after two last stints in Sacramento then Washington, he retired from the NBA at 31. He will try the European adventure, but his freelance in Spain will not change anything. He’s just a ghost on the court. A large carcass that no longer manages to go back and forth on the ground…
In 1992, Ralph Sampson thus drew a definitive line on his playing career and he decided to become a coach. We find him as an assistant in the NCAA or in the minor leagues. While justice caught up with him for non-payment of child support and various scams, one of his sons, Ralph Sampson III, had a decent career at the University of Minnesota.
As for Ralph Sr, he entered the Hall of Fame in 2012, honored for his exceptional university career more than for his lightning passage in the NBA, where he left a nickname for posterity with Hakeem Olajuwon: the “Twin Towers”. Two avant-garde interiors according to him.
” I could go up the field and so could he, so you had two players who could sustain a high pace without needing to go down the racket. We could dribble, we could shoot and as people often tell me, we were probably a bit ahead of our time. »
Their spiritual son is French, and like them, he will be number 1 in the Draft.
