Ralph Sampson

With his size and agility, Sampson was expected to revolutionize the center position with expectations to previous legends at the position from Wilt Chamberlain to Bill Russell when he reached the National Basketball Association.[2] The Houston Rockets picked him first overall in the 1983 NBA draft.[3] As a rookie, he averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds, played in the All-Star Game, and won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.[4]

The Rockets managed only a 29–53 record in 1983–84, which qualified them to pick first in the 1984 NBA draft. Houston selected fellow center Hakeem Olajuwon out of the University of Houston. Many observers criticized the Rockets' choice, believing the two 7-footers (known as the Twin Towers) would not be effective playing together, while others thought the combination could be overpowering. Sampson, playing a new style of power forward, had new expectations placed upon him. At the time, Dallas Mavericks Coach Dick Motta said, "That front line, when history is written when they've grown up, might be the best-assembled on one team. Ever." Houston guard John Lucas said of Sampson's move to forward, "He'll revolutionize the game."[5]

In 1984–85, the Rockets improved by 19 games to 48–34 and made the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Sampson had his best individual campaign, averaging 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds and earning a berth on the All-NBA Second Team. He and Olajuwon both played in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game, and Sampson, after scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, earned the game's MVP Award.[6] On March 5, 1985, in a loss against the Denver Nuggets, Sampson recorded 30 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals and was the first player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals since the league started recording steals.[7]

The next season Houston won the Midwest Division with a 51–31 record. Sampson experienced his first scare with injury during a game on March 24, 1986, when an attempt to grab a rebound against the Boston Celtics saw him land awkwardly with his head driven into the court. He had a severely bruised back and missed three games. In total, he averaged 18.9 points with 11.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 79 total games that season. In the playoffs, the Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings, but faced a stiffer challenge against Alex English and the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Semi-Finals, eventually winning the series 4–2, with the sixth and deciding game going to double overtime. Against the defending champion Lakers in the Conference Finals, the Rockets were ready to knock off their rivals who had the best of them during the season. The Rockets lost game 1, but the Rockets fought back, winning four straight to take the series four games to one. In-Game 5 of that series, Sampson provided one of the most memorable moments in NBA Playoff history.[8] With the score tied at 112, Olajuwon having earlier been ejected, and with only one second remaining on the clock, Sampson took an inbounds pass and launched a twisting turnaround jumper that bounced twice, and went through the hoop at the buzzer, giving the Rockets a 114–112 victory and a shocking series upset.

In the NBA Finals, the Rockets faced the Boston Celtics. Boston sportswriters were not happy about not getting revenge against the Lakers who had beaten the Celtics in the Finals the year before, but the matchup was interesting with the young frontcourt challenging the old guard of the Celtics. During the season at the Boston Garden, the Rockets were playing the Celtics well until Sampson suffered a jarring fall on his back. At the start of the Finals, Sampson quickly found himself in foul trouble early in Game 1 as Boston easily went up 2-0 going back to Houston. The Rockets won a close Game 3 under the leadership of Sampson. Game 4 also went down to the wire with the Celtics pulling it out on late Larry Bird 3-pointer heroics and untimely turnovers by Rockets guard Mitch Wiggins. In a similarly close Game 5 in Houston (under the 2–3–2 format), Sampson succumbed to taunting by Boston's much smaller 6-foot-1 backup guard Jerry Sichting, resulting in Sampson taking a swing and earning an ejection from the game. Strangely, this fired up the Rockets, who won Game 5 by 15 points without him thanks to the inspired play of Olajuwon, Jim Petersen, and Robert "Bobby Jo" Reid. Game 6 went back to Boston with Sampson finding himself again in foul trouble and of little effect against the older and wiser Celtic frontcourt of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. After the series, Boston coach KC Jones called the Rockets "the new monsters on the block", with the future looking very bright for the Rockets. During the six-game championship series loss against the Celtics, Sampson averaged 14.8 points on .438 shooting, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.[9]

In 1987, Sampson signed a $14.4 million contract for six years with the Rockets.[10] Sampson made the All-Star team in the 1986-87 season, but he played in just 43 games that year. On February 4, 1987, he suffered a major cartilage tear in his left knee against the Denver Nuggets, which happened when his right foot slipped. He wore a knee brace and tried to play on it but left the game soon after. There were reports of him having slipped due to remnants of solvent used to clean off scuffs done on the court by a drill team practicing their show before the game. Sampson was expected to miss six weeks.[11] He had arthroscopic surgery and rushed his rehab to make it back for the playoffs, a decision he has stated his regret over.[12] In total, he had averaged 15.6 points with 8.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists while only starting in 32 games. That year, the Rockets made it to the Conference Semifinals, with Sampson appearing in each playoff game and averaging over 30 minutes a game, which saw him average over 15 points with eight rebounds. However, the Rockets lost in six games to the Seattle SuperSonics.

19 games into the 1987-88 season, he was traded from the Rockets. He had averaged 15.9 points with 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists when he was traded on December 12, 1987 to the Golden State Warriors alongside reserve Steve Harris for Joe Barry Carroll, Sleepy Floyd, and cash; like Sampson, Carroll and Floyd had been NBA All-Stars in 1987.[13]

Injured halfway into the 1987–88 season, Sampson fell out of favor with Rockets Coach Bill Fitch and was traded, along with guard Steve Harris, to the Golden State Warriors for Eric "Sleepy" Floyd and Joe Barry Carroll, with Warriors general manager Don Nelson and coach George Karl believing that Sampson would be a key center threat for a team that was looking to build upon their 42-win season the previous year and reach their second straight postseason after a ten-year drought.

He played in 29 games for the Warriors while averaging 15.4 points with ten rebounds and 2.9 assists, but he was bothered by his left knee again, which required fluid to be drained out of it that made it less strong than his right knee; the Warriors won just 20 games that year. The following year, he played in 61 games with 36 as a starter, but he averaged just 6.4 points per game with five rebounds. The Warriors made the postseason that year and reached the Semifinals, but Sampson only made appearance in the second round, playing 43 total minutes against the Phoenix Suns. He scored a total of 20 points with one assist and 14 rebounds in three combined games as the Warriors lost in five games. It was his last playoff appearance. He was traded to the Sacramento Kings on September 27, 1989 for Jim Petersen.

Sampson averaged 6.4 points and 5.0 rebounds with Golden State in 1988–89 and was traded during the offseason to the Sacramento Kings for Jim Petersen. Sampson's injury issues continued in Sacramento as he totaled just 51 games in two seasons, averaging 4.2 and 3.0 points, respectively, in 1989–90 and 1990–91.

Released by the Kings, Sampson played a 10-game stint with the Washington Bullets in 1991–92 before being waived. He played 456 games in nine NBA seasons, which was 61.8% of the regular season games scheduled during his tenure.

Sampson played eight games for Unicaja Ronda of the Spanish League during the 1991–92 season.

Sampson also would play for the Rockford Lightning in the Continental Basketball Association during the 1994–95 season before ultimately retiring for good.

In 2005, Sampson pleaded guilty to owing more than $300K in back child support for two children from different mothers in the Northern Virginia area. In 2006, he was sentenced to two months in prison for mail fraud associated with the purchase of an SUV.[23]