Ralph Sampson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

With his size and agility, Sampson was expected to revolutionize the center position, drawing comparisons to Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. As a rookie, he averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds, won Rookie of the Year, and made the All-Star Game. After the Rockets drafted Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984, the two 7-footers became known as the Twin Towers. Sampson moved to power forward, and Dallas 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.' In 1984–85, Sampson had his best season, averaging 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds, earning All-NBA Second Team honors, and winning the All-Star Game MVP with 24 points and 10 rebounds. On March 5, 1985, he recorded 30 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals, becoming the first player in NBA history to hit those marks since the league started recording steals.

In Their Own Story

The defining moment of Sampson's Rockets career came in Game 5 of the 1986 Western Conference Finals against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. With the score tied at 112, Olajuwon having been ejected, and only one second remaining, Sampson took an inbounds pass and launched a twisting turnaround jumper. The ball bounced twice and went through the hoop at the buzzer, giving the Rockets a 114–112 victory and a shocking series upset, four games to one. That season, Houston won the Midwest Division with a 51–31 record. In the NBA Finals, the Rockets faced the Boston Celtics. Sampson struggled with foul trouble and averaged 14.8 points on .438 shooting, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in the six-game loss. In Game 5, after being taunted by Boston's 6-foot-1 guard Jerry Sichting, Sampson took a swing and was ejected, but the Rockets won that game by 15 points without him. After the series, Boston coach KC Jones called the Rockets 'the new monsters on the block.'

Reader's Guide

Sampson's Rockets tenure spanned from 1983 to 1987. In his rookie season (1983–84), the Rockets went 29–53, but Sampson averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds. The next year, the Rockets improved by 19 games to 48–34 and made the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. In 1985–86, Houston won the Midwest Division with a 51–31 record. Sampson averaged 18.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 79 games. The Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings, beat the Denver Nuggets 4–2 in the Conference Semifinals (with the deciding game going to double overtime), and then upset the Lakers in five games before falling to the Celtics in six. In 1986–87, Sampson signed a $14.4 million contract for six years, made the All-Star team, but played just 43 games. On February 4, 1987, he suffered a major cartilage tear in his left knee against the Nuggets. He had arthroscopic surgery and rushed his rehab for the playoffs, a decision he later regretted. He averaged 15.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists that season. The Rockets reached the Conference Semifinals but lost in six games to the Seattle SuperSonics. Injured 19 games into the 1987–88 season, Sampson was traded on December 12, 1987, to the Golden State Warriors alongside Steve Harris for Joe Barry Carroll, Sleepy Floyd, and cash.

Did You Know?

• Sampson was the first player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals in a game since the league started recording steals, doing so on March 5, 1985 against the Denver Nuggets.
• Sampson's game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 5 of the 1986 Western Conference Finals against the Lakers came with only one second remaining and Olajuwon already ejected.
• Sampson signed a $14.4 million contract for six years with the Rockets in 1987.
• Sampson was the second athlete to earn three Naismith Awards as National Player of the Year; Bill Walton was the first.
• Sampson appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated six times in fewer than four years between December 1979 and October 1983.