Ralph Lee Sampson (born July 7, 1960 in Harrisonburg, Virginia) is a retired American college and professional basketball player. Ralph Sampson came into the NBA as a 7-foot-4 phenomenon, a three-time College Player of the Year, and the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. Accordingly, expectations for Sampson were very high. For his first three years with the Houston Rockets, Sampson averaged 20.7 points and 10.9 rebounds. He was NBA Rookie of the Year and a four-time All-Star, and he played on a team that dethroned the Los Angeles Lakers from atop the Western Conference and reached the NBA Finals in 1986. Sampson was already 6-foot-7 by the ninth grade and was 7-foot-3 in high school in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He averaged nearly 30 points, 19 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots as a high school senior. 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. The Rockets managed only a 29-53 record in 1983-84 and again earned the right to pick first in the 1984 NBA Draft. This time they chose the 7-foot Olajuwon out of the University of Houston. Many observers felt that the Rockets had made a mistake because it was believed that two 7-footers couldn't play effectively together. But others thought the combination would 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 ...

• published: 27 Feb 2008
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• author: VeoShock