The Rockets happily selected Sampson first in the 1983 draft, then teamed him up with Hakeem (then spelled “Akeem”) Olajuwon after winning another no. Sampson stayed all four years at Virginia, leaving valuable earning years on the table (and never playing in an NCAA championship game), but winning three Naismith Awards and finishing as one of college basketball’s greatest centers ever. Ralph Sampson coming to Boston - there might not have been a Kevin McHale there or Robert Parish.” When Sampson stunned basketball by staying in school, 1 Auerbach traded that pick and the 13th selection to Golden State for Parish and the third overall pick (which would become McHale), creating the “Big Three” that would eventually win three NBA titles over the next six seasons. “Auerbach came to my house and said, ‘You can come and play for the mighty Boston Celtics.’ I gave it a thought. The Celtics, a 61-win team in the previous season, featured a transcendent rookie forward named Larry Bird and owned the first overall pick. And he was - and still is - 7-foot-4.Īfter Sampson averaged 14.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks his freshman season, Boston Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach tried to convince him to enter the 1980 NBA draft. A franchise center who moved like Russell, passed like Wilt, and projected the same aloof immensity as Kareem? Yes. The sport had never seen anyone with Sampson’s potent blend of height and athleticism. How indeed?ĭuring Sampson’s first season for the University of Virginia 33 years ago, Sports Illustrated trumpeted his arrival with a cover story and screaming headline: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, INTRODUCING THE ONE AND ONLY RALPH SAMPSON! HE DUNKS! HE BLOCKS SHOTS! HE DRIBBLES BEHIND HIS BACK! HE’S 7-FOOT-4 - AND STILL GROWING! That’s five exclamation marks, one less than the number of times Sampson appeared on the magazine’s cover over the next four years.

“How could a 7-foot-4 person disappear?” he asked. He mentioned hearing people say that he’d disappeared of late. From 1991 to 1998, every NBA championship team included either Jordan or Olajuwon furthermore, at least one of Drexler, Jordan, and Olajuwon was involved in every NBA Finals from 1990 to 1998.Ralph Sampson spoke briefly at a press conference one day before being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Sportswriter Sam Smith speculates that such a trade 'would have changed league history and maybe the entire Michael Jordan legend'. Had the Rockets made the deal, Olajuwon states the Rockets could have selected Michael Jordan with the number two pick to play alongside Olajuwon and Drexler, who had established chemistry playing together during their Phi Slama Jama days in college.

In his autobiography, Living the Dream, Olajuwon mentions an intriguing draft trade offered to the Rockets that would have sent Clyde Drexler and the number two pick in the 1984 NBA draft from Portland in exchange for Ralph Sampson. Here’s a quote from Olajuwon’s Wikipedia page regarding his college career and him entering the draft: Imagine how differently history would be if the Rockets pulled the trigger on this deal.

1984 houston rockets roster