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Ralph Sampson (pre-knee problems): Do you believe he was a true Rockets legend?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by tinman, Nov 5, 2006.

  1. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    [​IMG][​IMG]


    Aparently the YOFers and newbie Rocket fans only believe Ralph Sampson just made one shot in his entire career. I just want to poll the Clutchfans to see to see if they feel Ralph in his short stint with the Rockets was considered a Rockets legend.

    Example: Mario Elie, a Rocket Legend. Won over the Rocket faithful with his heart and clutch play.


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    NBA statistics
    SEASON TEAM GP GS MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
    '83-84 Houston 82 82 32.8 .523 .661 11.1 2.0 21.0
    '84-85 Houston 82 82 37.6 .502 .676 10.4 2.7 22.1
    '85-86 Houston 79 76 36.3 .488 .641 11.1 3.6 18.9
     
    #1 tinman, Nov 5, 2006
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2006
  2. Manun

    Manun Member

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    Well he made the first twin tower in the NBA with hakeem but hell always be remember a player that could have been HOF if he wasnt injured. Hes like whatBent was in pacers but 10 times better as a player before injury.
     
  3. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    Sampson helped the Rockets by transforming the Rockets from the worst team in the league, to a team that went through LEGENDARY playoff run to the finals.
    a 7-4 who can run the break. Dream and Sampson in 1986 could
    DECIMATE any and EVERY FRONTCOURT in the NBA Today. There's nothing remotely close to how awesome they were together.
     
  4. arno_ed

    arno_ed Contributing Member

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    It is always funny to see a thread started by tinman were he asks a question, and if someone does not anwser the way he wants he starts to tell them why they are wrong :D

    Altough in this case i agree with tinman, Sampson is a legend.
     
  5. Rockets Dynasty

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    Samspon is a ROCKETS legend he is NOT an NBA legend.


    Perhaps tinman should point ut that the poster he is calling out I believe caffeys_irish or something like that was arguing tinman's assetion that Samspon was a legendary NBA player overall.

    Big difference IMO.


    Example:

    Sampson/Horry/Cassell = Rockets legends

    Hakeem/Drexler/Moses = NBA legends
     
  6. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    i have to educate people here.
    i dont want people belittleing what was done in the past.
    They replay that Ralph Sampson special on ESPN Classic with Hakeem all the time. Listen to what Dream says about how Ralph would be in the modern NBA

    I quote the GREATEST ROCKET OF ALL TIME " Ralph would score over them ALL DAY".

    who are you haters going to quote? your mom? your fat brother?
    who with ANY NBA CREDIBILITY are you going to quote that Ralph wasnt worthy of Rocket legend?

    can you top quoting Hakeem?
     
  7. Rockets Dynasty

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    Dude give it up, you asserted that Sampson was an NBA legend.

    UV legend? Yes.

    Rockets legen? I would have to say probably so.

    But "legendary player" is how you described him.


    Absolutely NOT

    You also 100 percent did NOT mean "legendary Rockets player" as you then asserted that Yao is NOT a "legendary player"

    Believe me if Samspon is a Rockets legend, then how exactly can you be so 100 percent assertive that Yao isn't?


    Bottom line, you are arguing that Samspon was an NBA legend and people WILL call you out on that one.
     
  8. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    Dynasty its clear that some people dont believe that Ralph is ROCKETS LEGEND. And that people like belittleing him in order to say that a current Rocket is good.

    I like Yao, am I going to spit on the accomplishments of Ralph Sampson or Moses Malone to say that he's a good player? NO.

    Am I going to speak the truth that Ralph has accomplished a historical task in NBA HISTORY? yes. Beat the Lakers in the 80s was NOT as simple task. That same team that won 5 NBA titles.

    If Ralph sucked or was not of legendary Rocket status, no way we would win ONE GAME against the Lakers.

    We wouldnt win ONE GAME against the Celtics.

    if you hate Ralph then you spit on every Rocket past and present.
     
  9. compucomp

    compucomp Member

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    This poll is a demonstration of the fallacy of the excluded middle i.e. the false dilemma...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dichotomy

    There are more choices than "Legendary" or "Minor footnote", especially between them.
     
  10. Manun

    Manun Member

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    I meant jonathan Bender, he could run like a guard and play like a SF. His stas arent amazing but his game was ended by Pacers so u never know like ralph.
    yeah ralph was awsome. He would probably been the top 5 players of all time if not the injury but what ppl will remember of him is his injury. We knew he dominated with hakeem but it was also devastating for fans to see him leave the game because of what could have been. U never said rocket legend, u said legend. ASSUMING NBA LEGEND
     
  11. Rockets Dynasty

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    Dude whatever seriously. I just said he was a Rockets legend.

    My argument is that I believ yao is better, and I disagreed that Samspon was an NBA legend.

    Now IF he stayed healthy that would probably be a different story.

    Don't get all hissy just because some people think yao is better, I mean really I doubt ANYONE here actually said Samspon wasn't a legend in Rockets own franchise.
     
  12. Rockets Dynasty

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    I know, that's what's so funny about it.


    I was looking for something like "legend for hitting that shot will always be remembered, could have been legendary"'

    or something like that just to even have a more realistic poll.

    I would say he qualifies as a Rockets legend though.

    But the poll options is about as bad as the options on the poll on November 7th.
     
  13. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    Dynasty,
    look at my poll question.

    some people here do not believe he is a ROCKETS LEGEND.

    I bet if Dream had a serious knee injury, these idiots would belittle him too.
     
  14. TBar

    TBar Contributing Member

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    I've never seen anyone so tall play so well. Dude could bring the ball down the court like a ball handler. He could pass like Vlade Divac. He could run the break with Rocney McCray`(someone else under rated).

    The twin towers would have put Duncan and Staypuff Robinson down if they had played each other in their prime-IMO. Ralph was a special player with a deep knowledge of the game.

    If the referees had not called a foul every time someone looked wrong at Larry Bird, that series could have certainly been closer. That was a brutal series that the referees called without consistency. Recall McHAle and Robert Parrish slapping Hakeem and McCray with impunity from the Refs.

    The Rockets with Ralph leading us -beat the Lakers in LA in their prime. LA had one of the best runs ever for any sports franchise in the 80's.The Rockets won 2 games out of 6 in the Boston series many have called (the Celtics) one of the greatest teams ever to play in NBA history.

    RAlph did all this after being drafted in 1983 then traded with bad knees in 1987 I think. His ability to adapt his game to those around him was unreal. Hakeem took the center spot and Ralph just moved over to the 4.

    Ralph was a cipher-an enigma. He had attitude problems with the press, yet could adapt his game like few others have ever done.

    Awesome player-I think you can make the argument he is an NBA legend. Few other players have done what he did in as short a time.
     
  15. TBar

    TBar Contributing Member

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    Tinman-

    Almost forgot-IMO Sampson is certainly a Rockets legend and I think it could be arrgued an NBA legend.

    Thanks for starting this thread.

    Please note - this is in no way any disrespect to YAo. Yao is my favorite Rocket and I think already a Rockets legend and this season establishing himself as an NBA legend.

    Tinman - were you a fan of Rodney McCray??
     
  16. E Wizzle

    E Wizzle Member

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    Sampson is a legend in that he's one of the greatest "What If" stories in the league's history. Was he a legend for what he produced on the court? No. He was a great player who was also followed with some of the most intense hype seen at the time. I don't mean this as a slight in any way since Ralph had the talent to be a Top 50 player of all-time, but he wasn't. Someone like Sabonis is given the benefit of the doubt for massive gaps in his career because of just how good he was even after his crippling injuries, his freakish combination of athletic ability and skills (even moreso than Sampson), and his accomplishments on the international level.
     
  17. blazer_ben

    blazer_ben Rookie

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    Well aravydis Sabonis could have been an alltime ledgend had we seen his prime here. i love yao, but a prime sabonis was better then the current yao( but yao will continue to improve all said and done, yao might endup being better, if not way better) and probaly ralph sampson too. it's all and heresay. unless you saw ralph or aravydis in action, it's hard to tell. i've seen the games of sabas in his prime and he was magnaficent!
     
  18. vcchlw

    vcchlw Contributing Member

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    If Drazen Petrovic could become a legend, why can't Ralph?
     
  19. blazer_ben

    blazer_ben Rookie

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    Granted i never saw ralph( too young) but going by you're word, he must have been a real GEM.
     
  20. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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    Ralph didn't die in his prime. Petrovic was a great shooter - he isn't a legend. Ralph was a very-good-but-inconsistent basketball player for a short period of time, but... not a legend. You can call him a Rockets legend (only for the what-if scenario of "what if he still had his knees?"), but he's not an NBA legend.

    *ducks and runs for cover*
     

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