Which HOFer center not named Olajuwon would you take after the time of Moses would you take? Ralph Sampson 7'4" 228 lbs (4.5 Rocket seasons, 305 GP, 19.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 50.0 FG%, 66.1 FT%) Yao Ming 7'6" 310 lbs (8 Rocket seasons, 486 GP, 19.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 52.5 FG%, 83.3 FT%)
My thoughts exactly. He'd be an epic small ball center. Not small, just quick. 100 pounds lighter than Yao. Not a top defensive presence, but versatile threat. He could maybe be the ultimate evolution of Stoudemire under Dantoni.
Sampson was better than Akeem before the injury. He was the future of the NBA. Bird, Isaiah & Magic were at an all time high. Then there was a gap till Jordan; that was supposed to be Ralph had injury not take him out. Ralph came into the league with the most fan fair to date and lived up to it, too. He was the once in a generation player; there was nothing he couldn’t do at the highest level. Like Hakeem his game is timeless and would age well no matter the year.
Sampson was closer to 7'1" and had a mediocre wingspan.... Yao literally was growing while a Rocket but also didn't have extraordinary length... Neither would be effective in today's game.
Both were extraordinary players limited by injury. If we're comparing in today's era, probably Sampson. If we're comparing them in terms of greatness in their respective eras, Yao hands down. Best C in the league for a while there.
Sampson was arrested for mail fraud and not paying child support. He went to prison. I need reliable. I'll take Yao. Yao went 21-21 in a Finals match. He got to the NBA HOF twice as fast as Sampson. And he forced Charles Barkley to kiss his ass. The Rockets retired his number.
Why not take both when you got the chance.......2 better than 1. I'll take the easy way, esp. in times of a pathogen. Can someone post Sampson's wingspan pls? Some say it's 2.24 m. (7.35 ft - 7'4 ft) (Beware that wingspan is mostly used for defensive purposes) Spoiler (Also depended on lesser player: Manute Bol had some freakish armlength 2.59m 8'6 ft, also Tacko Fall 2.54m 8'4 ft) Hasheem Thabeet (2.32m, 7.625 ft) Rudy Gobert (2.36m, 7'9 ft) Hakeem (2.29m, 7'625 ft) as Robin Lopez (7'625 ft) Ralph is listed at 7'4 height........could be a better Pau Gasol. (2.26 m or 7'42 - 7'5 ft wingspan) Yao had the same wingspan as Pau. In today's game it is really about who can knock down the 3 pointer consistently and has a quick release....Yao was too tall to block though. Splash Mountain (2.27m below 7'6ft) did it. (Yao could also get alot leaner if he weren't to bang in the post)
Ralph was ridiculously skilled in a way that hasn’t been seen for a man his size. Having said that, he really should have been even better than what he actually was. Maybe it was the system, being forced to play “twin towers”, but he should have been absolutely dominant given his skill set. He would have been great in the modern game. Even still, I’d take Yao over Ralph mostly because I think Yao was a better leader. I think Ralph coasted by a little on his awesome talent, but you never saw that from Yao Ming. Plus Yao is just a better person.
It depends on who they are playing with. Ralph was obviously a better compliment to Dream, since he played like a forward. We was the original KG but taller.
I'd take pre-injury Ralph over Yao every time. This dude could do anything on the court on a high-level and was an absolute monster. His issue is that he never seemed to quite maximize his talent before he got hurt and would take plays off from time to time. His ceiling was immense and he could play with Dream because of his skills away from the basket. Yao was a very good, but more limited player overall. Assuming good health peak Ralph > peak Yao
If I remember correctly, Akeem was a raw athletic beast while Ralph had more refined skills. That’s why Akeem was the 5 and Ralph was the 4 of the Twin Towers though they were interchangeable. I was pretty young at the time but I believe Ralph had sick handles for his size. Like better than the skilled 7’ers in the late 90s-00s era, Dirk, Timmy, Garnett, etc.
I would love to have seen Yao on load management to How mavs use it on kristaps. Yao could have played up until harden years easily. imagine if he stayed with us till 2018 (similar to dirk on mavs) even if he sat in the bench and we won a chip for Yao at age 37 and he walked away from game retired as a champ. That would’ve been amazing. But he gave out at age 30.
