Whenever you get one of the greatest centers in the league and one of the greatest perimeter scorers in the league, you get high hopes. Especially after the public saw how much damage Kobe and Shaq did and their successes...
lots of potential, amounted to nothing due to X. that 86 series probably made it worse, in year 2 of the duo, they beat the lakers, then injuries set in, the team would have won 5+ titles had sampson never been injured.
Then why not Shaq and Penny? They also made it to one NBA Finals but fell apart as a duo. And they didn't even have the excuse of injuries.
what about Stockton and Malone!?!?!?!?!? I mean common... two from the Rockets, including a ring holder? Please.
i think so. Maybe they're not the #1 disappointment -- but certainly top 5 of recent times. I certainly expected more then 1 playoff series. As did everyone else -- from an article written about the trade: linky Two legit healthy allstars, in their prime....not just contenders -- but a potential dynasty...and by the second yr injuries started to plague them . Two 50+ win seasons didn't save JVG's job....and now....it's effectively gone. We're pining away for Aaron Brooks..... Grrrrrrr.
Whoever wrote this article has no idea what he's talking about. The Rockets only made the playoffs once with Yao and T-Mac? They made the playoffs four out of five years the two were here together. Hakeem and Sampson had more success than "some" of the other duos on that list? Hakeem and Sampson made it to the Finals. I think those other duos had one playoff series win combined (Phoenix over the Duncan-less Spurs in 2000).
Ahh the good old (or bad old) days of having 2 top 10 players in the league surrounded by terrible role players and plagued by injuries.
Olajuwon and Sampson isn't a disappointing duo but depending on the criteria, it could be argued for. in terms of potential, they never lived up to it due to sampson's injuries and lack of fire. potential doesn't correlate a lot with disappointment, however. shaq and penny should be on the list as well based on how much potential they had. grant hill and t-mac, iverson and melo are some other duos that could've been included. i'm in absolute agreement with t-mac and yao being on the list.
I wouldn't say Ralph lacked fired, his hip injury started a chain reaction of injuries, basically if he was in the nba now, he would have sat out an entire year or two. back then, you play. it's the 80s yo.
Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson at Number 2. Really? Pretty shocked to see these two making the list. The fact they made an NBA final together is pretty good already. This article is baloney. The writer must have some Rocket hate.
bad choice at #2. If those got to an NBA Finals, why are a disappointing duo? dont get it, they beat the lakers of the 80's to get to the finals. and they took the celtics of the 80s to 6 games. and why Tmac and Hill is above Hakeem and Ralph? it was the same thing, one player getting injured, while the other played amazing, and Tmac and Hill didnt got past the 1st round? other duo that hasnt been mentioned it: Vince Carter and Tmac, this duo had potential, if you put together Carter and Tmac in his prime, would be great.
Another to consider is Alonzo and Hardaway. Pat Riley left the Knicks to go coach them and they got knocked out of the 1st round 4 times. Ironically, kept getting beat by the Knicks.
