Rocket career potentials: Ralph Sampson vs Yao Ming

I pick Sampson.

Yao was just too "stoppable" in the playoffs: fronting, stamina, referees, ....

 

Yao was very similar to Sampson coming into the league, a super tall player with a soft shot and good court vision (both were criticized as soft), but Sampson prior to his getting injured in 1986 was better. It wasn't just for a laugh that Pat Riley had him play point guard in the 1985 All Star game he could legitimately handle the ball and run the court. Also consider how much Yao got flustered by physical defenses while Sampson played at a time that defenses were far far more physical.

As much as I like Yao from Rockets' history I have no doubt a Sampson in his prime, say from the 1984 to 1985 season would dominate a Yao in his prime.

 

Great topic! I'd have to side with Sampson. I think he was a better ball handler. Jeesh...the "what could've beens". I wish the original Twin Towers would've panned out. We would've been the third dynasty next to the Celtics and Lakers of the 80's.

 

While that is some great highlights of Sampson just showing a lot of dunks and skyhooks doesn't do justice to his whole repertoire.

 

Sampson played before I was even born

But from a few youtube clips, Sampson seemed to be freakishly athletic and skilled for his size. Could've been one of the greats.

 

yao dominated inside, but sampson dominated inside and out.

zone defenses killed yao. sampson had the guard skills to pick apart a zone if need be.

 

Love Yao Ming, but this is not even close, Ralph was way more skilled as a basketball player, and was a much better NBA player overall.

If you had to choose one at their peak it was Ralph every time.

DD

 

that video give me pleasure every time.

 

Are y'all kidding? Ralph Sampson had two "good" years the first two years of his career, while Yao Ming legitimately had 6, 7 All-Star years. Ralph Sampson only broke 20 PER once in his rookie year and broke 55 TS% once in the same year. Sampson never reached his prime due to injuries but prime Yao would destroy Sampson in his first few years.

 

Definetly Ralph

I remember an SI ad that had Ralph blocking a Kareem hook shot and the caption was "How does it feel to be 7'2", and a little to short")

 

Not even close.

 

Sampson and Olajuwon would have won several championships if Sampson hadn't been injured. That would be like having a front court with Yao Ming and Tim Duncan in today's game, albeit they'd have very different skill sets.

 

Y'all can speculate all you want about how good Sampson could have been but Yao Ming actually reached his potential and became a dominant player for several years. Ralph Sampson at any point in his career was as good as Yao was in his prime.

 

fixed

 

It's gotta be Yao, no offense to Ralph but he had The Dream on his team.

Yao was our key to beating the Lakers, they couldn't stop him in Game 1 of the 2009 playoffs and if he stayed healthy, we had a very good chance at the championship.

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I go with Yao. I watched Ralph play, and if you go back and watch that YouTube clip, you'll hear the announcers saying over and over again something I said all the time: "You wonder why he isn't dominating the league". When he got hot, Sampson was amazing to watch. The problem is, he would often disappear for long stretches, and be a complete non-factor. Whereas Yao was always someone to be reckoned with on the court, and very rarely faded into the background. I think if Sampson could have upped his mental game a bit more (and avoided injury, of course), he's be the most dominant player in Rocket history, even outshining Hakeem.

 

Its funny you guy's bring up the name Ralph Sampson, because his son entered this years draft. Idk where he's going to go, but most likely could be had with our 2nd rounder. The kid, is shorter than his dad, only measuring around 6'11..

on topic: I'd go with Yao.

 

Fixed.