I agree, Ralph was frustrating at times. In fact, I remember a quote, I'm not sure who made it, but it was about his tendency to make his first "fall-away" jump shot, but it essentially said something like this "I love it when Ralph makes his first turn around jump shot because it gives him the authority to shoot 5 more" - I believe it was from Pat Riley, but maybe was from Doug Moe (or someone else), but the bottom line is that other coaches not only didn't believe in his ability to make turn around jump shots (a la Akeem), but actually rejoiced in his poor shot selection. I was devistated when we traded Ralph for Sleepy & Joe "Barley Cares", but hind sight is 20/20''. We may have never won a Championship in '94 & '95 had we not made the trade.
Didn't want to start a new thread but i'm working on a Mike Tyson/Hakeem Olajuwon video and I need a picture of Hakeem holding either the 93-95 trophies or the MVP trophy... Can somebody help?
The Mavs had 3 draft picks the year he was drafted. They picked Detlef Schrempf first, then had back-to-back picks where they picked 2 stud centers : Uwe Blab and Bill Wennington. Joe Dumars was picked immediately after those two and right before the Rockets' shooter of the century, Steve Harris.
thx tinman..great video...OMG how did that team ever lose but sampson did have his ups and downs..bill hanzlik.. if you have a video of sweet lew dunking on a break..i would very much appreciate you posting it.... those were a thing of beauty..from what i remember..it always appeared he was taking a step in the air..and looked like he would never make it to the rim...yet he always would and would yank down the rim..
Was looking on youtube and noticed this Hakeem/Sampson video was getting hits from this thread... I uploaded a new video of the twin towers ('85 and '86 Rockets were as exciting as any team, the athleticism on the team was insane), this one is at the peak of Ralph's career when he hit the miracle shot vs. Lakers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1ff4LD9VkE The game is maybe the most exciting from start to finish (Lakers and Rockets were two of the best fastbreak teams in the league at the time)...just so many highlights. Sampson's skillset and powerful finishes are on display (because of his explosiveness and wingspan, his finishes/dunks really catch you by surprise). Hakeem takes over the game in the 3rd and keeps the Rockets close. Short sequence of the fight that got Hakeem ejected is also in there.
Wow. Just wow. Hakeem was a ROOKIE!! And he's only been playing any kind of basketball a total of what, 6 years at this point? Amazing. I could do with some nice, hard, knock-the-ball-30-feet blocks these days. The vicious punch in the face at 7:15 is hilarious. No joke the NBA was rougher back then. Show that to the guys that are all over Ariza's back.
What a pleasure that video is. Thanks, Tinman. (H)akeem was just a jumping bean. He had the freedom to go after offensive boards and weak side blocks at will. Ralph was a hell of talent, too. Question on Sampson- I am reading the Bill Simmons basketball book and he argues that the fall Sampson took in a regular season game in Boston in 1986 was a key moment. He contends that his back was so painful that Sampson changed the way he ran and this led to all of the knee injuries that pushed him out of the league. Does this ring true with anybody?
His name was spelled "Akeem" in college and early in his pro career. He changed it to be spelled "Hakeem". When asked about changing the spelling of his name he responded that he didn't change it, he corrected it. Implying it should always have been spelled "Hakeem".
It didn't last long but it was the best center-power forward combination of all time. They were 2 players that dominated both sides of court. Any combination with Barkley, Malone doesn't compare as they were more offensive players. Robinson and Duncan were not as dynamic and dominant as the original.
I think there are more highlights in that game than most of us see in a year nowadays. :grin: Thanks for the posting it. I like how Hakeem had to hold Ralph back and almost tackled him from going after Maurice Lucas (Ralph must've had a deathwish). Then Hakeem gets ejected for going after Kupchak. lol. Those teams back then were a blast to watch with all the fast breaking. Hell, those Lakers teams from then were 5-man clinics on running a fast break.
Do people realize how good Ralph Sampson was? I think folks focus on the years he was hurt. When healthy he was a sight to behold. He is a couple inches shorter than Yao Ming, had long arms, AND hops (rare combination). He had handles, speed, and IQ. He had touch from outside and an inside game.
Watching that video is like looking at a picture of the gorgeous woman you used to sleep with in college, the one who was so great in bed, when you're currently dating a woman who's kind of fun to be with at times but is so ugly you get embarrassed at times.
