Ralph Sampson Biography, Age, Wife, Children, Net Worth and Career

Ralph Sampson  Biography

Ralph Sampson born Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. is an American retired basketball player.he was also a coll of the Naisimth Momerial Basketball Hall of fame.

A 7-foot-4 phenom, he played three times in College Player of the Year, and first selection in the 1983 NBA draft, Sampson brought some expectations with him to the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The NBA Rookie of the Year, Sampson averaged 20.7 points and 10.9 rebounds for his first three seasons with the Houston Rockets before he started having injuries.Sampson had three surgeries,he then retired as a four time all stars an NBA Rookie of the Year, and an NBA All-Star Game MVP (1985).

One of his many career highlights was a buzzer-beating shot to dethrone the Los Angeles Lakers as Western Conference champions in 1986, derailing their hopes for coveted back-to-back NBA titles, and sending the Rockets to their second NBA Finals.

Ralph Sampson Age

Sampson was born on July 7, 1960 in Harrisonburg,Virginia,Sampson. He is 58 years old as of 2018.

Ralph Sampson Height

Ralph is 2.24 meters tall.

Ralph Sampson Wife

Ralph Sampson married his wife Aleize R.Dail in 1986 when he was 26 years old.there wedding was held in Anniston, they exchanged their vows but the marriage did not last for a long.The two got divorced in 2003 after they stayed together for 17 years.

Ralph Sampson photos

Ralph Sampson Children

Ralph has four children,two sons and two daughters,both sons are basketball players while the older girl works at ESPN and the younger one helps her father. His 1st son is Ralph lee Sampson III,and his 2nd son is Robert Alan Sampson.His fist daughter is Rachel Lee Sampson,she graduated from Stanford university and the youngest is Anna Aleize Sampson.

Ralph Sampson College

Sampson was arguably the most heavily recruited college basketball prospect of his generation and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated six times in a span of less than four years (December 17, 1979; December 1, 1980; March 30, 1981; November 29, 1982; December 20, 1982; and October 31, 1983).

Playing center for the University of Virginia, he led the Cavaliers to an NIT title in 1980, an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1981 and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 1983. He earned three Naismith Awards as the National Player of the Year, only the second athlete to do so (Bill Walton was the first), and a pair of Wooden Awards.

Sampson considered leaving Virginia after his junior year and declaring for the 1982 NBA draft. The San Diego Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers would flip a coin to determine who would draft first overall, but the deadline for Sampson to make himself available came before the scheduled coin flip. Rather than risk playing for the Clippers, Sampson stayed in school.

Ralph Sampson  Career|NBA

Houston Rockets

Sampson with his size and agility he was expected to score like Wilt Chamberlain and win championships like Bill Russell when he reached the National Basketball Association. He was picked first by The Houston Rockets in the 1983 NBA draft.As a rookie, he averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds, played in the All-Star Game, and won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

The Rockets managed only a 29–53 record in 1983 to 1984, which qualified them to pick first in the 1984 NBA draft. Houston selected fellow center Hakeem Olajuwon out of the University of Houston. Many observers criticized the Rockets’ choice, believing the two 7-footers (known as the Twin Towers) would not be effective playing together, while others thought the combination could be overpowering.

Sampson, playing a new style of power forward, had new expectations placed upon him. At the time, Dallas Mavericks Coach Dick Motta said, “That front line, when history is written, when they’ve grown up, might be the best ever assembled on one team. Ever.” Houston guard John Lucas said of Sampson’s move to forward, “He’ll revolutionize the game.”

In 1984–85 the Rockets improved by 19 games to 48–34 and made the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Sampson had his best individual campaign, averaging 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds and earning a berth on the All-NBA Second Team. He and Olajuwon both played in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game, and Sampson, after scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, earned the game’s MVP Award.

On March 5, 1985, in a loss against the Denver Nuggets, Sampson recorded 30 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals and was the first player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals since the league started recording steals. The next season Houston won the Midwest Division with a 51–31 record.

In the playoffs, the Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings, but faced a stiffer challenge against Alex English and the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Semi-Finals, eventually winning the series 4–2, with the sixth and deciding game going to double overtime. Against the defending champion Lakers in the Conference Finals, the Rockets were ready to knock off their rivals who had the best of them during the season.

The Rockets lost game 1, but the Rockets fought back, winning four straight to take the series four games to one. In Game 5 of that series, Sampson provided one of the most memorable moments in NBA Playoff history. With the score tied at 112, Olajuwon having earlier been ejected, and with only one second remaining on the clock, Sampson took an in-bounds pass and launched a twisting turnaround jumper that sailed through the hoop at the buzzer, giving the Rockets a 114-112 victory and a shocking series upset.

In the NBA Finals the Rockets faced the Boston Celtics. Boston sportswriters were not happy about not getting revenge against the Lakers who had beaten the Celtics in the Finals the year before, but the matchup was interesting with the young front court challenging the old guard of the Celtics.

During the season at the Boston Garden, the Rockets were playing the Celtics well until Sampson suffered a jarring fall on his back. At the start of the Finals, Sampson quickly found himself in foul trouble early in Game 1 as Boston easily went up 2-0 going back to Houston. The Rockets won a close Game 3 under the leadership of Sampson. Game 4 also went down to the wire with the Celtics pulling it out on late Larry Bird 3-pointer heroics and untimely turnovers by Rockets guard Mitch Wiggins.

In a similarly close Game 5 in Houston, (under the 2–3–2 format) Sampson succumbed to taunting by Boston’s much smaller 6-foot-1 backup guard Jerry Sichting resulting in Sampson taking a swing and earning an ejection from the game. Strangely, this fired up the Rockets, who won Game 5 by 15 points without Ralph thanks to the inspired play of Olajuwon, Jim Petersen, and Robert “Bobby Jo” Reid.

Game 6 went back to Boston with Sampson finding himself again in foul trouble and of little effect against the older and wiser Celtic front court of Bird, McHale and Parish. After the series, Boston coach KC Jones called the Rockets, “the new monsters on the block” with the future looking very bright for the Rockets. During the six-game championship series loss against the Celtics, Sampson averaged 14.8 points on .438 shooting, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Ralph Sampson Status

He actively played from 1993 to 1995 for Houston Rockets at the central position as a power forward.

Ralph Sampson Pumas

puma

Ralph Sampson Awards

• Naismith College Player of the Year (1981–1983)
• USBWA College Player of the Year (1981–1983)
• Adolph Rupp Trophy (1981–1983)
• Associated Press Player of the Year (1981–1983)
• UPI Player of the Year (1981–1983)
• John R. Wooden Award (1982–1983)
• NABC Player of the Year (1982–1983)
• Sporting News Player of the Year (1983)
• NBA Rookie of the Year (1984)
• NBA All-Rookie Team (1984)
• NBA All-Star Game MVP (1985)
• NBA All-Star (1984–1987)
• All-NBA Second Team selection (1985)
• National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2011)
• Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2012)

Ralph Sampson Net Worth

Ralph has an estimated net worth of $6 Million.

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