Ralph Sampson says he would average 30 and 20 in todays NBA

[eliteballer]

https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/exclusive-ralph-sampson-sets-record-straight-on-victor-wembanyama-comparisons-rockets-kevin-durant-trade

A healthy Ralph? I'm guessing 25 and 15.

[1987_Lakers]

I remember seeing an old clip of Wilt from the late 80's or early 90's saying he would average 75 in today's league. :oldlol:

[Kblaze8855]

I remember seeing an old clip of Wilt from the late 80's or early 90's saying he would average 75 in today's league. :oldlol:

he hated the way that came off for the record. He talked about it before he died. How he went down and he had a three or four hour interview about the history of the game on every subject you can imagine for an dvd the nba wanted and they only took two clips from it. That one which he felt was out of context and the one where he said Kareem was the first player he needed help to guard.

He swore off interviews after that because he hated how they were chopped up to make him look like an asshole.

But it’s definitely something he would say. But he would say it with a bit of a smirk even though hed dead pan it so he looks serious.

[Kblaze8855]

And Ralph might get you 24/11. He could do more but he fits what the league already does 3 pointers aside. He wouldn’t be the kinda physical rebounding outlier to go get 15 a game. He was something of a tall ass wing even then. He might be a tweener like Giannis now. They would let him develop more as a ball handler and once they got rid of carrying guys like him could change direction easier.

He had old school skills because they forced them onto bigs back then. But I think he would be inclined to play more faceup than he did then. And he already did that a lot.

[sdot_thadon]

Well hed have exactly 3 years to get it done, those knees were on a timer.

[Phoenix]

Yeahhhh I doubt he's doing 15 boards. 10-11 based on his frame and how he played back then and what it would adjust to now. He would probably score 25 today, but in Ralph's ( brief) day that would have been good enough for 7th-8th in the league. Today that level of scoring would probably land you outside the top 10.

[RRR3]

Sampson couldn’t score that efficiently even for his era and he didn’t shoot 3s, no coach is letting him waste enough possessions to get 25.

[Xiao Yao You]

Well hed have exactly 3 years to get it done, those knees were on a timer.

Not with load management

[sdot_thadon]

Not with load management

What would that push it up to? 3 1/2? :oldlol: We still got tall trees that cant stay healthy NOW, with load management.

[Xiao Yao You]

What would that push it up to? 3 1/2? :oldlol: We still got tall trees that cant stay healthy NOW, with load management.
Embiid might have never played a game in the 80s. Load management has certainly lengthened some careers. Walton was shot full of pain killers and put on the floor with broken feet

[sdot_thadon]

Embiid might have never played a game in the 80s. Load management has certainly lengthened some careers. Walton was shot full of pain killers and put on the floor with broken feet

True , but in all fairness players werent 300 million dollar investments at that time either.

[L.Kizzle]

Giannis had a 30/14 season.
He could get close.
He would definitely had more freedom to go coast to coast like Giannis.

Maybe not 30 and 20 but close to 30 and 15. I can see it.
It's easier to score in this, that's a fact.

[Im Still Ballin]

Ralph's size wasn't as great as one would expect. He was closer to 7'1.5" to 7'2" barefoot, had a slight/gracile/thin-boned build, and had proportionately short arms and a long neck with lower-set shoulders. Bill Russell, Kevin McHale, and Hakeem Olajuwon all had greater standing reaches despite all standing around 6'10" without shoes. Kevin and Hakeem had clearly longer wingspans.

[Mask the Embiid]

https://i.postimg.cc/CKV1kWc0/Screenshot-2025-08-28-232229.png


























https://i.postimg.cc/ThM8BXLY/Screenshot-2025-08-28-232706.png

[j3lademaster]

I get there were more fist fights in the 80's due to cokeheads roaming around, but outside of that what made it more difficult to score in the 80's than today?

[warriorfan]

I get there were more fist fights in the 80's due to cokeheads roaming around, but outside of that what made it more difficult to score in the 80's than today?

Lack of spacing you stupid ass gook

[Tavr]

Every player is their greatest fan. :lol I don't fault him for thinking that way, though.

Dude was 7'4, so if there's one thing he would be great at its rebounding

[Im Still Ballin]

At best, he rebounds like Wemby. At worst, Porzingis. Either way, well short of 20 boards/night!

[Phoenix]

Every player is their greatest fan. :lol I don't fault him for thinking that way, though.

Dude was 7'4, so if there's one thing he would be great at its rebounding

20 is a crazy number though, that's got Wilt 'I'd score 70 points in today's games' vibes. As said above I think he's more likely to put up Wembys current rebounding numbers, but I wouldn't be shocked if he grabs 8-9 boards a night either since today's game will allow him to play more on the perimeter as he wanted to 40 year ago.

[tpols]

Wasn't he like a more muscular Wemby? Maybe.

[Phoenix]

Wasn't he like a more muscular Wemby? Maybe.

Yeah, but he's pretty much saying he could drop Giannis/Jokic level scoring while averaging like 8-9 more boards than them. There's just no way in hell. Its not even like there's some history of guys that big averaging as much as 15 boards a game, let alone 20. None of the 7'4+ guys in league history averaged eye-popping rebound numbers, at least the ones who come to mind. And if Ralph plays anything like Wemby does, he won't even be around the basket enough to grab that many boards.

[Xiao Yao You]

He wasnt one of the top scorers when he played. He was one the best rebounders but he wasnt dominating the glass like moses or anything. He might do better on the defensive glass as the one big on the floor vs playing next to hakeem but his offensive rebounding would probably go down playing on the perimeter and there being less of an emphasis on it now. Obviously we never got to see him at his peak either though

[hiphopanonymous]

Sampson couldn’t score that efficiently even for his era and he didn’t shoot 3s, no coach is letting him waste enough possessions to get 25.

How did Ralph Sampson score or play. How could Ralph Sampson score or play under different rules. Did his mind and physical tools take better advantage of basketball from his time or could it take better advantage of basketball today?

Learn to read the game not stat sheets.

[Lebron23]

Even load management won't cure his fragileness.

[j3lademaster]

Even load management won't cure his fragileness.
There's a reason load management is a thing nowadays. The defensive rotation and movement is too physically demanding and high level now. (https://www.reddit.com/r/NBATalk/comments/1n2x6b7/and_we_wonder_why_injuries_are_up/)

No one who's sat courtside at an nba game today will think it's soft. Yes, the superstars will load manage and coast, but roleplayers are way too good today and the talent pool is too deep in 2025. Those guys are playing their asses off because they constantly have younger players nipping at their heels, gunning for their jobs.

I don't see how fans take a guy who didn't even average that in their own era and assume they can just come in and do it today.

[Lakers Legend#32]

He averaged only 14ppg in college.

Based on this Al McGuire said he was gonna be the greatest player in NBA history.

Major bust.

[ShawkFactory]

Wasn't he like a more muscular Wemby? Maybe.

Didn't have the same length as Wemby though.

[Xiao Yao You]

Didn't have the same length as Wemby though.

Not even close.