HARRISONBURG, Va. – Standing at an intimidating 7-foot-4, one could say that Ralph Sampson is “larger than life.” In many ways, the shifty and agile center from Harrisonburg was exactly that, revolutionizing and dominating the sport of basketball in the 1980s.
Sampson was born on July 7, 1960, in Harrisonburg, just a stone’s throw away from James Madison University. Sampson seemed destined to be a basketball player standing at 6-foot-7 in ninth grade. For comparison, Sampson was the same height as current NBA superstar Luka Dončić as a teenager.
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His raw talent and towering stature made him a terror to defend in high school. By his senior year, Sampson had grown to 7-foot-1—the same height as Shaquille O’Neal and taller than LeBron James.
Sampson’s height, combined with his ability to control himself gracefully on the court and an impressive mid-range game, is one of the main reasons why he was considered to be the most highly recruited high school basketball talent.
During his senior year, Sampson averaged 30 points a game and 19 rebounds. At Harrisonburg High School, Sampson led his team to two State AA Championships in 1978 and ’79.
After a stellar high school basketball career, it was decision time for the rising star. Many at the time believed that Sampson was going to choose the University of Kentucky, the school that heavily recruited him.
However, at his commitment announcement, he shocked Kentucky and the media by choosing the University of Virginia instead. UVA had little to no notable basketball success at the time, but it was close to home and an academic powerhouse.
At Virginia, Sampson flourished, leading UVA to an NIT title in 1980 and an NCAA Final Four appearance in ’81. That same year, Sampson also led UVA to regular-season wins over talents like Michael Jordan at UNC and Patrick Ewing at Georgetown.
Sampson also became just the second student-athlete to win the Naismith National Player of the Year three times. Sampson considered leaving the school in his junior year, but to avoid the possibility of playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, Sampson returned to Charlottesville for his senior year.
In 1983, Sampson was drafted by the Houston Rockets and dominated, as he did in high school and college, averaging 21 points a game and 11.1 rebounds en route to a Rookie of the Year award in 1984.
Sampson’s success did not reflect team success, however, as the Rockets finished a dismal 29-53, which gave them the opportunity to pick first in the 1984 draft.
With that pick, the Rockets chose 7-foot center Hakeem Olajuwon, a legend in his own right. But many fans considered the pick to be mind-boggling. The team already had 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson, the reigning Rookie of the Year, playing the center role. Additionally, the team passed on Michael Jordan, who would become the future face of the sport and was drafted by the Bulls two picks later.
In the short term, those who were skeptical of the pick and if Olujawan and Sampson would mesh were proven wrong. Sampson transitioned to a unique power-forward role while Olajuwon slotted in perfectly at center.
It only took two years for the tandem of Olajuwon and Sampson—also known by fans as the “Twin Towers”—to lead the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1986. The Rockets would eventually fall to Larry Bird and the Celtics in six games. Unfortunately for Sampson, this would be the closest he ever got to NBA glory, as injuries plagued the rest of his career.
In 1987, Sampson fell out of favor with Rockets head coach Bill Fitch and was shipped off to Golden State despite signing a six-year extension with the team earlier that year.
Sampson would become a journeyman, bouncing around from the Kings to the Bullets. The 32-year-old even found himself playing in the Spanish Basketball League in the twilight of his career before ultimately retiring in 1995.
Seventeen years later, Sampson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. He also had his iconic No. 50 retired by the University of Virginia.
Sampson might get overshadowed by the sheer number of stars who played in his era, the likes of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, but he revolutionized the sport becoming one of the first true centers with the ability to play wherever he wanted on the court.
The 64-year-old still lives in Virginia. He is a farmer and owns restaurants in the Charlottesville area—the town he called home during his collegiate years at UVA.
It’s not uncommon to see Sampson in the crowd at an occasional Virginia basketball game, and at 7-foot-4, he’s kind of hard to miss. When the so-called “Tallest resident to ever live on the Lawn” does show up, he gets thunderous applause. He loves the town of Charlottesville, and the town of Charlottesville loves him back.
