Ralph Sampson was three-time college player of the year while at Virginia. ~ Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics Media RelationsThe 2023 NBA Draft took place on Thursday with Victor Wembanyama going first to the San Antonio Spurs. The selection of the 7’5” French star had little suspense as he had been clearly projected as the top pick, but Wembanyama’s turn in the draft spotlight brought up a familiar name in Virginia circles: Ralph Sampson.
The legendary Cavalier, of course, put together an incredible college career that included being named three-time Naismith College Player of the Year and four-time All-American. He still holds numerous records at UVA for double-doubles (84, 30 ahead of Travis Watson with 54), rebounds (1,511, 396 ahead of Watson), field goals (899, 43 ahead of Bryant Stith), and blocked shots (462, 296 ahead of Jay Huff). Virginia won the 1980 NIT Championship and made the 1981 Final Four during his career.
At 7’4”, Sampson had skills at multiple levels with the ability to handle the ball as a big man, score inside, or hit open jumpers. That’s where Wembanyama being in the headlines brought back memories for Hoo fans. Of course, Sampson was also a no-brainer No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft with the Houston Rockets making him their pick in 1983.
With the draft still on basketball fans’ minds, an offhanded comment from Sampson recently makes for a fun draft-time topic. During the memorial service for Virginia coaching legend Terry Holland, Sampson briefly commented about his decision to stay in school each year instead of entering the draft and hinted at how that changed the course of history for many franchises that ended up with Hall of Fame players in Kevin McHale and Isaiah Thomas among others.
When fans look back at those drafts, it’s easy to see his point and fun to speculate how rosters and the NBA may have changed if Sampson entered earlier that 1983. He almost certainly would have been the No. 1 pick in any draft of that era. Obviously, you can’t account for what trades may have happened if he were in the draft pool in any year, but take a look at the 1980, 1981, and 1982 picks in the top 5 and how it might have changed things for different teams.
In 1980, the No. 1 selection was Joe Barry Carroll – he went to Golden State (pick came from Detroit via Boston). The Utah took Darrell Griffith at No. 2, McHale went to Boston at No. 3 (traded from Golden State), Kelvin Ransey went to Chicago (then was traded to Portland), and James Ray rounded out the top 5 by going to Denver.
If Sampson was in that draft, where would McHale have landed? If you simply bump down every pick, he could have been selected by the Bulls. Would he have played eventually with Michael Jordan instead of Larry Bird or would the Bulls even have been that high up in the draft for the No. 3 pick in 1984? Plus, Boston picked up Robert Parrish in the trade with Golden State. That created the famed Bird-McHale-Parrish winning combination, but Sampson may have been there instead of either player that came to the Celtics instead.
In 1981, Dallas took Mark Aguirre at No. 1 overall with Isaiah Thomas going No. 2 to Detroit. Buck Williams (Nets), Al Wood (Hawks), and Danny Vranes (SuperSonics) rounded out the top 5. Aguirre ended up being traded to the Pistons later in his career and teaming with Thomas to be part of back-to-back NBA titles. If Sampson was in that year’s draft, though, would Thomas have gone to Detroit or would Aguirre have started there instead? Williams ended up with a long NBA career too, including a stint in Portland during its rise in the Western Conference. That team included Clyde Drexler, the 14th pick in the 1983 draft. What if Sampson entered earlier – would Drexler have been on the board in the same spot? Obviously, both the Celtics and Pistons won titles with the players that landed on their rosters the way it played out.
In 1982, the Los Angeles Lakers selected James Worthy at No. 1 followed by Terry Cummings (Clippers), Dominique Wilkins (Jazz), Bill Garnett (Mavericks), and LaSalle Thompson (Kings) in the top 5. It’s not hard to picture Ralph Sampson running the floor with Magic Johnson for the ‘Showtime’ Lakers and who knows how that would have altered basketball history in that period. There is this fun story out there about how much L.A. wanted Sampson if he entered that draft and how it might have changed with no James Worthy, Michael Cooper, or older Kareem Abdul-Jabbar there instead.
Sampson not being in the 1982 pool changed things for the Atlanta Hawks too. Wilkins refused to play for the Jazz, who traded him to Atlanta. He went on to a great career there full of highlights (9 time All-Star and 1985-86 scoring champ) and remains part of the Hawks’ game broadcasts there. His stepson Isaiah Wilkins ended up playing for Virginia and is a graduate assistant coach with the Hoos currently.
Of course, Sampson not being in Los Angeles also gave us this in 1986 as the Rockets went to the NBA Finals before losing to Boston:
Finally, there’s 1983. Sampson was the top pick followed by Steve Stipanovich (Pacers), Rodney McCray (Rockets), Byron Scott (Lakers), and Sidney Green (Bulls) in the top 5. McCray ended up on multiple teams after a strong career and won a ring with Chicago in 1993, while Scott joined the Lakers group above.
What’s your favorite ‘What If’ scenario for these drafts in the 1980’s?
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