Tonight in the latest episode of “What If with DownToBuck”, we analyze one of the most enigmatic talents of the last 50 years, Ralph Sampson. Tonight’s What If: What if Ralph Sampson had not developed the chronic knee problems that derailed his career?
First off, it’s not exactly a surprise that Sampson had exploding knees. Human physiology is not optimized for dudes who are 7’4″. A long and healthy career would have been much more surprising than what actually transpired, given the circumstances.
Remember that Ralph was one of the most touted high-school and college prospects of all time, earning comparisons to Wilt Chamberlain. He was expected to come in and dominate right away, and while his early seasons were nice-looking stats-wise (but flawed, stop trying to advance the ball you big galoot oh look another turnover you’re not a point-center), his quick flameout surely disappointed legions of hopeful fans.
But let’s say that he’s blessed with perfect joint integrity until about age 32 or so. What happens? How does the landscape of the NBA change?
The main thing, the thing everyone surely thinks of first, is that we would get a lot more years of primo “Twin Towers” action. Back before saying the words “Twin Towers” made everybody all weepy for some reason, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson stood as one of the more unique frontcourts in history, starting in Sampson’s sophomore year. Early results were promising; a trip to the finals (showcased here in part) in year two of the partnership seemed to indicate a bright future.
Hakeem eventually went on win a couple chips a decade later, far removed from the influence of Sampson. We can posit two things: either a healthy Sampson leads to a decade-long dynasty of champagne and rings, or a healthy Sampson stunts the future superstar Hakeem, resulting in no championships and nothing but empty counting stats for future nerds to pore over. There is no middle ground, not in “What If with DownToBuck”.
I like the idea of a decade-long dynasty. Hakeem’s stats ticked upward slightly with the premature departure of Sampson, though they were already so high that any greater improvement would have resulted in instant GOAT status. He clearly showed that he could play with a somewhat limited Sampson (seriously why didn’t you have more blocks you were so damn tall). Given a few more years, it would not be unreasonable to think that Sampson would morph into a proto-point-stretch-four, the perfect compliment to the Dream’s back-to-the-basket game.
Maybe that’s a stretch (haha), but also maybe not. That’s what “What If with DownToBuck” is all about.
Continuing on this winding path of ours, consider this: A 10-year championship run means no first three-peat for Michael Jordan and the Bulls, significantly altering MJ’s legacy and status as GOAT. If Sampson remains healthy, does Hakeem not in this case enter the GOAT conversation?
Thanks for joining us for “What If with DownToBuck”. Tune in next week as we examine the question “What if Basketballs were cubes instead of spheres?”