Menu
Sign In Search Podcasts Charts Entities Add Podcast API Pricing
Podcast Image

All The Smoke

Ralph Sampson: The NBA’s First Unicorn

16 Oct 2025

Description

Before Victor Wembanyama, there was Ralph Sampson, the original unicorn. One of the nation’s first super recruits, Sampson appeared on six Sports Illustrated covers in four years at the University of Virginia and once more as a member of the Houston Rockets. Matt and Stak sit down with the Hall of Famer to reflect on his legendary career, from NBA brawls and battles with Michael Jordan and Dr. J to facing greats like Moses Malone and teaming up with Hakeem Olajuwon. He shares wild stories about receiving death threats in college, Bob Knight smacking a cop while coaching Team USA, running into Mad Max in jail, and the Puma deal that became a lifetime contract. Sampson remains one of the most under appreciated talents in basketball history, and this conversation proves why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Audio
Featured in this Episode

No persons identified in this episode.

Transcription

No transcription available yet

Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.

0 upvotes
🗳️ Sign in to Upvote

Popular episodes get transcribed faster

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.