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NBA Draft: 30 greatest No. 1 overall picks in league history

By Josh Cornelissen

25 Jun 1997: Center Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs speaks with a reporter during the NBA Draft at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport
25 Jun 1997: Center Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs speaks with a reporter during the NBA Draft at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport /
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Ralph Sampson
Ralph Sampson (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /

NBA Draft: 30 greatest No. 1 overall picks in league history: 24. Ralph Sampson

Ralph Sampson is the first of three players on this list who saw their careers marred by injury but provided such high-level play when healthy that they find a place here anyway. For Sampson, the first four seasons of his career vault him here before back and knee injuries saw him dissolve into a role player at best.

The second-best high school player in the nation, the Virginia native stayed close to home and attended the University of Virginia. He was a national star even as a teenager, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 19 and five more times by his rookie season. At Virginia, he was named player of the year three consecutive years. In an interesting story, Sampson elected to return for his senior year rather than risk being drafted by the San Diego Clippers.

Instead, he entered the 1983 NBA Draft and was picked first overall by the Houston Rockets, who were coming off of a disastrous 14-68 season. He stepped into the league and crushed the competition immediately, scoring 21 points and 11.1 rebounds per game and playing all 82 games. He was an immediate All-Star, as he would be each of his first four seasons in the league, and won Rookie of the Year.

The following offseason, the Rockets drafted another big man who would come to be known as Hakeem Olajuwon. The “twin towers” approach was an immovable force on defense and immediately made the leap into postseason contention. By 1985-86 the Rockets knocked off the Showtime Lakers in the Western Conference Finals before losing in six to a Boston Celtics team many call the best team in NBA history.

That would be the pinnacle for Sampson, matching up with Kevin McHale in the NBA Finals. He missed half the season in 1986-87, his last All-Star nod, and only one time over the rest of his career would he play more than 50 games. He burned bright at the high point of his career, but it was a career snuffed out way too early.