Elvin Hayes vs. Ralph Sampson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ralph Sampson and Elvin Hayes, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Elvin Hayes played 16 years in the NBA, 7 more than Ralph Sampson, who played 9. Elvin Hayes had the first of his seasons in 1968-69, while Ralph Sampson had his rookie season in 1983-84. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16
Rookie Season
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1968-69	1983-84
Team	San Diego Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Div Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	82	45.1	28.4	-	-	17.1	1.4	-	-	-	3.2	11.3	25.4	.447	-	-	-	5.7	9.1	.626
Ralph Sampson	82	32.8	21.0	3.6	7.6	11.1	2.0	0.9	2.4	3.6	4.1	8.7	16.7	.523	0.0	0.0	.250	3.5	5.3	.661
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	6	46.3	25.8	-	-	13.8	0.8	-	-	-	3.5	10.0	19.0	.526	-	-	-	5.8	8.8	.660
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1969-70	1984-85
Team	San Diego Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	82	44.7	27.5	-	-	16.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	11.1	24.6	.452	-	-	-	5.2	7.6	.688
Ralph Sampson	82	37.6	22.1	2.8	7.6	10.4	2.7	1.0	2.0	4.0	3.7	9.2	18.3	.502	0.0	0.1	.000	3.7	5.5	.676
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ralph Sampson	5	38.6	21.2	5.0	11.6	16.6	1.4	0.4	1.6	3.4	4.6	8.6	20.0	.430	0.2	0.2	1.000	3.8	7.4	.514

Season 3
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1970-71	1985-86
Team	San Diego Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	82	44.3	28.7	-	-	16.6	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	11.6	27.0	.428	-	-	-	5.5	8.2	.672
Ralph Sampson	79	36.3	18.9	3.3	7.9	11.1	3.6	1.3	1.6	3.6	3.9	7.9	16.2	.488	0.0	0.2	.133	3.1	4.8	.641
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ralph Sampson	20	37.1	20.0	3.3	7.5	10.8	4.0	1.5	1.8	3.6	4.0	7.8	15.1	.518	0.1	0.1	1.000	4.3	5.9	.729

Season 4
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1971-72	1986-87
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	82	42.2	25.2	-	-	14.6	3.3	-	-	-	2.8	10.1	23.4	.434	-	-	-	4.9	7.5	.649
Ralph Sampson	43	30.8	15.6	2.0	6.6	8.7	2.8	0.9	1.3	2.9	3.9	6.4	13.2	.489	0.0	0.1	.000	2.7	4.4	.624
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ralph Sampson	10	33.0	18.6	2.7	6.1	8.8	2.1	0.2	1.2	3.1	4.7	7.5	14.6	.514	0.1	0.2	.500	3.5	4.3	.814

Season 5
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1972-73	1987-88
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	81	41.3	21.2	-	-	14.5	1.6	-	-	-	2.9	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.671
Ralph Sampson	48	34.6	15.6	2.9	6.7	9.6	2.5	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.4	6.2	14.2	.438	0.0	0.2	.182	3.1	4.1	.760
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	5	45.6	25.8	-	-	11.4	1.0	-	-	-	3.2	10.6	21.0	.505	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.697
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1973-74	1988-89
Team	Capital Bullets	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	81	44.5	21.4	4.4	13.7	18.1	2.0	1.1	3.0	-	3.1	8.5	20.1	.423	-	-	-	4.4	6.1	.721
Ralph Sampson	61	17.8	6.4	1.7	3.3	5.0	1.3	0.5	1.1	1.5	2.8	2.7	6.0	.449	0.0	0.1	.375	1.0	1.6	.653
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	7	46.1	25.9	4.4	11.4	15.9	3.0	0.7	2.1	-	3.3	10.9	20.4	.531	-	-	-	4.1	5.9	.707
Ralph Sampson	3	14.3	6.7	2.0	2.7	4.7	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.3	2.7	3.0	7.3	.409	0.0	1.3	.000	0.7	1.3	.500

Season 7
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1974-75	1989-90
Team	Washington Bullets	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	82	42.3	23.0	2.7	9.5	12.2	2.5	1.9	2.3	-	2.9	9.0	20.3	.443	-	-	-	5.0	6.5	.766
Ralph Sampson	26	16.0	4.2	0.4	2.8	3.2	1.1	0.5	0.8	1.3	2.5	1.8	5.0	.372	0.0	0.2	.250	0.5	0.9	.522
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	17	44.2	25.5	2.7	8.2	10.9	2.2	1.5	2.3	-	4.1	10.2	21.9	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.677
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1975-76	1990-91
Team	Washington Bullets	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	80	37.2	19.8	2.6	8.4	11.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	-	3.7	8.1	17.3	.470	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	.628
Ralph Sampson	25	13.9	3.0	1.6	2.8	4.4	0.7	0.4	0.7	1.1	2.2	1.4	3.7	.366	0.0	0.2	.200	0.2	0.8	.263
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	7	43.6	20.0	2.3	10.3	12.6	1.4	0.7	4.0	-	3.4	7.7	17.4	.443	-	-	-	4.6	7.9	.582
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1976-77	1991-92
Team	Washington Bullets	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	82	41.0	23.7	3.5	9.0	12.5	1.9	1.1	2.7	-	3.8	9.3	18.5	.501	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.687
Ralph Sampson	10	10.8	2.2	1.1	1.9	3.0	0.4	0.3	0.8	1.0	1.4	0.9	2.9	.310	0.0	0.2	.000	0.4	0.6	.667
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	9	45.0	21.0	3.2	10.3	13.6	1.9	1.1	2.4	-	4.3	8.2	19.2	.428	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.695
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1977-78	-
Team	Washington Bullets	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	81	40.1	19.7	4.1	9.1	13.3	1.8	1.2	2.0	2.8	3.9	7.9	17.4	.451	-	-	-	4.0	6.3	.634
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	21	41.3	21.8	4.9	8.4	13.3	2.0	1.5	2.5	2.8	4.1	9.0	18.3	.491	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.594
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1978-79	-
Team	Washington Bullets	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost NBA Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	82	37.9	21.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	1.7	0.9	2.3	2.9	3.8	8.8	18.0	.487	-	-	-	4.3	6.5	.654
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	19	41.4	22.5	4.9	9.1	14.0	2.0	0.9	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.9	20.8	.429	-	-	-	4.6	6.8	.669
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Elvin Hayes	Ralph Sampson
Season	1979-80	-
Team	Washington Bullets	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	81	39.3	23.0	3.3	7.7	11.1	1.6	0.8	2.3	2.7	3.8	9.4	20.7	.454	0.0	0.2	.231	4.1	5.9	.699
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	2	46.0	20.0	5.0	6.0	11.0	3.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	8.0	20.5	.390	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	5.0	.800
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-