Tom Heinsohn vs. Ralph Sampson Season by Season Comparison

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

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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.

Tom Heinsohn and Ralph Sampson both played 9 years in the NBA. Tom Heinsohn had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, 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.

Their Careers

Player		 Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Tom Heinsohn 9 9 1956-57 to 1964-65
Ralph Sampson 9 4 1983-84 to 1991-92

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

Rookie Season
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1956-571983-84
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the YearAchievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Tom Heinsohn 72 29.9 16.2 - - 9.8 1.6 - - - 4.2 6.2 15.6 .397 - - - 3.8 4.8 .790
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 10 37.0 22.9 - - 11.7 2.0 - - - 4.0 9.0 23.1 .390 - - - 4.9 6.9 .710
Ralph Sampson ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1957-581984-85
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsRockets 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 %
Tom Heinsohn 69 32.0 17.8 - - 10.2 1.8 - - - 4.0 6.8 17.8 .382 - - - 4.3 5.7 .746
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 11 31.7 17.5 - - 10.8 1.6 - - - 4.7 6.2 17.6 .351 - - - 5.1 6.5 .778
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
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1958-591985-86
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionRockets Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Tom Heinsohn 66 31.7 18.8 - - 9.7 2.5 - - - 4.1 7.0 18.1 .390 - - - 4.7 5.9 .798
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 11 31.6 19.9 - - 8.9 2.9 - - - 3.7 8.3 20.0 .414 - - - 3.4 5.1 .661
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
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1959-601986-87
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionRockets 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 %
Tom Heinsohn 75 32.3 21.7 - - 10.6 2.3 - - - 3.7 9.0 21.2 .423 - - - 3.8 5.1 .733
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 13 32.5 21.8 - - 9.7 2.1 - - - 4.1 8.6 20.5 .419 - - - 4.6 6.2 .750
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
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1960-611987-88
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets, Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Tom Heinsohn 74 30.5 21.3 - - 9.9 1.9 - - - 3.5 8.5 21.2 .400 - - - 4.4 5.7 .767
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 10 29.1 19.7 - - 9.9 2.0 - - - 3.6 8.2 20.1 .408 - - - 3.3 4.3 .767
Ralph Sampson ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1961-621988-89
Team Boston CelticsGolden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionWarriors 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 %
Tom Heinsohn 79 30.2 22.1 - - 9.5 2.1 - - - 3.5 8.8 20.4 .429 - - - 4.5 5.5 .819
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 14 31.8 20.7 - - 8.2 2.4 - - - 4.1 8.3 20.8 .399 - - - 4.1 5.4 .763
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
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1962-631989-90
Team Boston CelticsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Tom Heinsohn 76 26.4 18.9 - - 7.5 1.3 - - - 3.6 7.2 17.1 .423 - - - 4.5 5.4 .835
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 13 31.8 24.7 - - 8.9 1.2 - - - 4.2 9.5 20.8 .456 - - - 5.8 7.5 .765
Ralph Sampson ------- --- ----------

Season 8
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1963-641990-91
Team Boston CelticsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Tom Heinsohn 76 26.8 16.5 - - 6.1 2.4 - - - 3.5 6.4 16.1 .398 - - - 3.7 4.5 .827
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 10 30.8 17.4 - - 8.0 2.6 - - - 3.6 7.0 18.0 .389 - - - 3.4 4.2 .810
Ralph Sampson ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Tom Heinsohn Ralph Sampson
Season 1964-651991-92
Team Boston CelticsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Tom Heinsohn 67 25.5 13.6 - - 6.0 2.3 - - - 3.8 5.4 14.2 .383 - - - 2.7 3.4 .795
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 %
Tom Heinsohn 12 23.0 12.7 - - 7.0 1.9 - - - 3.8 5.5 15.1 .365 - - - 1.7 2.7 .625
Ralph Sampson ------- --- ----------
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