Why Cooper Flagg and Zaccharie Risacher bring back memories of Hakeem and Ralph

July 19, 2026

The Mavericks may have done more than add another former No. 1 overall pick. They also revived one of the NBA’s most memorable draft pairings.

By acquiring Zaccharie Risacher from the Hawks, Dallas now has the No. 1 picks from the 2024 and 2025 NBA Drafts on the same roster in Risacher and Cooper Flagg.

It immediately brings to mind the first team to accomplish the feat: the 1984-85 Rockets, who paired Ralph Sampson with Hakeem Olajuwon.

Houston became the first NBA team to roster consecutive No. 1 overall picks, selecting Sampson in 1983 and Olajuwon in 1984.

Now, before anyone starts penciling the Mavericks into the Finals, let’s be clear: History doesn’t guarantee anything. But it does make for an awfully interesting comparison.

Houston selected Sampson with the first overall pick in 1983 after one of the greatest college careers the game has ever seen. The 7-foot-4 star from Virginia was considered a once-in-a-generation prospect, winning three consecutive National Player of the Year awards before capturing NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

One year later, the Rockets landed another franchise-changing talent when they drafted Olajuwon first overall out of Houston. Just like that, the original “Twin Towers” were born.

At 7-foot-4 and 7-foot, Sampson and Olajuwon were unlike anything the league had seen. They protected the rim, ran the floor and possessed the type of athleticism usually reserved for much smaller players.

Within two seasons, they had carried Houston to the 1986 NBA Finals, knocking off Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the defending champion Lakers in the Western Conference Finals before falling to Larry Bird and the Celtics in six games.

Here’s the part many younger fans may not realize: Early on, Sampson was viewed as the franchise centerpiece.

Coach Bill Fitch designed much of Houston’s offense around him, while Olajuwon often played power forward. Years later, Olajuwon admitted the coaching staff didn’t initially recognize everything he could do offensively.

“I don’t think the coach realized I had an offensive game, really,” Olajuwon recalled during an interview with Kevin Durant on Boardroom.

That eventually changed. Olajuwon blossomed into one of the greatest centers in NBA history, winning MVP honors, two Defensive Player of the Year awards and back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995.

Sampson’s career, meanwhile, was derailed by injuries. The Rockets traded him in 1988, ending what many still believe could have become one of the NBA’s greatest frontcourt duos.

Which brings us back to Dallas. No one knows how Flagg and Risacher will develop, or even how long they’ll remain teammates. That’s part of today’s NBA.

Still, the Mavericks have quietly placed themselves alongside one of the league’s most memorable “what if” stories.

Whether history repeats itself … well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Either way, the Mavericks’ newest duo inevitably draws comparisons to one of the NBA’s most fascinating frontcourt pairings. Whether Flagg and Risacher can carve out their own place in league history remains to be seen.