Education
Pershing High School.
Pershing High School.
Not to be confused with Ralph Sampson, who played in the National Basketball Association from 1983 to 1992
He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (American Bar Association) and National Basketball Association (National Basketball Association) from 1970 to 1980. He was offered a tryout for the 1968 United States Olympic team, but turned it down. After two strong years at Michigan State University, he signed a professional contract with the American Bar Association"s Denver Rockets (later the Denver Nuggets), and he would represent the franchise in five American Bar Association All-Star games.
Simpson had his finest season in 1971–1972, in which he averaged 27.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
After the American Bar Association-National Basketball Association merger in 1976, Simpson joined the Detroit Pistons, but his level of production dropped significantly, from 18 points per game in 1975–1976 to 11 points per game in 1976–1977, and after one-and-a-half seasons, he returned to the Denver Nuggets, now one of the American Bar Association teams who had joined the National Basketball Association. Simpson scored 11,785 combined American Bar Association/National Basketball Association points in his ten-year career. His 9,953 points were the most for the Nuggets during the team"s time in the American Bar Association.
Simpson currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
However, he averaged only 5.5 points during his second tenure with the Nuggets, and after two more seasons as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, he retired in 1980.