Former NBA star Ralph Sampson arrested in Gwinnett

College basketball great and four-time NBA All-Star Ralph Sampson is free after a night in the Gwinnett County jail for numerous traffic violations.

Sampson, 51, was pulled over Tuesday evening in the Peachtree Coers area of Gwinnett County when a police officer was doing a license tag check.

The former Houston Rockets center’s license plate was expired.

The officer discovered that Sampson’s license was suspended for failure to meet child support obligations, according to police reports, and that the seven-footer had an open arrest warrant from Duluth for failing to appear in court on a 2008 auto insurance violation.

He was bonded out shortly after midnight Wednesday.

The 7-foot, 4-inch Sampson was a star during the 1980s, leading the University of Virginia Cavaliers to a Final Four appearance in 1980, and, as part of the ‘Twin Towers tandem of centers (with Akeem Olajuwon), scored a buzzer-beater to bounce the L.A. Lakers from the 1986 NBA Weste Conference Championship series.

He was a three-time NCAA College Player of the year, was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1984, and was named MVP of the NBA All-Star game in 1985.