Hmm, I was too young in Sampson’s day to have a much more detailed impression of him than, “he’s wicked tall,” but my sense is that a somewhat lumbering, high-center-of-gravity type like him would be absolutely roasted by the elite perimeter creators/shooters of the three ball era. Plus, I always got the sense he was kinda soft. Maybe something along the lines of a Kristaps?
Cowens by contrast seems to have had the quickness, coordination, and more normally-proportioned 6’-9” frame — à la Bam, Horford, Looney, Portis, et al. — that thrives in today’s NBA. Plus he was a tireless dog, which plays well in any era.