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Shawn Kemp
Position Power forward
Nickname The Reign Man, The Manchild
Height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Weight 257 lb (117 kg)
Nationality Flag of United States United States
Born November 26, 1969 (1969-11-26) (age 37)
Flag of IndianaElkhart, Indiana
College None
Draft 17th overall, 1989
Seattle SuperSonics
Pro career 1989–2003
Former teams Seattle SuperSonics (1989–1997)
Cleveland Cavaliers (1997–2000)
Portland Trail Blazers (2000–2002)
Orlando Magic (2002–2003)
Awards NBA All Star (1993–1998)
Second Team All-NBA (1993–1996)
Shawn T. Kemp (born November 26, 1969, in Elkhart, Indiana) is an American
former professional basketball player in the National Basketball
Association. He is widely regarded as one of the best slam dunkers of
all-time.[1][2][3]
Early years
Kemp attended Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana. After graduation,
Kemp signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at the University
of Kentucky. However, he was kicked off the team before the season started
for allegedly pawning a necklace belonging to teammate Sean Sutton. He
transferred mid-season to Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, but was
too late to suit up. After a semester at TVCC, 19-year-old Shawn Kemp
declared himself eligible for the 1989 NBA Draft without any collegiate
experience.
The Seattle SuperSonics drafted Kemp in the first round of the 1989 NBA
Draft and he quickly became a force to be reckoned with. Kemp was one of the
NBA's premier high flyers with outstanding leaping abilities. At the time,
he was the youngest player in the NBA. Half-court lob passes from Gary
Payton to Kemp became a regular sight to see. Together with Payton, Detlef
Schrempf, Sam Perkins, Hersey Hawkins, and other stars, they became a highly
successful squad. After Kemp's second NBA season, he picked up the nickname
"Reign Man." Conflicting accounts attribute this to his love of the Seattle
weather as a rookie, as well as his appreciation of the Dustin Hoffman movie
"Rain Man."[4]
In 1994, Kemp was named to the 'Dream Team 2', to represent the USA at the
1994 World Basketball championships in Toronto. Team USA went on to win
gold.
Kemp's career peaked in 1995-96, when he led the Sonics to a
franchise-record 64 wins and their first NBA Finals appearance since 1979.
They faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who were coming off an NBA
record 72 wins. The Sonics, however, managed to push the heavily-favored
Bulls to six games before losing.
Because Kemp was signed long term into 2001 substantially below what other
players were getting, Kemp demanded the Sonics restructure his contract.
Many pointed out that Jim McIlvaine had signed a substantially larger
contract. However, Kemp had signed his contract several years prior to
McIlvaine's signing and the rapid rise of the average salaries in the NBA.
At the time of the signing of Kemp's contract, the salary and length of the
contract was comparable to other star players in the NBA. Nevertheless, the
signing of McIlvaine enraged Sonics' fans, who were unhappy they denied the
team's star forward a raise while giving a reserve such a large contract.
McIlvaine had only averaged 2.3 points and 2.9 rebounds while playing 15
minutes per game in Washington. Kemp was outraged as well and was
threatening to refuse to play in the upcoming season, and the resulting
tension with management eventually led to a blockbuster three-team trade
following the 1996-1997 season that sent Kemp to the Cleveland Cavaliers,
Milwaukee Bucks forward Vin Baker to the Sonics, and Terrell Brandon and
Tyrone Hill from the Cavaliers to the Bucks.
Kemp played three seasons with the Cavaliers, where he battled weight
problems and often appeared to lack the drive that made him such a force in
Seattle. Despite this, he posted career-high numbers for points per game. He
was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after the 1999-2000 season.
The trade reunited Kemp with Bob Whitsitt, who had originally brought Kemp
to Seattle. However, Kemp's play began to decline significantly. The last
few years of Kemp's professional basketball career were riddled with
problems stemming from his weight, as well as cocaine and alcohol abuse. His
first season in Portland ended early when he entered drug rehabilitation.
After two disastrous seasons, the Blazers waived him. He was signed as a
free agent for the Orlando Magic, but failed to contribute consistently and
was out of the league at the end of the season.
Legal problems
On April 4, 2005 Shawn Kemp was arrested in Shoreline, Washington for an
investigation of drug possession. Kemp along with another man were found
with cocaine, about 60 grams of marijuana and a semiautomatic pistol,
according to the King County Sheriff's Office. On April 29 Kemp was formally
charged with drug possession and pleaded guilty.[5] Kemp was again arrested
for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Houston, Texas on July 21, 2006.[6]
Kemp has been subjected to many paternity suits, having fathered seven
out-of-wedlock children with six different women. This
number is alleged to be even higher, resulting in Kemp being an easy target
for commentators' jokes.
NBA comeback attempts
In April of the 2005-06 NBA season, Kemp's NBA comeback chances looked
promising [7]. The eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks
considered adding Kemp to their roster in time for the NBA playoffs. Mavs'
head coach Avery Johnson scheduled a personal workout to take place in
Houston, where Kemp trained for several months. However, Kemp failed to
appear because of undisclosed reasons. The two parties tried to re-schedule
a workout but the NBA refused to grant Dallas an injury exception (for a
16th player). Ultimately Kemp did not get a second chance to join the Mavs
that season. [8]
In June 2006, the Denver Post reported that Kemp had slimmed down to the
playing weight of his all-star days and was determined to join an NBA team,
possibly the Denver Nuggets, and finish his career "the right way." [9] The
Nuggets ultimately turned their attention away from Kemp, signing power
forward Reggie Evans. Kemp drew some interest from the Chicago Bulls in
September 2006, but missed his scheduled workout to visit an ailing relative
instead.[10]
Despite his most recent legal setback in July 2006, Kemp remains committed
to his NBA comeback. Facing the media just days after his arrest, Kemp
revealed his weight is down to 257 pounds, its lowest since 1998. [11]
However, it remains to be seen if the former superstar can recapture some of
his past form and secure a position on an NBA roster during the 2006-07
season.
During halftime of a November 5th, 2006 Sonics game, Kemp was announced as
one of the 16 members of the Seattle Supersonics 40-year anniversary team.
After having the longest ovation of all the players, Kemp said after the
celebration that he will play with a team in Rome and is still considering a
comeback to the NBA.
Statistics
SEASON TEAM GP GS MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
'89-90 Seattle 81 1 13.8 .479 .736 4.3 0.3 6.5
'90-91 Seattle 81 66 30.1 .508 .661 8.4 1.8 15.0
'91-92 Seattle 64 23 28.3 .504 .748 10.4 1.3 15.5
'92-93 Seattle 78 68 33.1 .492 .712 10.7 2.0 17.8
'93-94 Seattle 79 73 32.9 .538 .741 10.8 2.6 18.1
'94-95 Seattle 82 79 32.7 .547 .749 10.9 1.8 18.7
'95-96 Seattle 79 76 33.3 .561 .742 11.4 2.2 19.6
'96-97 Seattle 81 75 34.0 .510 .742 10.0 1.9 18.7
'97-98 Cleveland 80 80 34.6 .445 .727 9.3 2.5 18.0
'98-99 Cleveland 42 42 35.1 .482 .789 9.2 2.4 20.5
'99-00 Cleveland 82 82 30.4 .417 .776 8.8 1.7 17.8
'00-01 Portland 68 3 15.9 .407 .771 3.8 1.0 6.5
'01-02 Portland 75 5 16.4 .430 .794 3.8 0.7 6.1
'02-03 Orlando 79 55 20.7 .418 .742 5.7 0.7 6.8
References
1. ^ http://probasketball.about.com/od/player1/v/shawnkempvideo.htm
2. ^ http://www.nba.com/allstar2005/alltime_dunks_89-95.html
3. ^ http://www.nba.com/inside_stuff/five_dunks_041229.html
4. ^ http://www.reignman.com/reignman/section.cfm?wSectionID=1874
5. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002230356_webkemparrested04.html
6. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2526640
7. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002398938_kemp24.html
8. ^ http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/basketball/14287361.htm
9. ^ http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_3897710
10. ^ No-show Kemp blows chance with Bulls
11. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003147804_kemp24.html
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