Shawn Kemp

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Shawn Kemp
Shawn Kemp in Seattle SuperSonics uniform (1993)
Shawn Kemp in Seattle SuperSonics uniform (1993)
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
Elkhart, Indiana
College None
Draft 17th overall, 1989
Seattle SuperSonics
Pro career 1989 – 2002
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]

Contents

[edit] 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 teammate's jewelry. 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.

A popular legend is that as a youth, Shawn once dunked so viciously on a hoop with a chain-link net that he caused small sparks to fly. Kemp himself has stated that this is not just a tall tale, but that it actually transpired [4].

[edit] NBA

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 premiere high flyers with outstanding leaping abilities. 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 known as the "Sonic Boom."

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.

Kemp asked for a raise, but Sonics management instead opted to give Jim McIlvaine, a second-year reserve from the Washington Bullets, a five-year, $35 USD million contract. The signing enraged Sonics fans, who could not understand why they denied the team's best player a raise while giving an unproven 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 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. 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. For instance, his first season in Portland ended early when he entered drug rehabilitation. He used marijuana so often that joints turned up even in locker room stalls; many were concerned that he would actually die on the court.

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.

[edit] Legal problems

On April 4th, 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 posession in Houston, Texas on July 21, 2006. [6]

[edit] 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 in time for the 2006-07 season.

On November the 5th during the halftime of Seattle Supersonics versus Los Angeles Lakers, Shawn Kemp was annouced as one of the 16 members of the Seattle Supersonics 40 year anniversary team. After having the longest ovation, Shawn was quoted after the celebration that he will play with a team overseas in Rome and is still considering a comeback to the NBA.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

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