Background and career
Shawn Travis Kemp Sr. (born November 26, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Reign Man", he was a six-time NBA All-Star and a three-time All-NBA Second Team member. Kemp is widely regarded as one of the best slam dunkers of all time and made the 1996 NBA Finals with the SuperSonics. Kemp was a member of the United States national team at the 1994 FIBA World Championship where he won gold and was named to the All-Tournament team. He was part of a famous pick and roll duo with Hall of Fame teammate Gary Payton.
Kemp attended Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana. At the prestigious B/C All-Star Camp on his first day, Kemp outplayed highly regarded prep star Terry Mills. A four-year varsity starter, he was considered to be one of the top four or five players nationally his senior year, and led his team to the state championship finals. Kemp ended his high school career as Elkhart County's all-time leading scorer and the owner of Concord's career, single-game and single-season scoring records. Despite his achievements and accolades, Kemp was bypassed for the title of Indiana Mr. Basketball as Woody Austin won the award that year instead. (Kemp, however, was Gatorade's choice for state player of the year.) There has been some speculation that Kemp was purposely passed over for the award because he verbally committed to the University of Kentucky and did not express interest in staying in-state to play college basketball (Austin committed to Purdue University.) Kemp was selected to the 1988 McDonald's High School All-American team (considered one of the best classes of all time), along with such notable players as Alonzo Mourning, Billy Owens, Anthony Peeler, and Malik Sealy. Kemp scored a team-high 18 points for the West in a 105–99 loss. During his senior year, Kemp signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at the University of Kentucky. However, Kemp failed to score the minimum of 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, and was forced to miss his freshman year under the NCAA's Proposition 48 rules. Jim Hahn, Kemp's high school coach, did not like the idea of Kemp being in Kentucky without playing basketball, saying "To have Shawn in a college environment without basketball, the one thing he loves, was, I felt, a big mistake. It even crossed my mind to advise him to go right into the NBA and the only thing that stopped me was the fact that so few players have done it." Kemp decided to enroll at Kentucky. However, he left the team in November 1988 after he was accused of pawning two gold chains that had been reported stolen from his teammate Sean Sutton, the son of then Kentucky head coach Eddie Sutton. Sean Sutton did not press charges but Kemp transferred to Trinity Valley Community College in Texas. After a semester at TVCC, where he did not play, 19-year-old Kemp declared himself eligible for the 1989 NBA draft.
The Seattle SuperSonics drafted Kemp, in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft. Although extremely athletic, Kemp was the youngest player in the NBA at that time and struggled to find his place. In his first season in Seattle, Kemp was mentored heavily by teammate Xavier McDaniel. As the season progressed, so did Kemp's skills, which propelled him into stardom. Kemp began to find his place in the NBA as a star during his second season with the SuperSonics. Together with Gary Payton, Eddie Johnson, Ricky Pierce and Nate McMillan, they became a highly successful squad. After Kemp's second NBA season, he picked up the nickname "Reign Man" after the SuperSonics' announcer Kevin Calabro saw a poster with the name and thought it fitting to add to his radio broadcasts. In 1992 during a playoff game against the Golden State Warriors, Kemp dunked over center Alton Lister, which colloquially became known as "The Lister Blister". In 1994, Kemp appeared in the MTV Rock N' Jock annual celebrity basketball game. Kemp's career peaked in 1995–96, when he and Payton led the SuperSonics 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 SuperSonics pushed the heavily favored Bulls to six games before losing. In the Finals, Kemp posted per game averages of 23.3 points on 55% shooting from the field, 10.0 rebounds and two blocks. Shawn Kemp finished a close second in Finals MVP voting, almost becoming the second player to win the award despite being from the losing team. During his time in Seattle, Kemp occasionally played during the offseason on an outdoor court in Seattle's Belltown district. Kemp signed a contract extension with the SuperSonics in 1994. The league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) precluded any adjustment to that contract until October 1997. He was upset by the situation, but his agent, Tony Dutte, understood that no negotiation was permitted. During this time, the SuperSonics signed Jim McIlvaine to a seven-year, $33.6 million contract, exceeding Kemp's salary. Kemp threatened to refuse to play in the upcoming 1996–97 season and held out of training camp for 22 days. Despite this absence, Kemp helped lead the SuperSonics to another 50-plus-win season as they dispatched the Phoenix Suns in five games in the first round, only to lose to the Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley-led Houston Rockets in a seven-game series in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Following the 1996–1997 season, Kemp was part of a trade sending him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks forward Vin Baker to the SuperSonics, and Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill from the Cavaliers to the Bucks.
Kemp played three seasons with the Cavaliers where he posted career-high numbers for points per game in 1997–98 and led the Cavaliers to the NBA Playoffs, where they faced the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers. The Cavaliers lost to the Pacers in four games despite Kemp averaging 26 points with 13 rebounds per game in the series. During the lockout shortened 1998–1999 NBA season, Kemp reportedly showed up to training camp weighing 280 pounds, though Cleveland's then general manager Wayne Embry revealed that he was actually 315 pounds.
Kemp was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after the 1999–2000 season, in a three-team trade involving the Miami Heat; the Cavaliers received Clarence Weatherspoon, Chris Gatling, Gary Grant and draft considerations, while the Heat received Brian Grant. The trade reunited Kemp with Bob Whitsitt, who had originally brought Kemp to Seattle. However, Kemp's play began to decline significantly. After two seasons with the Blazers, Kemp was waived prior to the 2002–03 season.
Kemp was signed as a free agent by the Magic, and helped the Magic reach the playoffs despite the loss of starting small forward Grant Hill. During his one season in Orlando, Kemp played in his 1000th NBA game. In their first round series, the Magic took an early three games to one lead before losing to the Detroit Pistons in seven games. Following the 2002–03 season, Kemp was replaced by free agent forward Juwan Howard.
