How Good Was Shawn Kemp REALLY? 

How would Shawn Kemp do in today’s NBA, and where do you rank him among the greatest dunkers in NBA history?

Heard Payton say in an interview he use to throw the ball to Kemp for alley oops far away from the rim on purpose jus see How high he could jump....

Kemp had the athleticism in the air on a dunk and dunked it like he had beef with the rim like Dominique

One of the most spectacular players of all time. A legend. The best dunks and style EVER!!

He was a f**k*ng BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!

He was my favorite player from the 90’s. Wanna know how good he was? The Sonics faced the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets in the 96’ Western Conference Playoffs to advance to the finals, in those rounds Kemp basically went head to head against Karl Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon and outplayed them both. He was as advertised!

One of the greatest underrated duos of 90s Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were

Kemp would be a walking Technical Foul in today's NBA. He was so violent at the rim. His strength and athleticism was incredible. Being posterized by Kemp was a sight to behold back then. I'll never forget watching him play.

he was the coolest player of the 90s, along with penny, grant hill and MJ, cool moves and persona

Kemp may honestly be one of the best alley-oop finishers in NBA history

Still see kemp around Seattle trust me he gets his respect

He was a special one. One of the most powerful showman i've ever seen ! This dunks, man, him and Payton, that's what i call an Iconic Duo ! Don't care about rings, those guys had balls !

His dunks overshadowed his all around game. He had such a smooth jump shot and was a phenomenal low post defender and rim protector.

I remember in summer of 94 he got traded to Chicago for Pippen, but at last minute trade didn't go through. It could've been Payton and Pippen vs Jordan and Kemp in 96 finals.

The Reign Man!!

Kemp was dominant. He was Maybe just in the top 5 power forwards in those few years, The SuperSonics were a great team. He would excel in today’s game with the rules change. No longer could he be hand checked and brutalized like he was. His power would have been even more evident. Dude could fly!

Shawn Kemp was a top 5 IN GAME dunker of all time.

More Ideas: How good was Larry Bird How good was Chauncey Billups How good was Jo Jo White How good was Calvin Murphy How good was Alvin Robertson How good was Eddie Jones How good was Detlef Schrempf How good was Tony Parker How good was Jason Kidd How good was Joe Johnson How good was Jamal Mashburn How good was Mitch Richmond How good was Glen Rice How good was Larry Johnson How good was Jermaine O'Neal How good was Chris Mullin How good was Gail Goodrich How good was Lamar Odom How good was KIKI Vandawey (don't know how to spell it) How good was Mahmoud Abdul Rauf How good was Joakim Noah How good was Rashard Lewis How good was Hudo Terkolu How good was Tim Hardaway How good was Mark Price How good was Dwyane Wade How good was Chris Bosh How good was Ray Allen How good was Shawn Kemp (Lets Check This One off) How good was Stephen Jackson How good was Jalen Rose How good was Richard Jefferson How good was Manu Ginobili How good was Isiah Thomas How good was Joe Dumars How good was Sidney Moncrief How good was Mark Aguirre How good was Brandon Roy How good was Artis Gilmore How good was Drazen Petrovic How good was Mark Jackson How good was Mark Eaton How good was Stephen Marbury How good was Jack Sikma How good was Bob Pettit How good was Dan Majerle How good was Wes Unseld How good was Elvin Hayes How good was Antawn Jamison How good was Danny Granger How good was Nate Thurmond How good was Jeff Hornacek How good was Carlos Boozer How good was Luol Dang How good was Michael Redd How good was Al Jefferson How good was Sam Cassell How good was Baron Davis How good was Shaun Marion How good was Devin Harris How good was Deron Williams How good was Kevin Martin How good was Elton Brand How good was John Starks How good was Wally Zerbiac How good was Antawn Walker How good was Paul Pierce How good was Bernard King How good was Bobby Jones How good was Maurice Cheeks How good was Tiny Archibald How good was Dave Cowens This should be enough suggestions for now lol

The 90's and NBA Jam. Kemp was the embodiment of...

Kemp was my favourite forward back in the 90s. His attitude and aggression in the paint epitomised basketball in that era. He wouldn't have lasted 5 seconds in today's Sesame Street version of hoops.

Been waiting for this one, fantastic as always. Kemp is one of the easiest examples of a forgotten player In today's league, I absolutely think he would have the physical skills to be a great player. He'd have to develop a bit of an outside game, but he was so athletic any coach today would be happy to have him. He'd live on the social media highlight reels, and any team *owner* would be happy to have him, that's for sure

Second greatest in-game dunker only behind VC. I wish he never left Seattle. BOOM SHAKALAKA!!!

The video I've been waiting for since discovering your channel a long time ago. Used to love Kemp!

He was a beast and my favorite player of the 90s

so many don't rank him higher because they got disappointed after he gained weight. This dude dunked like no one else, effortlesly and without real disrespect. He posterized legions, yet he still cared not to harm the opponent in process. Hope he's fine now, for all the good moments he offered !

Reign Man!!

During the 96-97 season Jordan himself said that Shawn Kemp was the most difficult player to plan for defensively.

Very good he should been in the NBA Hall of Fame underrated...#ShawnKemp

When I saw Zion Williamson play for the first time, I thought "a shorter Shawn Kemp". If the rookie does half as good, it'll be a hell of a career.

Kemp was a beast

I was literally looking for a Shawn Kemp career video last night, and to my surprise you put one up today. Crazy! Keep up the great work🔥

I don't think Shawn Kemp gets the respect he deserved

With what I've seen in this video, he'd murder everyone in the league

kemp was my favorite player growing up, following by jordan lol

Great video! i loved Kemp and the Supersonics back in the day, very entertaining team.

Jonny what a legend you are, that you made a video of Shawn Kemp, I have just watched a video of yours and commented earlier, that you could make a video of Shawn Kemp, and now found it, mate thumbs up :)

Great video today keep it up your doing amazing job

An amazing video for an amazing player, thanks man.

Kemp was part of the reason the 90s was so exciting. Hall of fame!

I was 13-14 then but Kemps Vertical was JURASSIC🦖 ain't nobody forgot that.

Frankly speaking I only heard of him when Dirk put him in his list of all time greats... I remember I thought let search this guy's videos online and I was totally convinced with Dirk! One of the best dunkers ever!

My personal, all time favorite player to watch play.. he is so underrated bc of his issues later in his career.. but in his prime, he was as good as any pf in the league at the time, or better.. absolutely amazing player to watch

Greatest INGAME Dunker of ALL TIME!!!!

Great vid bro

It's one thing to change your move while in the air and go for the reverse to avoid defending arms and hands, it's another to DUNK it in the end! 🤯🤩. Thanks for the tribute, man. Btw you may have quoted me, and I may have stolen it from another comment, idk, it's all blury at this point. But you, sir, officially legalised Kemp! 😉 (Wittiest sign ever)

Today's fans do forget about Kemp but they also forget how athletic other stars were prior to Kemp...players like Gus Johnson, Jumpin Johnny Green, Bill Russell, Wilt, Dr J, Dominique, David Thompson, and the list goes on and on. All those guys and many more were super athletic and could dunk with the best of today's players.

He was my favorite dunker because his dunks were so powerful. He could jump so high and far so that almost no player could defend him when he went for a dunk. During his time, his dunks devastated his opponent's morale. Not even Jordan can compare to Kemp. Once he dunked on a defender and the defender fell. Kemp then stared at the defender and pointed at him with both of his hands. It looked like he was shaming the defender and also letting him know that no one could defend Kemp. Many years ago, I played NBA on my console and I would only use Shawn Kemp on my team. I scored all my points with dunks! It was really satisfying !

Jonny you actually did got Shawn Kemp's height right this time around after a very long time. Bravo kid! 👏

Without question top 3 best in game dunker of all time!

I saw Shawn Kemp live for a high-school game in Indiana. We thought we had big men who could handle him. The 3 were at least 6'5". Shawn Kemp came in and was not only 6'10" but also jumped out the gym. He had a knack for always finishing strong. Usually dunk. We thought where did this manchild come from. Needless to say we lost due to his intimidation factor to our version of big men. Shawn Kemp is one of the most athletic big men to this day! With a true knack of saying..."dunk you very much ".

KEMP WAS A BEAST PERIOD. PURE GOD GIVEN TALENT.

he was my favorite player growing up. i remember first discovering Kemp and the Sonics during the 1993 WCF vs the Suns. Incredible series and I had no idea before that series how fun the Sonics were to watch. I grew up in Nebraska with just 5 channels so we didn't get many Sonics games, lol.

If they would have just restructured his contract and kept him in Seattle...

Definitely my favorite player when I was little

Just watched game 2 of the 96 west finals vs Utah. He came in with 5 fouls in the 4th, turned the game around with his all around presence and dominated Malone, who had his way vs the Sonics with Kemp sitting the 3rd quarter. He was scoring every time down the stretch vs Malone. Karl maybhave scored more points in the series, but one on one it was clear that at that point Kemp was the superior player

How good was Jonny Arnett. really?

I watched a video somewhere on players from back then that would've probably been better in this era. I totally agree that Kemp, Shawn Marion, and Peja Stojakovic would've been better in this era.

During the 90s, Kemp was talked about as one one the best pf in the game, next to Malone, Barkley, L Johnson... Wasn't expected, dominated but short span.. exciting player to watch & also remember his jump shot being water, even before Cleveland.. would have a chip if not for the Bulls #hometeam still, great opponent since Houston ain't make it

Great points. Thanks for posting. But dude, we here in Seattle DO revere and persevere. We love Sean, and his electricity was staggering - maybe Dominique or Jordon could rival that power but few these days. It's a lost art being a brute. And a good guy. ;-)

He was one of the best EVER! THE REIGN MAN ❤️

The intro always slaps

He was one of my favorite players

Kemp was a beast. Nobody did what he did before he did.. was never a Sonics fan but had to watch those 2 play ... We need more Shawn Kemp highlights... Sad sad that his legacy ain't been praised enough.. before Vinsanity and those L.A clippers... 2nd Greatest power dunker after DoMonique (centers not included). Is my rating. Dude was always major fun to Watch

My favorite player on my favorite team. Still miss the Sonics to this day.

Zion Williamson's Atleticism and game reminds me so much of Shawn Kemp

Kemp is up there with Domonique on dunking!

One of my favorite players ever The Reign Man...

In his prime, Kemp may not have been the best, but he was my favorite

If the rain Man played today Shawn Kemp he killed everybody in his position and he'd be a superstar

A top 5 in game dunker probably. As far as him playing today, he'd be considered a one-trick pony as he didn't have a steady jumper but would still be a handful every night. At 6'10 and freaky athletic, he'd dunk all over every single team seeing how small the league has become.

The rainman, what a treat it was being a teen in the 90s and watching the nba. Great era, great basketball.

He was a total beast with power 💪🏻

The best in game dunkers than I have had the pleasure to witness have been a young Michael. Dominique Wilkins and Shawn Kemp during his Sonics days. Vince Carter is a distance Fourth place

I loved Shawn Kemp and the Sonics when I was a kid.

My Kemp's jersey is coming in two days time. Last time I had one was in 1995, it was reaching my knees as the only size available was XXL. He was and always will be my MVP of all times.

Zion is just the newest version of Kemp. Kemp was big, powerful, and very athletic.

#1. I watched him in person do the reverse slam down the lane versus the Knicks in the Garden in 89(?). He was a beast and would be even better in todays game as the whole NBA culture today would guide a 19 year old rookie much better. Articulate and a good all around guy too.

Lets face he, he was exciting! And those slam dunks?!!! The NBA needs that attitude back in the game!

Miss Shawn Kemp

He was a street ball player. I loved his story when I was young. High School? Barely He didn't have some established collegiate family or NBA scouts like following him by his sophomore year. He had zero advantages and still still got make money off professional sports. In my eyes, Sean Kemp won the system.

He pulled those finals numbers with Rodman guarding him.

He was a Beast

Kemp was amazing. He basically just got fat battling his personal demons. I got his jersey!

Shawn The Reign Man Kemp should be in The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Massachusetts One of the most Exciting players in The 90 s NBA

Yo love your videos. Keep being great can you do Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Shaq please.

4:10.. and there are actually people who feel Rodman should've won the mvp over Jordan.... He didn't even deserve it over Kemp. Great series by Rodman on the boards though.

just seeing old 90s basketball youre reminded how far the nba has fallen.

That sweet block at 3:32

Kemp was a fantastic shooter. He was literally the only competent big-man and slashing forward on The Sonics at the time and was an elite offensive rebounder. George Karl always wanted him near the basket for low post play and offensive rebounding. Remember, he was on a very elite Seattle team with Detlef Schremph, Hersey Hawkins, Sam Perkins, Gary Payton, and Nate McMillian. You don't need him to take any long range 2s or 3s when you have that much fire-power. You have to look deeper into the systems he played in. Gary Payton and Kenny Smith would be the first to tell you his jumper was automatic if he took it. He would excel in this era and would be more akin to a Lebron James play-style. He can dribble, pass, shoot, rebound, block shots, help defend and move off the ball.

It's criminal that he's not a HOF'er. Yet Chris Bosh is now. *hardest eye roll ever*

He was Damn good! I think he mainly known for his monsters dunks, which understandable because you didn't won't to on the sports channels highlight reel cause that's forever. But his years with Seattle was about as good as could expect coming straight from high school into the NBA

Kemp is in my list of top 4 in-game dunkers of all-time for sure. I would list MJ, Dominique Wilkins, Vince Carter, Shawn Kemp in no particular order.

Complex legacy for Kemp. He almost certainly ranks in the top 5% of athletes to ever play in the NBA. Considering how gifted NBA players are, that's pretty spectacular. That athleticism translated into a player who could make a huge impact against anyone, and there were many stretches in his prime when he was the best player on the floor. That said, his physical ability might have worked against his career. The game seemed to come too easily for him. Even before it became obvious, there were many rumors that his off-court life was an undisciplined mess, and he never really had to work on developing all-around skills. He could thrive for a half-decade despite that, but when the physical ability went, it went fast, and so did his time as an All-Star.

Man... I'd love to see you do a Top 100 All-Time

Probably one of the most exciting players to watch in NBA history. How nasty, crazy athletic , strong and mean he was makes me think of him as one of the best Power Forwards ever at his Reign Man peak. Them Super Sonics Teams were must see TV. Shawn Kemp was absolutely disrespectful on the court. Man I miss that style of basketball.

I grew up in SEA during Shawn's hey day... It was something special. He is TOP 5 greatest dunker - Vincent Carter is the G.O.A.T, MJ, Kobe and Dominic then Shawn.

For me best in game dunker of all time! PERIOD! ^^

To that title, he was obviously EXTREMELY good to go from HS directly to the NBA.

Legalize Kemp !

When certain all stars came in the finals we do not need to ask how good is he.