Kemp's first year in Cleveland was actually a pretty big success. He became the first ever Cavalier to start in the All-Star game (the second was LeBron James in 2005)! He led a team that was starting 3 rookies to the sixth seed in the East. I think he should have made the All-NBA 3rd Team that season. The future looked bright in Cleveland with such a young roster. But then the lockout happened, and it was all downhill after that. Odd that he had a career high in points in his fat year, maybe the extra bulk was actually helpful down in the post. However he lost his biggest advantage, his athleticism, and declined severely following that season.
The '98 lockout ruined his career. He also had drinking problems in his last season in Seattle. After the lockout ended in January '99, he told the Cavs he thought they weren't coming back because he was over 300.
Paul Pierce after the Celtics, Rodman after the bulls, Clyde drexler in Houston, the glove after Seattle, Dell Curry in general, drazen petrovich in general
The benchmark for all-star power forwards in the '90s was 20&10. Shawn Kemp was a superstar, one of the young faces of the league during the MJ era of dominance, but strangely, he never quite achieved 20.0ppg in Seattle, the closest he got was his best season, 95/96, when his avg was 19.6ppg, but he did avg just under 12 boards with 11.9rpg that same season, his career high.
I want so see Gary and Malone on the Lakers, do two in one video, or…Phillip Rivers/Wentz/Ryan/Brisset on the Colts. One of the four vet quarterbacks they brought in after Luck and before they drafted AR5, I’m a colts fan so I’d love to see one of those 4, Phillip especially
Love the content, shows big promise, Since you mentioned him in the video how about a Pat Ewing in Orlando/Seattle video, I think everyone knows he was washed in lando but there’s a lot of people who don’t even know he played in Seattle
I didn’t realize how much weight he gained. His body just wasn’t built to handle that much beef. He needed to be lean to be explosive. Imagine Blake Griffin ballooning to 300 lbs. He would be totally ineffective.
I remember the GM and execs and Kemp met and discussed his contract and they asked him if he thought it was fair to make that amount. Can't remember what he said but it seems like he wanted a new start, and I think the execs were also urging him to make a new start to revitalize his career. He lost a lot of weight but he got into trouble again when drug tested in Orlando.
@@kaijudirector5336 I'ma go against the majority and say no he wasn't and was actually a detriment to the team. He still got points but he was just a chucker who couldn't accept his prime was done. If his name wasn't Kobe, he would have been a bench sparkplug
Kobe tried to keep playing to get the all time scoring record. He did pass MJ so I guess he can always say that. Not being able to catch Karl Malone probably ate at him until he died. He really hated him.
Look at all the great NBA players Jordan kept from winning championships. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Clyde Drexler, etc.
He didn’t play college basketball at all. He attended UK and that community college for 1 semester each. He declared once his freshman year of college was over.
Kemp is among those few who came from peak athletic condition to jabba the hut. How can one crash that fast? You'd have to literally just lie on your bed and do nothing but eat for years to accomplish that.
7:30 quite the speedball 😂. Was wondering why he disappeared after Seattle but drugs and weight gain will do that real fast. 10:40 Tuesday lol Bison would be proud at that mockery of Doc Rivers 11:29 washed 😂
If Shawn Kemp only had a brain...what could have been... Shawn could dunk and that was it. Extremely athletic, and what a treat it was to watch him until you realized that he could do nothing else. The rebounding didn't make up for his shortcomings (10 rebounds). I remember watching a game live once and Shawn (playing for the Sonics) punched the ball during rebounding as he tried to score. Yes, instead of rebounding or tipping the ball, he PUNCHED it. He was called for a technical foul. Shawn was the kind of guy who would grab his crotch after scoring. Shawn was the kind of guy who preferred to eat as opposed to staying in shape. There have been a lot of players who can't stay in shape in he NBA, but Shawn's story was the saddest, as we found out that not only was he a foodie, he was also an alcoholic and a coke addict. I hope he has overcome those addictions, but the Sonics got rid of him for a reason. I agree, Mr. Young Money Sports...he was serviceable for a short while.
Shawn Kemp could dunk and that was it, huh? Kemp was a capable scorer, developed a jumper, was a preety good defender, and was a good rebounder. Outplayed greats in the playoffs like Karl Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon. And in my opinion, he outplayed Michael Jordan in the finals. Ultimately Kemp just ruin his career.
