Shawn Kemp

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 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.

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 ball (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.

Kemp scored a team-high 18 points for the West in a losing cause.

The final score was 105–99 in favor of the East.

During his senior year, Kemp signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at the University of Kentucky.

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".

Kemp played for the US national team in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in Toronto, winning the gold medal.

He also appeared in the MTV Rock N' Jock annual celebrity basketball game.

Kemp signed a contract extension with the SuperSonics in 1994.

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 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.

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.