50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s –18. Shawn Kemp
Shawn Kemp entered the NBA as the new decade dawned, taken with the 17th overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics out of Trinity Valley Community College in Texas despite never having played a game there.
The project paid off handsomely for Seattle.
Kemp was a five-time All-Star for the Sonics and was named to three All-NBA teams. He finished third in the NBA in total rebounds in 1994-95 and 1995-96, fifth in field-goal percentage in 1993-94 and 1995-96 and fifth in rebounds per game in 1995-96.
He also helped Seattle to the NBA Finals in 1996, where they lost in six games to the Chicago Bulls. In that series, Kemp averaged 23.3 points, 10 rebounds, 2.2 assists, two blocks and 1.3 steals in 40.3 minutes per game, shooting .551/0-for-1/.857.
In September 1997, Kemp was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a three-team deal in which the Sonics acquired Vin Baker from the Milwaukee Bucks.
In his eight seasons in Seattle, “Reign Man” averaged 16.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals in 29.8 minutes per game, shooting .521/.276/.730.
Kemp was an All-Star with the Cavaliers in 1998 and in two seasons in Cleveland in the 1990s averaged 18.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks in 34.8 minutes per game on .457/3-for-10/.752 shooting.
Kemp remained with the Cavs until August 2000, when he was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team deal that brought Chris Gatling, Clarence Weatherspoon and a first-round pick in 2001 from the Miami Heat to Cleveland and Gary Grant from Portland to the Cavaliers.
In August 2002, the Blazers bought out Kemp’s contract and in September 2002, Kemp signed with the Orlando Magic as a free agent.
After one season in Orlando, Kemp retired and, while he flirted with coming back several times, never actually did, with the Magic finally renouncing his rights in July 2007.
In the 1990s, Kemp was 14th with 12,452 points, ninth with 7,111 rebounds and 1,094 blocked shots and 16th with an average of 9.5 rebounds per game.
He is 47th in NBA history with 1,279 blocked shots.