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NBA: 50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame

By Maxwell Ogden

AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Piston celebrates with the fans after the Pistons defeated the Lakers 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA championship final, in Auburn Hills, MI, 15 June 2004. The Pistons won the best-of-seven NBA championship series 5-1 and Billups was the series MVP. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Piston celebrates with the fans after the Pistons defeated the Lakers 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA championship final, in Auburn Hills, MI, 15 June 2004. The Pistons won the best-of-seven NBA championship series 5-1 and Billups was the series MVP. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Shawn Kemp
Shawn Kemp, Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/ALLSPORT /

50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame: 6. Shawn Kemp

Shawn Kemp is one of the players who fall victim to just how exciting his highlights are. That may seem like a silly statement, but in many instances, said players are underrated for their skill level and fundamental prowess because it’s far more interesting to talk about their athleticism.

Make no bones about it, however, as Kemp was a midrange threat who made even the best defenders of his era struggle to predict which route the Seattle SuperSonics legend would follow to the bottom of the net.

Kemp was named an All-Star in six consecutive seasons between 1992-93 and 1997-98, and a case could be made that he was a snub in both 1998-99 and 1999-00. During that six-year peak, he averaged 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.4 steals while shooting 51.3 percent from the field.

More importantly: He and the SuperSonics made the postseason every season during that six-year period.

That includes a Western Conference Finals appearance in 1992-93, a 63-win season in 1993-94, and a 64-win regular season and NBA Finals appearance in 1995-96.

While Gary Payton is the player who may be most synonymous with Seattle basketball, Kemp deserves a significant amount of credit for that sustained success due to how he routinely stepped up against the best of the best at his position.

Kemp averaged 20.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks on 58.8 percent shooting from the floor against Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 Western Conference Finals. He also put up 20.0 points per game on 69.0 percent shooting against Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz in the 1996 Western Conference Finals.

That includes 26 points and 14 rebounds in Game 7—outscoring (26 to 22) and out-rebounding (14 to 5) Malone in the process.

For good measure, he recorded 23.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game on 55.1 percent shooting from the field against Dennis Rodman and the Chicago Bulls in the 1996 NBA Finals.

Not only was Kemp a human highlight reel, but he went toe-to-toe with Hall of Famers. An arguable Hall of Fame snub.