PRODUCED BY: MATT CAPUTO
DIRECTED & EDITED BY: MATTHEW J. SHERIDAN
It really wasn’t too long ago that Shawn Kemp was one of the most dominant and popular players in the NBA. A tall and lanky leaper, Kemp came into the NBA at 19-years-old and captivated arena audiences with his “supernatural” athleticism. At 6-10, few players of Kemp’s size had ever played the game as hard he did at the speed that he did. After 14 years in The League, Kemp’s career was both highly decorated and filled with peaks and valleys.
Today, Kemp is planning on returning to the court by playing pro ball in Italy next year. He’s living around Seattle and working on various small business ventures with his wife, as well as staying in shape to make some kind of court comeback. His son, Shawn Kemp Jr., will be a senior in high school this fall and on the D1 basketball radar. At age 38, Kemp is slimmed down and in good shape. His hard partying days seem to be over.
On a recent trip out to the West Coast, SLAM caught up with Kemp at the Rose Garden. Kemp was in Portland to serve as an Assistant Coach of the Seattle 3BA team in the league’s “pilot” game and lend his support to the new league. After the game, Kemp shared a few moments with SLAM to look back on his life and career.
