YouTube Gold: Sean Kemp

Seattle’s finest

Shawn Kemp’s NBA career can be roughly divided in two: when he was Seattle and after.

The later years were pretty forgettable. In Cleveland, he reportedly played at 315 lbs; some whispered he was over 400. He was also having drug and acohol issues which obviously didn't help. By the end, he was a shadow of what he had been.

What he was in Seattle though was incredible. Kemp was incredibly athletic and did things that very, very few players could do.

We’ve noted before that while dunking is cool, it’s still just two points. But it’s undeniably exciting to watch and some people just light the game up when they do it. Currently, Zion Williamson can do that because he can apply so much lift and power to his dunks. Dominique Wilkins used to bring the house down too.

It’s hard to think of a bigger guy who could do what Kemp did. He had an amazing combination of power and agility that let him do things that were almost unthinkable. It’s a shame his career ended so poorly.