did u seem to forget that the sonics went to the 96 nba finals to play the bulls? yup its true and that is nothing close to lottery bound.
I never said they didn't have problems with him. I said I never feared he would go off...you know, go off for some Kevin Johnson, Micheal Jordan 45+ type games. Dominance. Whether Shawn Kemp was a good player or not is not in question. There's no doubt he was. I am taking issue with the prevailing sentiment that he was in the Hall of Fame echelon. Thanks. Come back to me when you have something to contribute to the discussion. did you seem to forget that the sonics had a guy named gary payton on that team?
Those Mid 90 Sonics teams were easily one of the most exciting teams to watch ever. I have always said that Shawn Kemp had IMHO the sexiest game ever to watch. His style was just beautiful to watch. The way he just floated around the court, the way he jogged sideways after shooting that nice mid-floating jumpshot...it was just a thing of beauty. Then Payton came and had this cocky jog up the court with his chin sticking out. They were just a very entertaining pair. IMHO, Kemp > Amare easily...atleast right now. Kemp was just much more smoother and could impact a game more on both ends of the floor.
10 or so years later, I can finally admit the Sonics were a fun team to watch. It's amazing they only went to the Finals once. But back when they owned us, I hated them so bad I couldn't see straight. I hated them more than the Lakers and Jazz put together.
The things I remember most from those Sonics teams was that the Payton-Kemp alley-oop was more than just a gimmick play: it was an integral part of their offense. Like the Malone-Stockton pick-and-roll, the Sonics would pull out the oop at the moment when it hurt you the most. It was such an intimidating and momentum-shifting play. It's easy to dismiss Kemp now, but there were several years when the Kemp-led Sonics had one of the best, if not THE best, records in the league.
