In our today’s text we will talk about sports and sports disciplines and about a successful athlete who had a very long career and achieved a lot of success. Sport is one of the most watched things in the world and it is certain that everyone have favorite discipline.
Sport is something that all people in the world like and we can find different disciplines. Sport helps us with health and because of physical abilities, but sports can also be professionally. There are many athletes in the world who have made great careers and have earned a lot of money with the help of sports. In our today’s text we will talk about basketball and NBA that is followed in all countries in the World.
In this subject, we will talk about Shawn Kemp, who had a very long and successful career and achieved a lot of success in basketball. He retired when he was 40 years old and he always loved the basketball very much. He played for several clubs in the NBA league but he was also successful at college basketball. He played for the first time in Europe at the age of 39, but returned to the USA after a year.
During his career, he scored a lot of success and was one of the best players in the NBA league. He had excellent statistics and was 6 times a participant in the ALL STAR competition. In this text we will talk about his life and his career, and this text will reveal some of the details you did not know about him.
Early Years
Shawn Kemp was born November 26, 1969 in Elkhart, Indiana, USA. He grew up with his parents and with one brother and they lived modestly. During his childhood, Shawn was interested in basketball and watched every NBA match on television.
His boyhood dream was to play one day in the NBA league and become one of the best basketball players. When he was in elementary school he did not like to learn, but he liked to train and play basketball. When he started high school he played for a team from his city and showed excellent results. He was among the best players and coaches recognized his talent.
During the high school he got a lot of friends who supported him and who thought that Shawn would play one day in the NBA. After finishing high school, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky and began to play for the college team. He immediately showed talent, but after several games an incident occurred.
His teammate was robbed and two golden chains were stolen. He accused Shawn of stealing chains and thought that he was responsible for it. Shawn did not want to admit to guilt, but the coach considered that is best to him to change college. Shawn listened to the coach’s advice and enrolled at Purdue University.
Shawn played two seasons for this college team and then he wanted to enter the NBA draft. Many people and coaches thought that he was still young to play in the NBA but Shawn did not give up.
When he was 18, he decided to join the draft and was selected by Seattle Supersonics.
He became the youngest player in the NBA league and in the first season he did not get a chance to play, but in the upcoming season he could show his talent and capabilities.
During college, Shawn had a girlfriend with whom he was 2 years in relationship. After two years there was a traffic accident in which she remained very hurt. She was in a coma and was in hospital for half a year. Shawn was very disappointed and sad and he was visiting the hospital every day.
After half a year, she slowly recovered, but it turned out that she had lost some of her memory. She forgot Shawn and she could not remember the moments when she met him and when she was with him. These were very difficult moments for him and after a few months he was selected for the NBA Draft and moved to Seattle to perform for this NBA team.
Career
Shawn Kemp began his professional career in 1989 when he started playing for Seattle Supersonics. He was the youngest NBA player at the time and he had to find his chance.
In the first season for this team he did not get a chance to play because he was young and he was not physically ready enough. In the coming season, he slowly began to build trust with the coach, and after half of the second season he started playing as a starter.
In the next season, he received the nickname “Reign Man” and the fans of this team were highly respected him. In the 1992-1993 seasons he scored 23 points per game and was among the best players in the league. In 1994, he played for the United States at the FIBA World Championship in Turin.
He managed to win the gold medal with the national team and was among the best players in the tournament. His best season was 1995-1996 when, together with Payton, he set the franchise record and his team had 64 wins at the end of the season.
They entered the playoffs as the main favorites for the title next to the Chicago Bulls. They managed to enter the finals of the NBA and in very exciting games they lost to the Chicago Bulls after 6 games. Shawn had an average of 23.5 points per game and was among the best players in the league. In the 1996-1997 season his team managed to reach the finals of the conference but they were eliminated. In 1997, Seattle did not extend the contract with Shawn and he signed a contract with Cleveland Cavaliers.
He played for Cleveland from 1997 to 2000. In his first season for this team he reached the playoffs but was eliminated from Indiana Pacers. The 1998-99 season was shortened due to lockout and Shawn played only 10 games for this team. In the 2000 season, Shawn did not extend the contract with Cleveland and he signed a two-year contract with Portland Trail Blazers.
In these two seasons, Shawn did not achieve much success and he had a knee injury. He recovered in 2002, but Portland did not extend the contract with him. He signed a one-year contract with Orlando Magic as a free agent. In this season he managed to help Orlando reach the semifinals of the playoffs, but after 7 games they were eliminated from Detroit Pistons.
In the upcoming season, Shawn did not have a team and he trained individually. He made a one-year break and then wanted to go back to the NBA. He was supposed to sign a deal with Dallas Mavericks, but he was in trouble at that time because he was arrested for having cocaine.
After this event, Dallas decided not to sign a contract with Kemp and he did not return to the NBA league. In 2008, Shawn received a call to play basketball in Italy for the Premiata Montegranaro team. He accepted the call but he only played 5 matches for this team.
After a hurricane that occurred in Houston, he returned to his city to help repair a house that was destroyed in a hurricane. After several months, Shawn come to Seattle and played his last season for the Seattle Development Team and then decided to complete his career.
Shawn retired at age 40 and we can say that he had a very rich and successful career in which he earned a profit of over $ 30 million.
Personal Life
Shawn Camp has always been a great athlete and only once did the incident for which he was convicted. In 2006, he was arrested because in his friend’s car police found cocaine and 60 grams of marijuana.
After this event, many newspapers wrote that his career had failed, but Shawn managed to return to the basket and to complete his career in the right way. Shawn has been married since 1993 and he has 7 children. He very much likes his children and he managed to give them a great financial life.
Shawn currently lives in Houston and we can often see him on ESPN where he comments NBA matches.
Quick Summary
Full name: Shawn Travis Kemp
Date of birth: November 26, 1969
Age: 50
Birthplace: Elkhart, Indiana, USA
Profession: Former Basketball Player
Height: 208 cm
Weight: 104 kg
Net worth: $30 million
