Shawn Kemp revealed when he realized he is a unique talent: "I was playing against NBA players in the 9th grade and gave them the business"

Shawn Kemp was one of those players with zero collegiate experience who was drafted into the NBA. Technically, he was registered to an alma mater, but he never played a game. However, the Indiana native had built up an impressive prospect rating from high school that made him an ideal first-round pick and a worthy gamble for franchises.

Growing up, Kemp had developed his talents on the court far from his age grade, and even before his junior year, there were signs that he could handle himself as a pro when he became eligible to be drafted.

“You had to go out there and work on those skills,” Kemp said on “ALL THE SMOKE.” “It was learning how to dribble the basketball left-hand right-hand. Being able to shoot the ball left-hand, right-hand... and then when you grow up, you start to realize you got some athleticism, and you’re like, ‘Man, I can really do some things.’ I was already playing against some NBA players when I was in 9th grade and was kind of giving them the business.”

The man-child

Back in 1988, the 18-year-old was a high school superstar. He was selected for the McDonald’s High School All-American Team, which was packed with future NBA players like Alonzo Mourning , Billy Owens, Anthony Peeler, and Malik Sealy. The Concord high schooler dropped a team-high 18 points for the West squad, although they came up short in the game.

He led the school to the state championship game in his senior year and was a four-year varsity starter at Concord. By the time he was done, Kemp had broken the school’s records for career, season, and game scoring. He was the best on the court and played a much more mature game than his peers.

“I kind of knew my talent, so I just worked on it,” Kemp continued. “My high school coach would bring me to the gym every day before school... told me to work on big man drills, footwork drills, and dribble the ball left hand and right [hand].”

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Going pro and making a mark

Coming out of high school, the forward planned to play for Kentucky, but those plans got derailed. Instead of taking the college route, he sat out his freshman year. He attended another college in Texas and only stuck around for a semester. The Seattle SuperSonics saw something special in the 6'10" power forward, even though he hadn’t played a minute of college ball. They took a chance and picked him 17th overall in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft.

After a below-average first season where he didn’t see much action, the Sonics drafted Gary Payton . The rookie and No. 40 started to build something special, and Seattle made its first playoff appearance of the Kemp-Payton era. They got knocked out in the first round by Portland, but the groundwork was laid.

By the 1991–92 season, the Sonics faced off against the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, and this was where Kemp asserted his “Reign Man” status.

In Game 4, with Seattle leading 2-1 and looking to close it out at home, the high-flyer delivered one of the most iconic moments of his career. It all started with a stalled fast break. Kemp caught a cross-court pass from Ricky Pierce at the top of the 3-point line. With just one dribble, he charged down the lane and unleashed a ferocious windmill dunk over Alton Lister. His celebration was almost as epic as the dunk itself, which was later dubbed “The Lister Blister.”

Seattle won the game and took the series, marking the beginning of a new era. The Kentucky product would go on to play eight seasons in Seattle and come close to winning the championship in 1996. But in the era of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, they stood no chance. After his time with the Sonics, he spent another six seasons in Cleveland, Portland, and Orlando.

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