In the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Seattle Supersonics were up 2-1 against the Golden State Warriors in the first round. In Game 4, the Sonics had a shot to wrap it up at home, and Shawn Kemp delivered one of the most brutal dunks of all time.
He caught a cross-court pass, positioned right at the top of the 3-point line, took one dribble, and charged down the lane like a freight train. At the rim, standing in his way, was former Sonic Alton Lister. The “Reign Man” took off before a monstrous windmill dunk that sent Lister crashing down, giving birth to the "Lister Blister." The dunk was a combination of Kemp’s sheer force and years of practicing his craft since day one, even impressing during his first NBA tryouts.
First dunk tryouts
Born and raised in Indiana, Kemp led his high school to a state championship and even earned a spot as a McDonald's All-American.
He got a huge offer to play for Kentucky, one of the top basketball programs in the country. But the high-flying forward never suited up for the Wildcats. His SAT scores didn’t make the cut for the school, and then there were some ugly accusations about him pawning jewelry that had been stolen from a teammate.
In 1988, he packed up and transferred to Trinity Valley Community College in East Texas, and it looked like his dream of becoming a pro was dwindling. But fate had other plans. In an episode of “ALL THE SMOKE,” he shared a story about how one radio ad opened the door for him to chase his NBA dreams.
“I’m in college in Trinity Valley,” Kemp began to recall his first tryout. “There ain’t but two restaurants there. And they came on the radio, and they was like, 'Hey, there’s a dunk contest next Friday night, and the winner of the dunk contest gets to practice with the Mavericks all weekend.’ So everybody in every junior college around Texas was trying to get into [the contest].”
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The birth of the Reign Man
The forward entered that slam dunk contest, and according to the Seattle Legend, many other young players like him looked for the opportunity to impress scouts; however, only one would reign supreme.
“We was down at the Dallas Arena, man. There was probably 60 contestants, and I won the dunk contest that night and I got a chance to practice with the Mavericks,” Kemp added.
Back in 1988, Shawn was already making waves as a high school prospect. He’d just been selected to the McDonald’s High School All-American team, a big deal in itself, in a class that had future NBA stars like Alonzo Mourning and Billy Owens.
Reign Man’s athleticism and raw talent caught the eye of scouts early on, and after that impressive tryout, he made the bold decision to declare for the 1988 NBA Draft. The Seattle SuperSonics took notice, drafting him 17th overall in the first round.
He wasn’t a prep-to-pro and didn’t play a single minute of college basketball, and at just 19 years old, he entered the league and became one of the best dunkers in NBA history.
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