"You have to outplay MJ" - Shawn Kemp revealed crazy request by SuperSonics GM when he asked for a bigger contract

Shawn Kemp once showed great potential during his early years with the Seattle SuperSonics. He was one of the promising stars in the league and undeniably deserved a fat contract.

The 17th overall pick of the 1989 Draft had to work on his game to reach that milestone. It took him several seasons to figure out how to survive in the NBA. It was in his fourth year in the league when Reign Man broke out.

He was also an MVP candidate as the SuperSonics rose in the Pacific Division. Seattle was having a good run at the time with Kemp blending well with Gary Payton, Eddie Johnson, Ricky Pierce, and Nate McMillan.

Tall Order for Kemp

With a 6-foot-10 power forward rising, it reached the point where money became an issue. He wondered how he could become one of the highest-paid players in the pro ranks. Answering those questions for him was Seattle's General Manager at the time, Wally Walker.

"I can remember the conversation. The general manager came to me, and he was like, 'Well, if you want to be one of the highest paid, then all you got to do is go out there and outplay Michael Jordan,'" Kemp shared when he appeared on the All The Smoke podcast.

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More than just scoring

Kemp and the Sonics would reach the NBA Finals in 1996 where they played MJ and the Bulls. Indiana native saw it as the best opportunity for him to shine and get that fat paycheck he was yearning for.

"If I can outscore Michael Jordan in this series and also play well and help our team achieve what we are trying to achieve, then I'm putting myself in a pretty good position. I played well and did those little things. But when it came time for payday, [there] was no phone call," Kemp quipped.

Looking at the results of each game of that series, the only times Kemp outscored Jordan was in Game 1 (32-28) and Game 4 (25-23). Both finished with similar 29-point outputs in Game 2, and Mike was better in the other three games as the Bulls won the title in six contests.

As far as averages, Kemp normed 23.3. points, while Jordan was at 27.3. However, Kemp should have known that it was more about just scoring. It was all about winning the title. Even if Kemp had not outscored His Airness at the time, he could have gotten a hefty raise had Seattle won the title that year.

Still, Shawn earned a nice amount of money during his 14-year NBA career. He never won a title, but in his prime, he was one of the most athletically gifted players this game has ever seen.

He just wasn't on Jordan's level, but few ever were.

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