Two decades ago, future NBA legends Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton had the Seattle SuperSonics flying high, as they arguably formed one of the best inside-outside combinations in Association history.
Payton, was in the beginning stages of what would become a Hall of Fame career, earning the nickname “The Glove” for his lock down defense, regularly among the NBA leaders in steals, assists, and scoring.
His primary target was the freakish man-child at forward, named Shawn Kemp, who likewise had a catchy moniker, dubbed the “Reign Man” for his ferocious power and highlight reel dunks.
With 15 All Star nods between them, the dynamic duo played together in Seattle from 2000 to 2007, making it to the NBA Finals in 1996, only to lose to the Chicago Bulls.
But as Father Time caught up with both Kemp and Payton, as both are now in their mid 40’s, they rarely have been seen together outside of Payton’s Naismith Hall of Fame induction in 2013.
But both former NBA superstars had a public reunion recently as they both were in attendance at a PAC-12 match-up between Washington and Oregon State, to watch their sons play.
Gary Payton II has been in a mad dash to break some of his famous father’s records at Oregon State, while Shawn Kemp Jr is a star forward for the Huskies.
During the game, Kemp Jr got the best of Payton II by getting the win and outscoring the Oregon State standout, but Payton had 4 blocks and a highlight reel poster dunk….
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
