Top 99 Quotes & Sayings by Shawn Kemp

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American athlete Shawn Kemp.
Last updated on December 25, 2024.
Shawn Kemp

Shawn Travis Kemp Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Reign Man", he was a six-time NBA All-Star and a three-time All-NBA Second Team member.

I'm not trying to come back and change the perception of what people think about me. They can think what they want to, man.
I will be Shawn Kemp regardless of whether I have money or not. The only thing money does is show who you are.
It'll be a challenge for me to come in and fit with a team that's already good. — © Shawn Kemp
It'll be a challenge for me to come in and fit with a team that's already good.
When a person gets to the age of 35 and you go to jail, it either makes you or breaks you. It made me identify what I wanted.
I would never let myself go back there to play another 82-game season in Seattle. I think the team deserves better and the fans deserve better.
You don't work your butt off for 90 yards of a 100-yard dash and then just quit.
I've been called so many names and been written off by so many people who just say, 'Whatever happened to this guy?'
Sometimes I don't realize the things I do on the court.
If I read an article and believed everything a guy said about me, I'd believe I was the best person in the world or the worst person in the world, so I can't go off what some guy says about me. I only go off what happens to me.
You never let what someone says bring you down. If you do that, you'd be a chump in this world.
I'm no dummy. I have a good sense of the business end of this game.
My lifestyle is probably not quite what people would expect it to be.
When you watch the old NBA, one thing is for sure, you will see more fights, a little more talking, bigger guys, bigger bodies. — © Shawn Kemp
When you watch the old NBA, one thing is for sure, you will see more fights, a little more talking, bigger guys, bigger bodies.
The only thing that motivates me is to become better.
You get a chance to play, you get a little more comfortable out there on the court, and you just try to make the most out of the time you get.
It was just one of those things that, you know, you get to the NBA and have success and you just wanna play against the best, you don't wanna play with the best.
My love for the game is very, very high.
When stuff happens to you, it just makes you tougher, man.
A lot of times, the spectacular play the fans see is not always what I tried to do. It just happens.
I remember when I was a rookie, there was an article in 'USA Today' that said, 'Larry Bird, he's lost a step.' That night I went out to guard him, he scored, like, 47 on me.
I've got some kids out there; it's no secret. I've never been late on payments. I've handled it as best as I possibly can. There's no lawsuits. I try to stay on top of it.
The NBA fits my game.
Basically take care of your game, and your game will speak for itself.
I've been married 23 years now. Gone from spending all of my time on the road to being a husband and father.
I've always appreciated basketball. I never tried to disrespect the game.
Trust me, I have had my days where I don't feel great about myself. You have those days where you kind of get down. But for the most part, I have been able to stay focused and happy and use my time wisely.
I'm not going to sit here and tell anybody I haven't had difficulties in my life, haven't made any bad decisions. But to sit back and consider myself a bad person or not doing something positive, it's so untrue.
I always found it a great challenge playing against Michael Jordan, to play against Magic Johnson, to play against Larry Bird, to play against all those good players because it's something that you can take away from it.
I always say, 'When things are quiet, you know something is going on.'
I feel I've proved I can rebound, block shots, get steals and pass the ball, too.
There is no positive outlook about Shawn Kemp in Seattle. When that name is mentioned, it brings nothing but negativity.
We need the Sonics back.
I'm not coming back to play basketball for any financial reasons.
The best feeling is when you dunk on a big guy bigger than you, then you can give him that look. It shrinks him down a bit!
I don't know when, or how, but I feel it: Basketball will come back to Seattle.
I've made my share of mistakes, but I've learned.
I'm all for doing positive. I've worked in the community. My wife, she's spending her life basically giving back to the community. That's something that we take pretty seriously, man.
I never went to the Sonics and asked for more money. I didn't ask for another dollar. — © Shawn Kemp
I never went to the Sonics and asked for more money. I didn't ask for another dollar.
I won so many years in Seattle and then to go to Cleveland... I had a pretty nice year the first year I got there and then the last two years, we just weren't able to make it to the playoffs.
I don't just want to be the best player in the NBA, I want to be the highest paid.
Every summer, no matter what happens to me in my life, I'm going to work out every day.
I wasn't in the right place at Kentucky, and I don't think I ever would have been comfortable in college.
I've played eight years and gotten better each season.
People enjoy the game of basketball, so if you're not smiling, the fans are not going to smile. You can't go around mean-mugging everybody at every game.
When I walk into a gym full of kids, I could be having the worst day possible, but once you see the kids smile it changes your whole day around.
I started jogging, jogging and jogging. I ran this weight off.
In the NBA, you always have to make the right decisions. You should feel free to live a normal life, but you really can't.
My hopes and dreams are to be in the Hall of Fame one day. — © Shawn Kemp
My hopes and dreams are to be in the Hall of Fame one day.
When I was younger, I was a guy who always wanted to get to the rim and attack the rim and just dunk the basketball.
I love Karl Malone.
I get excited after I dunk. I yell and scream, but it's not yelling and screaming at other players to show them up. It's the way I play. What I do is have fun on the court.
When things don't go right, people are always trying to protect themselves.
I came into the league fighting, and it looks like I'm going to go out fighting.
I was known for a lot of dunks, but my first big dunk really came here in New York. I had some others back then, but my first major dunk came against the Knicks and Kenny 'Sky' Walker. So, you know, New York has a lot of meaning to me.
I'm not U.S.A. Olympic image. I didn't go to college. I came from a different route.
If you have a goal, you have to step forward and try to get it accomplished.
I learned so much from the people in Seattle. They taught me everything from community to business relationships.
I guess the all-American presentation of what a player is supposed to stand for is not what I am.
Money means a lot of respect. It means a lot of accomplishment and a lot of hard work.
You've got to go through times in your life when you're not going to make the greatest decisions. But the thing is, I always say, you grade a person on what they've become after they've made some mistakes. Because it's so easy to make mistakes when you're young.
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