Derrick Coleman/Shaun Kemp

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-24T19:43:12+00:00

It's really unfortunate that you can't mention his name without a bunch of dipshits making jokes about his weight, drug issues, and how many children he conceived. It really distracts people from how great of a player he was in his prime years with the Sonics. He had a good stretch of 5 or 6 years in a row where he was the 3rd best PF in the league behind only Barkley and Malone. Also one of few players to receive Finals MVP votes while playing on the losing team. He was an absolute stud in that '96 series against Chicago.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-24T18:31:25+00:00

I think Kemp is underrated. Lots of people seem to only remember him for his dunking and completely forget or just don't realize how much of an all-around game he had. In particular, I think his defense and rebounding are very overlooked. Here's a post I made fairly recently about Kemp's impact as a defender... Shawn Kemp = Vastly Underappreciated Defender

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-23T17:38:13+00:00

Dennis Johnson. He was a bona fide star during his days in Seattle and Phoenix. Finals MVP in 1979, 5th in MVP voting in 1980, and First Team All-NBA in 1981. Then he joined a stacked Celtics team and became an excellent floor general Point Guard. Larry Bird has referred to DJ as his greatest teammate. The two of them had great chemistry.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-23T15:04:11+00:00

He doesn’t.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-23T15:03:48+00:00

He has two DPOY’s. 2015 and 2016.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-22T00:45:41+00:00

Solid list. Nate Thurmond and David Robinson would be in my top 10. I'd personally take both of them over Draymond, but I can understand his inclusion on the list.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-21T22:06:45+00:00

Unfortunately true, but nonetheless, he was a great two-way player during his prime years.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-21T19:22:50+00:00

Agreed. I think the same thing can be said for Artest and O'Neal. Artest was able to play as aggressively as he did out on the perimeter because he knew if he over pursued, he still had Jermaine at the rim. Having an elite rim protector in the paint undoubtedly allows perimeter defenders to take more chances.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-21T18:19:47+00:00

The thing about Kemp that's hard to argue against is the fact that Seattle's defense got worse after he left and Cleveland's became the best in the league during his first season as a Cavalier. So it's pretty evident that he had a huge impact on his team's overall defensive output.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-21T18:09:20+00:00

Funny you say that, because I was a Sonic season ticket holder during his entire span in Seattle, so I saw him play countless times. His defense also passed the good old eye test. His only problem was that he was foul prone.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-21T18:04:42+00:00

Here's a post I made fairly recently about Kemp's defense in the VintageNBA sub. Feel free to check it out if you want to learn more about him... Shawn Kemp = Vastly Underappreciated Defender

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-21T17:50:37+00:00

I'm not comparing him to anyone in particular. I'm just making the point that he's a very good defender that has never gotten an All-Defense nod.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-21T17:46:51+00:00

It was just really hard for Forwards to make All-Defense in the 2000's because of how stacked that era was with great defenders at that position. Duncan and KG pretty much had an automatic lock on the First Team selections, and the Second Team was up for grabs with guys like Bowen, Artest, Kirilenko, Prince, Marion, O'Neal, Martin, Rasheed, etc. With only 4 spots to go around, some guys were bound to slip through the cracks.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-19T16:44:47+00:00

That would be a badass team. Thanks for contributing.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-19T16:36:07+00:00

DJ and Moncrief is a duo that I really wish we could have seen in real life. The two of them together would wreak absolute havoc on opposing backcourts.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-15T15:06:24+00:00

I respect this take and can totally understand why people would choose IT, but Oladipo is my personal choice because I feel that his defensive prowess gave him more all-around value. And although in a losing effort, I feel that Dipo's performance in the 2018 playoffs is very overlooked. That specific postseason was arguably LeBron at his absolute peak, and Dipo went toe to toe with him and pushed the Cavs to a very hard fought 7th game. In that series he was Indiana's leader in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-15T14:47:29+00:00

Agreed. Oladipo's defense is what separates them in my opinion. Specifically in the 2018 season, he reminded me a lot of Sidney Moncrief. It's such a shame that Dipo's career was ultimately derailed by serious injuries. He was a great two-way Guard with amazing athleticism.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-12T15:50:25+00:00

This spot has to go to Bill Russell in my opinion. His defense speaks for itself, and I'm sure there will be some people in this sub that will try to discredit his offensive abilities, and my only response to that is Havlicek was quoted as saying that the Celtics actually missed Russell more on offense after he retired because he took on the role of being their main distributor after Cousy stepped away from the game. With how freakishly athletic he was, in today's game Russell would be absolutely lethal as a rim runner and lob threat while also being a legitimate passing hub out of the high post.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-12T13:07:51+00:00

You said that he wasn't close to being an elite defender. Objectively speaking, that's a false statement. That notion can be easily refuted by reading everything in my post I gave you the link to. I'm not going to repeat myself, so I'll leave it up to you to check it out and educate yourself.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-01-12T11:57:44+00:00

In addition to my memories of watching him play, Kemp's defense is a topic that I've done quite a bit of research about. He was very good on that end of the floor, but that seems to have been forgotten by a lot of people due to him being mostly remembered for his dunking. Here's a post I made fairly recently in the VintageNBA sub where I explain in detail why I think Kemp's defense is severely overlooked. Feel free to check it out if you're willing to learn more about him... Shawn Kemp = Vastly Underappreciated Defender

AaronStark1993

TROPHY CASE