Fans can be forgiven for thinking Seattle Sonics teammates Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were feuding rivals instead of close-knit friends. Like one game in the City of Brotherly Love.
“In Philadelphia, we were cussing each other out so bad you thought we hated each other,” Kemp admitted on the All The Smoke podcast. “But then we came back in the second half and wore the (76ers) out. That’s what type of relationship we had. We fed off that.
“The thing with Gary is that we could say, ‘Look, get your s*** together’ and it’s respected. He would get in my face, ‘You’re playing against David Robinson and Tim Duncan. You still gotta go up in there, dunk on these (two).’ He was the first player that I could have that type of relationship. He would call me out on my s*** and I could call his ass out on his s***.”
“When I used to see Michael Jordan, I would go over and whisper in Gary’s ear, ‘There he is, he’s about to kill your ass tomorrow’ – because I knew that’s going to get underneath his skin. I know that’s going to bring the best out of him. That’s the only reason I did that. I knew this boy could play some serious defense.”
Kemp then recalled a game in Boston where Payton returned the motivation. “Gary said, ‘I don’t give a s*** if you run down court. When I get the ball, I’m just going to throw the (ball) up to the rim. You just go up there and get it. I don’t give a s***.’ This game we had six lob dunks. Then he just started throwing the (ball) up anywhere and everywhere. It got really fun, because (we had) the chemistry.”
‘The Glove’ & ‘Reign Man’ Were Almost Given Tickets Out Of Town
Amazingly, there was a time early on when Sonics management wasn’t sure Payton and Kemp had the necessary chemistry. “Me and Gary clicked from day one, not just on the court but off the court, hanging out, shooting pool together. We were balling, dunking, running on everybody.”
Only defenses got wise, sagging back rather than pressuring the duo. “We started struggling, me and Gary. He couldn’t get layups, I couldn’t get the dunks. They were threatening to trade me and Gary that summer.”
The duo decided not to go out without a fight. “We went the whole summer working out in Vegas, working on that mid-range game. We (began) playing cat-and mouse, using our energy. I was pressuring the ball up the court; (Gary) was behind me. If he got a steal, then I was already down there in place for these lob dunks. That’s what made my game take off. Then I was able to really get to some dunks and do some explosive plays.” Spoiler alert: Payton and Kemp, fortunately for Seattle, weren’t dealt away.
‘When It Came Time For Payday, No Phone Call’
“I was one of those guys who was just like, ‘Hey, what do I need to do to become the best? What do I need to do to become one of the highest paid?’ The general manager was like, ‘Well, if you want to be one of the highest paid, then all you got to do is outplay Michael Jordan.’
“A couple years later. we’re playing the championship (against Jordan’s Chicago Bulls). That’s an opportunity for me to shine. If I can outscore Michael Jordan in this series and play well and help our team achieve what we’re trying to achieve, then I’m going to put myself in a pretty good position.
“I played well, did those little things. But when it came time for payday, no phone call. When you lose the series, that’s what they do to you sometimes. As a young man, you sometimes take those things personal. That one right there definitely hurt me.
“The one thing I regret about back then, is when you start to look at things as financial, sometimes you put that ahead of what you have chemistry-wise. I tell Gary this all the time. If I could go back and change a few things, both of us would probably work on playing with each other a little bit longer than what we did.”
“It truly showed after we didn’t play with each other. I think both of our careers went a little sideways. If I (were able to) go back, man, we don’t break that relationship. I tell him now, ‘We (should have gone) in the office and told them to make that s*** work,’ instead of getting mad.”
‘We Still Look Out For Each Other’
“Playing with Gary Payton, we had this great friendship, this great camaraderie, We won so many games, 50-60 games a year. Being able to go to anybody’s gym and match their energy and beat them, knowing that you’re going to win, means everything.
“I respect Gary. My mom and his mom before she passed away were good friends. I’ve been around his kids, he’s been around my kids all their life. To this day, we still do stuff with each other, autograph sessions, we still look out for each other.”
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