The NBA has lost another star of sorts to the European game.
This star, however, falls decidedly in the 'former' category. He hasn't played an NBA game since 2003 and was last an All-Star in 1998.
Yes, the Reign Man is back.
As translated by RealGM:
Shawn Kemp has taken his game to Europe.
According to an announcement on the official Lega Serie A website, Kemp signed a contract in Seattle last night that will see the former SuperSonic play 2008/09 with Premiata Montegranaro in Italy.
Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.
It's stunning to think about what a star this guy was for the midst of his career and how quickly it all came apart. Kemp was a six-time All-Star and averaged better than 15 points and 10 rebounds per game in six straight seasons as well. But his career avearges sit at just 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and he was out of the league by age 33 thanks to injuries and his apparent inability to stay in shape.
At his peak, Kemp was one of the game's dominant bigs, and there is still plenty of wonder with him about what could have been. Here's wondering if he can stay in shape well enough to play dominant basketball in Italy this season, and if so, what lies ahead after that.