Celtics Great Larry Bird Made Sure Shawn Kemp Would Remember Their First Matchup

Shandel Richardson | Jul 26, 2024

Shawn Kemp (from left), Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird. Playersdraft / IndyStar photo illustration

Former NBA player Shawn Kemp simply faced Hall of Famer Larry Bird on the wrong night.

It was Kemp''s rookie season for the Seattle Supersonics in 1989 after entering the league straight out of high school. Bird had all the motivation to make it a difficult night for the young Kemp.

Both players grew up in Indiana but some were calling Kemp the best to come from the state. Kemp said it made things even tougher after USA Today released an article claiming Bird was on the decline.

"He came out that night to make a statement and I was just a prime candidate," Kemp said during a recent appearance on the All The Smoke podcast. "Before the game, he shook his head at me and said, `It's going to be [expletive] up night for you."'

Kemp was already at a disadvantage because he said Sonics star Xavier McDaniel was dealing with knee pain. It left Kemp with the assignment of defending Bird.

"First of all, we got to Boston that night and X had some knee pain," Kemp said. "I was like, `This is a hell of a time for you to come up with some knee pain."'

Before long, Bird was calling out bank shots. He told Kemp when he was going to pump fake. None of it mattered. Bird still finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

And this was after Kemp felt he played solid defense.

"I guarded his ass so tough that after the game he sent a little letter over there to me," Kemp said. "He said, `I've had nobody play defense that hard on me."'

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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