Shawn Kemp vs Yao Ming

[durantbird]

Who's had the better prime?

[HeartBreakKid]

I'd give it to Kemp. For one he was probably just more available than Yao.

Two, I think he may have been a better player albeit by a bit.

Kemp was a really great defender. Yao Ming was not as exploitable as one would think, but Kemp felt like an all-defense type of guy. We don't really have defensive stats though to measure how good Kemp was but giving him the benefit of the doubt he was probably a better defensive player than an offensive player.

He was famous for his offense so he wasn't chop liver on that side of the ball either, albeit I do think he was incredibly overrated as an offensive player.

[tsherkin]

He was famous for his offense so he wasn't chop liver on that side of the ball either, albeit I do think he was incredibly overrated as an offensive player.

His offense was exciting, that's why he was famous for it. He was a reasonably good complement offensive, particularly in-era.

[migya]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

[70sFan]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

There was absolutely nothing soft in Yao's game

[tsherkin]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

What? He wasn't soft at all. He had injuries and you could burn him in the PNR (like most larger, slower players). Are you trying to say he's soft because he was mostly known for his jumper?

[Colbinii]

Yao happily went toe to toe with Shaq as a rookie and didn't back down. His teammates loved his tenacity and grit on the basketball court.

Calling him soft is like calling Michael Jordan a weak scorer.

[trex_8063]

Better prime? Hmmm.....

Maybe Yao. (I voted that way off-hand, but now I'm second-guessing it).
At least, I'm comfortable saying Yao had a slightly better average prime year. But Kemp's prime was about 1 year longer, also a bit more durable within his prime. So that's a consideration that could swing it back in Kemp's favour.

I'd give Kemp the nod for all-time rank, as he has more relevant non-prime years.

[HeartBreakKid]

Yao Ming is soft because he has a good touch and he's from China. Obviously.


No way Kemp was a better offensive player than Ming. Look at their turnovers. Shawn averaged 4 turnovers one season while averaging less than 20 points....as a finisher.

[D.Brasco]

Injuries derailed Yao's career right at the cusp of his prime. People forget he had to retire at only 30.

[Im Your Father]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

There was absolutely nothing soft in Yao's game

I feel like I have some vague memories of him really pushing Dwight Howard around in the post.

[tsherkin]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

There was absolutely nothing soft in Yao's game

I feel like I have some vague memories of him really pushing Dwight Howard around in the post.

Comfortably held his ground and shot over top of him a lot. Dwight was a chump relative to battling Shaq, which Yao did reasonably well (no offense to Dwight, he just wasnt Shaq-sized).

[GSP]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

How is Kemp a better offensive player than Yao??? What does he even do better besides dunking........

[migya]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

How is Kemp a better offensive player than Yao??? What does he even do better besides dunking........

His shooting, scoring inside and creation. Yao had his height.

And he was soft. He was not assertive which is why he was only allstar for calibre and was never anywhere near the level of the alltime great bigs and should've been much better with no other real star big after Shaq exited his prime.

[Jaivl]

Kemp better on both ends. Yao could've been so much more out seems but was fairly soft.

How is Kemp a better offensive player than Yao??? What does he even do better besides dunking........

His shooting, scoring inside and creation. Yao had his height.

And he was soft. He was not assertive which is why he was only allstar for calibre and was never anywhere near the level of the alltime great bigs and should've been much better with no other real star big after Shaq exited his prime.

Kemp was an excellent creator indeed - of fast breaks for the opposing teams.

Yao was a much better finisher too from basically every angle. Have you even watched Kemp play outside of highlight dunks or that one Houston series? Kemp had nice percentages because he was a monster offensive rebounder and putback dunker, not because he was some exceptional finisher in the half court.

[migya]

How is Kemp a better offensive player than Yao??? What does he even do better besides dunking........

His shooting, scoring inside and creation. Yao had his height.

And he was soft. He was not assertive which is why he was only allstar for calibre and was never anywhere near the level of the alltime great bigs and should've been much better with no other real star big after Shaq exited his prime.

Kemp was an excellent creator indeed - of fast breaks for the opposing teams.

Yao was a much better finisher too from basically every angle. Have you even watched Kemp play outside of highlight dunks or that one Houston series? Kemp had nice percentages because he was a monster offensive rebounder and putback dunker, not because he was some exceptional finisher in the half court.

Sounds like you haven't watched Kemp play. He was a great finisher in many different ways, He scored on Rodman in the finals and against Phoenix is in 93 is another one you should look at.

[70sFan]

And he was soft. He was not assertive which is why he was only allstar for calibre and was never anywhere near the level of the alltime great bigs and should've been much better with no other real star big after Shaq exited his prime.

That's strange criticism, given that:

1. Yao took way more shots than Kemp ever did, so it seems that he was more assertive than Shawn.

2. Kemp was never close to all-time great big, so Yao wouldn't need that to overcome Kemp.

[migya]

And he was soft. He was not assertive which is why he was only allstar for calibre and was never anywhere near the level of the alltime great bigs and should've been much better with no other real star big after Shaq exited his prime.

That's strange criticism, given that:

1. Yao took way more shots than Kemp ever did, so it seems that he was more assertive than Shawn.

2. Kemp was never close to all-time great big, so Yao wouldn't need that to overcome Kemp.

Kemp was a better player on both ends, if you think otherwise that's with you, Kemp wasn't elite but he played well against most of the best bigs ever. Yao couldn't even dominate with only Dwight as the significant big in his era.

[tsherkin]

And he was soft. He was not assertive which is why he was only allstar for calibre and was never anywhere near the level of the alltime great bigs and should've been much better with no other real star big after Shaq exited his prime.

That's strange criticism, given that:

1. Yao took way more shots than Kemp ever did, so it seems that he was more assertive than Shawn.

2. Kemp was never close to all-time great big, so Yao wouldn't need that to overcome Kemp.

Kemp was a better player on both ends, if you think otherwise that's with you, Kemp wasn't elite but he played well against most of the best bigs ever. Yao couldn't even dominate with only Dwight as the significant big in his era.

You havent watched Yao, or even looked at his b-ref page, have you?

[70sFan]

And he was soft. He was not assertive which is why he was only allstar for calibre and was never anywhere near the level of the alltime great bigs and should've been much better with no other real star big after Shaq exited his prime.

That's strange criticism, given that:

1. Yao took way more shots than Kemp ever did, so it seems that he was more assertive than Shawn.

2. Kemp was never close to all-time great big, so Yao wouldn't need that to overcome Kemp.

Kemp was a better player on both ends, if you think otherwise that's with you, Kemp wasn't elite but he played well against most of the best bigs ever. Yao couldn't even dominate with only Dwight as the significant big in his era.

Yao couldn't dominate because of health issues, not because he was "soft".

Saying that Kemp played well against "most of the best bigs ever" isn't very specific either. First of all, it's highly unlikely that most of the best bigs ever played all during Kemp prime which lasted less than decade. Secondly, it's not true that Kemp always performed well against quality bigs:

- he didn't have notable series against Utah in 1993,
- he was horrible against Houston in 1993,
- he was great against Suns in 1993, but Suns didn't have good inside defense,
- he was horrible against Nuggets in 1994,
- he was great against Houston and Utah in 1996,
- he was great against Chicago in 1996 finals.

If we take a closer look, then Kemp was very impressive in 1996 postseason, but other than that he didn't really overperformed against quality defensive frontcourts. He also fouled a lot, turned the ball over way too much and didn't create anything for others. He was strictly a finisher and not all-time great one.