Why We’re-Worried About Larry Bird,as been shaded by many NBA players-View

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

But while the snub left fans upset, Clark took it in good faith, revealing in an interview that she was not disappointed. “I think it just gives you something to work for,” she explained. “It’s a dream. Hopefully, one day, I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation.”

Clark had previously hinted interest in playing at the Olympics after receiving an invitation to the USA basketball training camp. In a March 2024 press conference, the point guard, the only college player to receive the invite, revealed that she would attend the camp if the Iowa Hawkeyes failed to make it to the Final Four Championship. “USA Basketball, that’s your dream. You always want to grow up and be on the Olympic team,” she shared during a press conference at the time. “People that are on that roster are people that I idolize and have idolized growing up.”