NBA Legend Compares Present Day Players To Ferrari And Porsche

A highflying NBA legend compared present day players to a Ferrari and a Porsche.

Shawn Kemp was one of the most electrifying players to ever play the game. Back in the 90’s, Kemp kept fans entertained with his incredible dunks. Fast forward to the present, the once phenomenal big dunker made one of the boldest NBA era comparisons of all time.

In a rare interview with Dd Hache’s “What’s The Skinny?,” Kemp differentiated the way the game was played during his time to how it is today. According to the Sonics legend, the old NBA used to have more fights, more talking and players had bigger bodies, while players today are fast and lengthy like luxury cars.

“When you watch the old NBA, one thing is for sure, you will see more fights, a little more talking, bigger guys, bigger bodies. I think today’s game is like a Ferrari or a Porsche. These guys are really fast, and they are long and lengthy and durable,” Kemp said.

He also noted that players today can really shoot the ball well. And overall, Kemp thinks that the game has been ultimately growing.

“The way they are shooting the ball is much better than we could ever imagine these days, and just the overall spirit in today’s game is growing,” Kemp continued.

In another episode, Kemp mentioned something that he and his Sonics co-star Gary Payton used to do which players these days aren’t doing. Based on his observation, the NBA has gone too serious and intense about playing basketball and seemed to forget that “it’s ok to smile.”

“The difference between now and back then is that me and Gary were able to play with a smile on our faces. Some players today forget that it’s okay to smile; you have to smile. People enjoy the game of basketball, so if you’re not smiling, the fans are not going to smile. You can’t go around mean-mugging everybody at every game,” Kemp stated.

Aside from making the bold comparisons, Kemp already talked about the best duos in the NBA. As per the 50-year-old dunk icon, the so-called “Lob City” formed by Clippers’ former dynamic duo Chris Paul and Blake Griffin was all good However, he and Payton “were the original Lob City.”

Kemp was a 6-time NBA All Star who arguably deserves to be in the NBA Hall of Fame. But for some reason, he was never inducted.