Shawn Kemp; Derrick Coleman; Larry Johnson

[JohnnySic]

What a ridiculous post all around. Coleman had the skills but he NEVER had the mental aspect, in terms of work ethic and passion for the game.

and LJ didnt have freakish athleticism? uuhh.......................

Basically what I said on Coleman. Had the skills, was special in that area, probably the best I've ever seen (only Webber at the 4 had close to the all-around skill set) . Didn't have the mental part, so he wasted it way.

Johnson was not really a freakish athlete. People compare him to Barkley because of the height similarity, but its not there. Even overwieght Barkely was freakishly athletic. Johnson was strong and athletic but no to that level - his game was more skill-based.

[AnSnow47]

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[Jasper]

many will go with Kemp / but I will take Johnson in a second.

He was a complete player , and exceptional athlete.
I miss watching him , he was that good.

[Whoah10115]

On LJ, two things.

His back may have ended his elite status early, but what hurt him more was coming to New York. We played that same hideous offense, Mason was the guy traded for LJ (and Mase was an actual tweening point power forward), plus we stupidly let Derek Harper go to bring in Chris Childs (who was 29, at that).

He moved to the 3, in that offense, post-bad back. Barkley played SF his last three seasons in Philadelphia, but he was in his prime. And the guy. LJ came to a team with Patrick Ewing, to move down after losing his athleticism. He was going out of his way to defer, and it never worked. Moving a playmaker like Starks for Allan Houston also worked against Johnson.

And in his first season with the Knicks he played great defense. The team were considering him their best defender, tho I wouldn't go that far. He played pretty good defense after, but he was great that year.

[newmancarl24]

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[RogueBorg]

Larry Johnson's Converse Destroyer in 1994 is still my favorite shoe of all-time.

[ArbitraryWater]

Definitely all players that could have been more than they were. Coleman frankly just fell into the Antoine Walker syndrome...he thought he was a perimeter player and the more years that went on the further away from the basket his game moved. He actually rebounded played good defense before the injuries, but not so much after after defensively and he just became a guy who wanted to shoot jump shots. Injuries or not, he should have been playing more in the post.

Shawn Kemp. This guy is hard to rate. He was an athletic freak which gave him an extreme natural advantage of every single PF of his era, but fundamentally he was not a particularly good player. Defensively he was EXTREMELY PRONE to foul trouble. That's why his mpg are never really low. In 10 of the seasons he played he averaged 4.0PF or near it and led the league in total PF's three times. He could definitely protect the paint at the very least at a "good" rate but he was no excellent defensive player. He is one of the very many reasons Payton shouldn't have won DPOY though as he had Kemp behind him who while still extremely foul prone could protect the paint.

Offensively I don't think he was really anything special. He was most dangerous in the open court as he is one of the greatest finishers ever, period. His post game was never anything anyone really feared. He was never a "go to guy" though he did step up big time vs the bulls that 96 finals, schooling Rodman and everything, but in general and throughout his career You can't rate someone when they were just playing at their peak. Generally he really was just an okay post player and nothing special. It was the athleticism that made him great.

As far as Larry Johnson goes...he's kind the poor man's Charles Barkley of his era. He was good scorer and rebounder before injuries took him down, but frankly LJ was always A PISS POOR DEFENSIVE PLAYER even before his injuries who was lucky to play next to Alonzo Mourning and than Patrick Ewing.

How do you rate them against each other?

[dejaolsone]

Gazing at the stars so bright
Holding you until the sunrise the impossible quiz

[Lebron23]

Larry Johnson's Converse Destroyer in 1994 is still my favorite shoe of all-time.

Those shoes were heavy.

[leschrapid]

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[Mauzah]

Laphonso Ellis still has one of the best blocks I have ever seen. You know the one.

Can anyone remember what the deal was with Kendall Gill? I always felt like he should have been a lot better. Size, athleticism, decent enough shot, solid drive to the hoop.

[imdaman99]

Derrick Coleman was the worst. Just look at how nonchalant he was as Smart hits the game winner. The dude just walks over to inbound the ball, wasting a good 2 seconds. Not to mention he bricked the FT before that. I'm sorry but that guy is a loser and unrootable. Where is your attempt to win?



I will take LJ over the other 2 no-heart dudes. 1 ate his way out of the league, the other never gave a damn.

[William_Kane]

One of the best players to my mind....

[Thenameless]

I think all of them relied too much on raw talent to some degree. It works when you are young and in your prime, but as you age you need to have basketball skills and a head for the game.

[dankok8]

Shawn Kemp was such a basketball god when he was locked in... but he just wasn't that committed to basketball. Imagine a skinnier even quicker Blake Griffin. Kemp should have dominated the league.

Coleman was the real deal who also didn't pan out like Kemp but for different reasons. Less athletic but also more naturally coordinated and had skills. He should have been at least a perennial all-star.

Johnson was just a boring player. I don't know. I vaguely even remember him. He could play in the post but I don't think his ceiling was nearly as high as the other two.

Another worthwhile mention among talented underachievers in the last 20+ years is Rasheed Wallace. He ended up with a decent career but should have been an all-timer with his size, defensive instincts, post skills and a really good jumper. He really had it all. I remember I watched a recent KG interview. He too said young Sheed was such a beast and could straight up embarrass you.