Detlef Schrempf: Chadwick Boseman and now Cliff Robinson dying way too young. R.I.P. and thank you for all your impact! Folded handsFolded hands
Tag: Detlef Schrempf
The Blazers, though combustible, were …
The Blazers, though combustible, were talented and ridiculously deep, with five current or future All-Stars—Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Detlef Schrempf and Jermaine O’Neal—plus potent offensive players like Damon Stoudamire and Bonzi Wells. It was arguably the strongest team the Lakers faced in their three-peat—and one of the best ever to miss the Finals. “It’s probably the best team I’ve ever faced playing basketball, period,” says Robert Horry, who won seven championships in his 16-year career, including three with the Lakers. “They were the toughest team,” Shaq says, “and they were the only team that wasn’t scared of us.”
Detlef Schrempf, the Sonics’ starting …
Detlef Schrempf, the Sonics’ starting small forward at the time, called that series with the Jazz a “bloodbath” while reminiscing with 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton on Thursday morning. And when the dust settled, he and his teammates looked up, all of the sudden in Chicago set to face a record-setting Bulls team led by Michael Jordan.
“I had forgot that the Bulls went 72-10 …
“I had forgot that the Bulls went 72-10 that year because we had a really good year,” said Schrempf, who like many has been watching ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary, including last Sunday’s episode that profiled Seattle’s 1996 NBA Finals trip. “I didn’t realize we were such an underdog.”
One of the more memorable clips shown …
One of the more memorable clips shown in that episode of the documentary is from the NBA on NBC pregame broadcast before Game 1 where Bob Costas said many were calling it the “biggest mismatch in NBA Finals history.” And that’s even though the Bulls had just eight more wins in the regular season than the Sonics and Seattle had even split the season series between the two teams 1-1. “Back then we just played,” said Schrempf, noting that the Sonics had short rest between their Game 7 win over the Jazz and Game 1 vs. the Bulls, who had been waiting at home after sweeping the Orlando Magic. “Now they’re saying, oh, people were saying we were gonna get swept – I forgot about that.”
Speaking of Seattle, what would it mean …
Speaking of Seattle, what would it mean for you to stand in Key Arena and have your jersey retired in front of those fans at some point in the future? Gary Payton: It would mean a lot to me. Those fans really were the ones who made everything happen for me. I was there for 13 seasons and that’s where I became a Hall of Famer. And the fans deserve it. I think they deserve to see that happen, just like they deserve to see Shawn Kemp’s jersey raised up and Detlef Schrempf’s jersey raised up – not just mine. You know what I’m saying? It would be great for those fans to see that and feel that because I know they’d go crazy, and it would be a great moment for myself too. I hope that we have an opportunity to do that. I do think it will come. I think basketball will get back to Seattle.