Timothy Joseph Kempton Sr. (born January 25, 1964) is an American former professional basketball who played the power forward and center positions. Born in Jamaica, New York, he played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before having a 14-year professional career, playing 8 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in addition to seasons in Italy, France, Spain, and Turkey. He was selected in the 6th round (124th pick overall) of the 1986 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. During his professional career, he won the McDonald's Championship with the Nuggets in 1989[1] and national cups in Italy, with Scaligera Verona 1991, and France, with Limoges CSP in 1995.
College career
editKempton played for Notre Dame under coach Digger Phelps from 1982 to 1986,[2] appearing in 107 games over 4 season and averaging 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 26.2 minutes per game.[3]
Professional career
editKempton played in 8 NBA seasons for 8 teams. He played for the Clippers (1986–87), Charlotte Hornets (1988–89, 1993–94), Denver Nuggets (1989–90), Phoenix Suns (1992–93), Cleveland Cavaliers (1993–94), Atlanta Hawks (1995–96), San Antonio Spurs (1996–97), Orlando Magic (1997–98) and Toronto Raptors (1997–98). He was also under contract with Philadelphia 76ers (1996). In his NBA career, Kempton played in 280 games and scored a total of 1,259 points. His best year as a professional came during the 1988–89 NBA season as a member of the Hornets, appearing in 79 games and averaging 6.1 ppg.
Personal
editHis son, Tim Kempton Jr., is also a professional basketball player.[4] Tim also has a daughter, Catherine Kempton, who plays tennis.
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
editSource[5]
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986–87 | L.A. Clippers | 66 | 6 | 14.2 | .471 | .000 | .693 | 2.9 | .8 | .6 | .2 | 4.4 |
| 1988–89 | Charlotte | 79 | 0 | 17.0 | .510 | .000 | .676 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .5 | .2 | 6.1 |
| 1989–90 | Denver | 71 | 14 | 14.9 | .490 | .000 | .675 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .4 | .1 | 5.4 |
| 1992–93 | Phoenix | 30 | 0 | 5.6 | .396 | – | .581 | 1.3 | .6 | .1 | .1 | 1.9 |
| 1993–94 | Charlotte | 9 | 0 | 11.4 | .346 | – | .700 | 1.6 | .7 | .4 | .1 | 2.8 |
| Cleveland | 4 | 0 | 8.3 | .500 | – | .333 | 2.5 | .8 | .5 | .3 | 3.5 | |
| 1995–96 | Atlanta | 3 | 0 | 3.7 | – | – | – | .7 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| 1996–97 | San Antonio | 10 | 0 | 5.9 | .200 | – | 1.000 | .8 | .2 | .1 | .1 | .4 |
| 1997–98 | Orlando | 3 | 0 | 5.0 | .000 | – | – | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Toronto | 5 | 0 | 6.4 | .286 | – | – | 1.0 | .4 | .2 | .4 | .8 | |
| Career | 280 | 20 | 13.4 | .481 | .000 | .677 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .4 | .2 | 4.5 | |
Playoffs
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Foreign pro basketball approaches NBA's level". Daily Press. Association Press. October 24, 1989. p. D5. Retrieved July 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
Tim Kempton, who scored 18 points for Denver in the championship game [..]
- ↑ Hinkel, Tom (January 8, 2014). "Tim Kempton making a major impact for the Lehigh University men's basketball team". The Express-Times. Easton, Pennsylvania.
- ↑ "Tim Kempton College Stats".
- ↑ "Tim Kempton - Men's Basketball".
- ↑ "Tim Kempton NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
External links
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