TACOMA, Wash. — Shawn Kemp, who was one of the most popular athletes in Seattle in the 1990s when he played for the Sonics, was sentenced Friday in Pierce County Superior Court to 30 days of electronic home monitoring for second-degree assault.

Kemp must submit to home monitoring within two weeks and will also serve one year of community custody and complete 240 hours of community service.

Under state sentencing guidelines for second-degree assault, Kemp faced a standard range between three and nine months in jail. Judge Michael Schwartz found that the circumstances surrounding the crime warranted an “exceptional sentence” downward, allowing Kemp to avoid jail time.

When Schwartz delivered the sentence, Kemp looked at the ceiling and blew a huff of air, then repeatedly made the sign of the cross with his hand.

Kemp, 55, pleaded guilty in May to shooting at two men inside a Toyota 4Runner outside the Tacoma Mall in March 2023, damaging the 4Runner and another vehicle. None of the rounds fired by Kemp hit anyone, nor was he injured, according to court documents.

Kemp contended that he acted in self-defense, returning fire after one of the men shot at him from inside the 4Runner, which fled the scene before Tacoma police arrived, court records show. When the vehicle was found abandoned in Federal Way five days later, an empty holster was found inside, but there was no gun.

I’m very apologetic for what I did," Kemp said to the judge before sentencing concluded.

"He understands and appreciates that he could have and should have conducted himself differently that afternoon in the Tacoma Mall parking lot," Kemp's defense attorney, Timothy Leary, wrote in a sentencing memo. "However, the public scorn, disappointment, embarrassment and personal shame weighs heavy on Mr. Kemp. That punishment lasts much longer than any jail sentence."

The defense also claimed that the two men Kemp shot at provoked the shooting by stealing Kemp's truck, his cellphone and memorabilia in Seattle. Judge Schwartz agreed.

Kemp used an app to track his stolen phone in the car and followed the men to the Tacoma Mall to recover his property.

During the sentencing hearing on Friday, deputy prosecutor Sean Plunkett played videos from nearby businesses and witnesses. Kemp is overheard on a 911 call saying "They took all my (expletive) out of my (expletive) vehicle."

Prosecutors argued there is no evidence that either of the men fired at Kemp first.

“At no point does he flinch. At no point does he look like he’s trying to protect himself,” prosecutor Thomas Howe said.

However, Schwartz noted the holster that was later found in the 4Runner, lodged in the front panel.

The state had asked the judge to sentence Kemp to nine months in Pierce County Jail. Prosecutors said Kemp threw his gun into some bushes and didn't immediately tell police officers who responded to the scene, creating "a dangerous situation" outside a business.

Schwartz emphasized that the shooting — and the risk of injuring or killing someone — could have been easily avoided if Kemp walked away.

"Property is replaceable," he said. "Human life is not.”

Several people submitted letters of support to the court on Kemp's behalf, and about 30 people attended the hearing, including his pastor and former NFL star Marshawn Lynch.

Kemp's daughter, Bella Kemp, wrote that "we are all capable of making mistakes."

The executive director of Seattle's Central Area Senior Center, Dian Ferguson, wrote to the judge that Kemp and his wife have offered support to their programs serving low-income seniors, including sponsoring Thanksgiving meals.

"Shawn has thrown through his actions that he will never give up on people whom society has written off," said Paula Sardinas, the founder of Washington's Build Back Black Alliance, during the sentencing.

A six-time NBA All-Star, Kemp was a major part of the Sonics’ successful run in the 1990s and later played for Cleveland, Portland and Orlando, before retiring in 2003. In 2020, he opened a cannabis dispensary in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood and then a second shop in Sodo in February 2023.

One of the other two men involved in the encounter is in prison in the Stafford Creek Corrections Center. That man is suing Kemp, alleging severe personal injuries and emotional distress.

In a victim impact statement, the man wrote that he is traumatized from the shooting and has "been left in a state of emotional suffering," and can't watch basketball or play sports with his kids without being triggered.

"The assault against me by Mr. Kemp has left me paralyzed with fear and hopelessness about the future," he wrote.

The man is requesting that Kemp pay the Department of Corrections the cost of his medical treatment while he is incarcerated.

After the hearing, Kemp said in an interview that "the last three years have been tough.

Kemp said he plans to be an advocate against gun violence, especially among youth.

“Think twice,” he said. “Think twice when you get mad. Think twice when you get a little upset.”

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