Kemp in his prime was also a better rebounder, and a more versatile defender. If his usage was higher the points would’ve been similar as well. Not his fault Seattle was more balanced.
Kemp averaged 20 ppg
once in his career, barely, in CLE. Malone did it
17 times.
Keep in mind USG% doesn't just include FGA, it also includes assists and Malone was > 2x the passer Kemp was. Malone's career average was 3.6 apg. Kemp's was 1.6.
if you want to normalize by pts/100 possessions to level the playing field, Malone's career average, over 19 seasons was 34.4 pts/100 possessions. Kemp's career best was 32.5 pts/100 possessions. Kemp topped 30 pts/100 possessions
twice in his carer. Malone topped 30 pts/100 possessions
13 times and topped
40 pts/100 possessions twice. Malone was a more versatile, more consistent, more efficient scorer, even after normalizing for Kemp's fewer shot attempts.
If Kemp was such a great defender, why did he struggle with foul trouble his entire career. He led the league in personal fouls three times and topped 300 PFs seven times. Malone, in spite of playing a lot more minutes and having a much longer career, only topped 300 PFs one time in his 19-year career.
Peak Malone was better than peak Kemp, and it wasn't really that close. At his peak, Kemp waas a guy who could get you 19 pts and 10 reb. At his peak, Malone was a guy you could count on for 27 points and 11 reb. And, Malone's peak was much longer than Kemp's.
Career wise, there is just no comparison. You're talking about a guy who scored over 36,000 points vs. a guy who scored 15,000 A guy who averaged 25.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 3.6 apg for 19 years vs. a guy who averaged 14.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg and 1.6 apg for 14 seasons.
BNM