(Photo by Icon Sportswire)
The 2011 NBA Draft yielded a somewhat underrated rookie class, and it included Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler.
Another very talented and skilled player who entered the league in that draft was Kemba Walker, a six-foot tall point guard who put up sizable numbers in his third and final season at the University of Connecticut.
After spending this past season playing basketball in Monaco, Walker announced his retirement in a post on Twitter, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
Kemba Walker retires https://t.co/J9af1UBzMd
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2024
Walker was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets (then known as the Bobcats) with the No. 9 pick, and after a modest rookie season, he started to take off in his second year by averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 assists a game.
Four years later, he made the All-Star team for the first time, and it was his first of four consecutive All-Star selections.
Despite peaking at 25.6 points a game during the 2018-19 season, Walker was never able to make Charlotte into a winning team, and in July 2019, he was traded to the Boston Celtics.
After two seasons in Boston, he made his way to the New York Knicks for the 2021-22 season, and that’s when his game greatly declined, as his scoring average fell to 11.6 points a game that year.
He appeared in just nine games for the Dallas Mavericks the following season before being waived.
Walker was known as a very quick guard who could penetrate and get into the lane, and he was also a decent 3-point shooter.
He finished his NBA career with lifetime averages of 19.3 points and 5.3 assists a game.
The post Longtime NBA Player Has Announced His Retirement appeared first on The Cold Wire.