Veteran Kemba Walker recently announced his retirement from professional basketball, calling an end to his 12-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one year overseas.
Selected as the ninth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2011 NBA draft, Walker also played for teams including the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and the Dallas Mavericks. The 34-year-old earned four NBA All-Star nominations in his career and had career averages of 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 750 games.
“Basketball will forever be a part of my life so this is not goodbye. I’m excited for what’s next. This has all been a dream. When I look back, I still can’t believe the things achieved in my career,” he wrote on social networking platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
After retiring from a 12-year NBA career, four-time All-Star Kemba Walker is rejoining the Charlotte Hornets on new coach Charles Lee's coaching staff as a player enhancement coach.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
The former guard’s time with the NBA hasn’t ended, as Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported that Walker will join the Charlotte Hornets as an assistant to head coach Charles Lee.
Walker started his NBA career with the Hornets and will return to the franchise as a player enhancement coach. He spent eight seasons with Charlotte as a player for both the Bobcats and the Hornets. In fact, he is considered a great for the franchise, having made a total of 605 basketball games for them and earned three NBA All-Star nominations during that period.
The Hornets struggled in the recently concluded 2023/24 NBA season, ending with a 21-61 win-loss record. The management parted ways with Sean Clifford at the end of the season and replaced him with Charles Lee.
Walker’s appointment as the player enhancement coach is undoubtedly a good move by the franchise as they look to rebuild their entire squad ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 NBA season. It’s worth noting that the veteran is no stranger to a rebuilding situation at Charlotte, considering that he was a member of the squad that won just seven games during the shortened 66-game season in 2011/12.
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