Kemba Walker, the all-time leading scorer in Charlotte Hornets history and four-time All-Star in his 12 NBA seasons, announced that he will be retiring from basketball on Tuesday.
Walker, who played for AS Monaco in the Euroleague last campaign, spent eight seasons with the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets (2011 -19), two seasons with the Boston Celtics (2019-21), and one season with the New York Knicks (2012-22) and Dallas Mavericks (2022-23) in his NBA career.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Walker will join new coach Charles Lee’s staff as a player enhancement coach.
In his social media post, Walker wrote: “Basketball has done more for me than I could’ve ever imagined, and I am super thankful for the amazing journey I’ve had. With that, I’m here to share that I am officially retiring from the game of basketball.
“This has been a dream. When I look back, I still can’t believe the things I achieved in my career.”
The 6-foot guard was a three-time NBA All-Star for the Hornets, and then in his first season with the Celtics in 2019-20. But Walker missed valuable time recently due to knee issues. He also missed 37 matches with New York in 2021-22 and only nine matches with the Mavericks last season.
Walker will retire as the Hornets’ top scorer and ranks in their top three in matches played, assists and steals. He also holds the team record for 3-pointers made and attempted, field goals made and attempted and free throws made and attempted.
Kemba averaged 19.3 points for his 12-year NBA career, which came after a remarkable college career at UConn where he led the school to a 2011 national title. He was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four that year.
Walker played for most of the pandemic-altered 2019-20 season, the last of five consecutive seasons where he averaged at least 20 points per game.
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