BOSTON — Kemba Walker put his name on the map by shining on college basketball’s biggest stage. Unfortunately for the All-Star point guard, he’s yet to reach that stage at the NBA level.
Walker, who won a national championship at UConn in 2011, spent the first eight seasons of his professional career with the Charlotte Hornets, who only reached the playoffs twice in span — both times resulting in first-round exits. In hopes of getting over the hump, Walker took matters into his own hands this summer.
The 29-year-old elected to join the Boston Celtics in free agency, officially landing with the club via a sign-and-trade. Walker likely had no shortage of options on the open market, but he felt the C’s provided an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“For me, it’s the competitiveness of this organization,” Walker said Wednesday during his introductory press conference. “They’ve been winning for years. You see all the banners in the arena. It’s a winning organization and I want to win. That’s what I’m about. Throughout my basketball career, as a pro, I haven’t won consistently and I just want to get a taste of that. I thought this was the best place for me to do that.”
Boston only has missed the postseason once over the past 11 years, during which time the franchise has made five trips to the Eastern Conference finals. There’s no reason to believe the Celtics won’t be able to reach these heights in the 2019-20 campaign, as the East appears to be fairly wide open, especially following Kawhi Leonard’s jaunt west.
Following a frustrating 2018-19 season in which Boston failed to meet expectations, turning the page undoubtedly is going to be a tall task. That said, Walker seems to be the exact type of player who will be able to help the team achieve this goal in spades.
