The extent to which Kemba Walker values playing basketball is becoming clearer by the day.
The Boston Celtics point guard on Wednesday lamented the end of his consecutive-games streak as the most irritating aspect of his neck injury, according to The Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang. Walker missed the Celtics’ win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, snapping his run of consecutive games played at 158.
Kemba Walker on snapping his streak of 158 consecutive games played: "I was pissed. I was pissed about that. I'm not going to lie, I was really pissed about that. I wanted to play, I wanted to keep my streak alive. I can't lie, I was pissed." Adds he could have played.
— Nicole Yang (@nicolecyang) November 27, 2019
Walker sprained his neck Friday night after he ran headfirst into teammate Semi Ojeleye during the Celtics’ loss to the Denver Nuggets. Although the numbness and tingling in his hands died down over the weekend, the Celtics first listed him as doubtful, then ruled him out of the game against the Kings.
Walker on Wednesday also described how much pride he takes in his durability.
“I love to play basketball,” Walker told reporters in a video CBS Sports Boston’s Joe Giza recorded. “That’s it. I just love to play. If I’m able and I can play, I’m going to play.
“Everybody’s playing through something. There’s no healthy guy in the league right now. Everybody has some type of nagging injury at this point. … I can play through a lot, so … I’m not everybody else. Like I said I have a strong love for the game, a passion for the game. I love to play every single night. That’s really why I play, because I like to compete.”
Walker is expected to return to action when the Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at TD Garden. With just under four years remaining on his Celtics contract, Walker has plenty of time to mount another impressive, years’-long consecutive-games streak in Boston.
