It was another brilliantly sensational season for Kemba Walker as he continued to solidify himself as one of the NBA’s elite point guards throughout his seventh year in the league.
Amongst his many highlights and achievements, Walker joined Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and Glen Rice as the only players in franchise history to make multiple NBA All-Star Game appearances. He led the Hornets in individual game scoring and assists a team-high 45 times apiece this season, close to double the next closest player in both categories.
Most noteworthy though, it was Walker’s 930th career three-point field goal on Feb. 4 and 9,840th career point on March 28 that pushed him past Dell Curry as the franchise’s all-time leader in each statistic. His second record-breaking performance – which came in the closing seconds in front of a hometown Spectrum Center crowd – sparked a memorable outpouring of emotion from Walker just moments after the final buzzer sounded.
Walker maintained his league-wide reputation as a crafty speedster whose game is largely predicated on his mastery in the pick-and-roll offense. His three-point proficiency saw little drop-off following his career-high 240 long-distance makes last season. He also posted the highest offensive rating of his NBA career (109.7 points per 100 possessions), making it the second-straight season he has accomplished this feat.
Having missed just six total games in the last three years, Kemba Walker’s 2017-18 season did nothing but continue to build his standing as one of the NBA’s most consistent and premier young talents currently in the prime of his career.
Kemba Walker Through the Season
Check out scenes of Kemba Walker during the 2017-2018 Season.
By the Numbers
- Walker was one of just four NBA players to average at least 22.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steal across a minimum of 75 games played this season (LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan).
- He ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference and fifth amongst all NBA point guards in scoring (22.1 points). Walker’s 231 three-point field goals were also the second most by any Eastern Conference player and fourth-highest total overall in the league this season (James Harden, Paul George and Kyle Lowry)
- Walker now sits first in franchise history in career scoring (9,907 points), three-point field goals (1,023), free throws (2,018), 20-point games (237) and 30-point games (56), second in field goals (3,433) and assists (2,824), third in games played (523), fourth in steals (697), fifth in defensive rebounds (1,659) and ninth in total rebounds (1,955).
- He owns three of the five highest single-game scoring totals in franchise history, two of which came this season (47 at Chicago on Nov. 17; 44 vs. Memphis on March 22). He tallied a then franchise-record nine three-point field goals on Jan. 31 in Atlanta, a mark he eventually surpassed again on March 22 with 10 three-point field goals.
What’s Next
Walker will enter the final season of the four-year extension he signed prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign. As of now, he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer and would be free to sign with any team. This coming July, he’ll also be participating in the USA National Team minicamp in Las Vegas as the squad begins preparations for the 2019 FIBA World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Exit Interview Quote
“I expected a lot more from us as a team, but these are times that you go through that you learn from and just try and get better. That’s really all you can do. You have to learn to get past disappointment and this season is just like that. As far as individually, I think I had a pretty good year. Very satisfying. I worked as hard I can. I accomplished a lot of goals with breaking the records and stuff like that this season. It’s been amazing. [There’s] definitely some things over the course of the season to be proud of.” – Kemba Walker