By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
Growing up, Kemba Walker always dreamed about being an NBA All-Star and being a part of All-Star Saturday Night. Walker is living that dream this weekend and on Saturday in New Orleans put up a solid performance in the JBL 3-Point Shootout, finishing third behind Houston’s Eric Gordon and Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving.
“This right here is a dream come true,” Walker said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about my whole life. I never thought it would be the three-point contest though. I can tell you that much. I’m glad I got a chance to be a part of this experience. It was awesome.”
Walker was selected to go first in the shootout, and while he’s been honest about the nerves he’s had throughout the weekend, he was surprisingly calm in Round 1, tallying 19 points to set the bar.
“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I [would be],” he said. “I think I just kind got myself to relax a little bit. But yeah, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would [be].”
He might have received some help from teammate Frank Kaminsky sitting courtside on the baseline, too.
“[Frank] told me I better make some shots. That’s it,” he laughed. “So, I tried to listen to him a little bit.”
After scoring 19 points in the first round, Walker had to sit back and watch seven other competitors battle him for the top three spots and was sitting in third place as the 2016 champion Klay Thompson stepped up for his turn. Thompson started fast but went cold late and ended up with 18 points, moving Walker on to the championship round.
“I just wanted to make shots no matter if it was the first or the middle somewhere. I wanted to, you know, just get a high number (in the first round),” he said. “I actually thought Klay [Thompson] was just going to knock me out of the park towards the end there. Fortunately he missed, probably due to him being the last one. He was kind of cold. But like I said, I was just excited to get to the last round.”
Walker went first in the championship round and finished with 17 points as Gordon and Irving dropped 20 apiece, leading to an extra round that Gordon took, 21-18.
“[My legs got tired] a little bit,” said Walker. “I was moving so fast. So much energy, so many great vibes in the building. I just had a blast man… I was nervous, but I was moving super-fast. I got to the last rack with like 20 seconds left. I was taking my time there, but yeah I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know if I was going to make that many shots but I was able to make it to the finals. So, I’m proud of myself for that.”
In the process he got to check off one more item on the list of what has been a dream weekend for Walker so far.