Kemba Walker was named an All-Star for his second-straight year in 2018. Kemba will be checking in with hornets.com periodically through All-Star Weekend.
Sat., Feb 17 - 5:31 p.m.
It was fun out here on Day 2! We finally got the chance to practice and just being around the fellas was a really good time. I was definitely a little less nervous going in for the second year in a row. I felt like I belonged more, so that was a good feeling. I was just having a blast. Everybody on this team was just great. I haven’t really connected more with one guy over another. Me and Vic(tor Oladipo) became friends over the summer and we communicate during the season as well, so we were pretty excited to see each other when we first got here. Me and him have been chopping it up a bit out here.
I think this new format for the All-Star Game this year is going to be fun and going to be really competitive. I think both teams are going to go out there and get after it. I hope we’re able to come away with a victory tomorrow. I need this win so hopefully Team LeBron will go out there and do what we have to do. I think both teams really want to win, so that’s going to be really fun for the fans. I know that (Team LeBron Head) Coach Dwane Casey is a competitive coach. You can tell by the way his team (the Toronto Raptors) plays. It all starts with the coach and trickles down, so hopefully we all go out there ready to compete.
Media Day here at All-Star is always fun too, because you get to do different things. I did an interview with a young kid from the Bronx who was really smart, active and just fun to be around. It’s the little things like that that are really cool.
I also had the chance to do a meet and greet and do two escape rooms at the Kia All-Star Loft and they were pretty fun. We got through them, which made me happy of course, and then I had the chance to meet some fans, sign some autographs and take some pictures. After that I was able to meet some fans at the JBL Three-Point Challenge, and it was just another opportunity to go out there and connect with the fans.
I’m also going to be at All-Star Saturday Night tonight checking on those young guys in the dunk contest and all those great shooters in the three-point contest so its going to be fun. But I’ll tell you what – I can’t wait to get out there and play tomorrow. That’s going to be great!
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Giving Back on Day 1
Fri., Feb. 16 - 8:15 p.m.
Hey Buzz City, I can’t even begin to explain how great it is to be back at All-Star for the second-straight season. I couldn’t think of a better way to start my weekend than by giving back to the community. NBA Cares events are always amazing and help us get out into the community. I had the chance to help out with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank today, packaging up some food for underprivileged people. It was fun, it wass humbling and it always put things into perspective. It’s bigger than basketball. It’s really cool.
It’s always good to see the NBA tie in the local community during All-Star. These people don’t get a chance to be around us every day. For us to be here and doing some community service with them, I think it’s a good feeling for both sides. Like I said, it’s really humbling and next year Charlotte will have the opportunity to host the All-Star Game and really be a part of all that All-Star has to offer. That will be fun as well.
It was really cool today to not only be out here with other NBA players but some NBA legends as well. Being around Dikembe Mutombo was cool. He’s the best. He always the life of events. He’s a good dude. A couple other guys were there too like Eric Gordon, Larry Nance and Aaron Gordon, so it was fun.
Being out here at All-Star for the second year in a row is still kind of surreal. I felt the same way in my first one last year, so it’s crazy. It’s a crazy feeling. To be named an All-Star, I put in a lot of work and fought through a lot of rough patches in my basketball career to get here. I’m excited and so happy to accomplish this honor. It’s a really special accomplishment. One of the best parts about it is that my family gets a chance to enjoy this with me. I’m bringing them along for the ride. There’s no better feeling. Especially having my parents here, who really get a kick out of this stuff. From where we’re from, we’re not even supposed to be here. This is a blessing.
I do think being here a second time, I’m a little bit more relaxed. It’s definitely a different city. New Orleans is not as big and crazy as L.A., but it’s definitely a little different. I do kind of know what to expect now I guess, but it’s still fun.
It was a great day today with a lot of appearances, but that’s what we do here at All-Star Weekend.
After helping out at the NBA Day of Service at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, I had some more appearances to make and got to take on the Clippers Tobias Harris in a game of NBA2K in front of some fans. We cut it short at halftime and it was a tie game, so we still have to finish our game. I was about to beat him, but he didn’t want me to beat him so that’s why he stopped.
After that, it was nice to finish up my day with Jordan Brand at Studio 23. There’s some pretty cool stuff here and if you’re a fan in Los Angeles you should totally come here and check things out.
With the day wrapping up though, I’m looking forward to getting on the court with all of my All-Star teammates tomorrow. It’s always fun to be around those guys and get a chance to get the fans involved as well. It should be fun!