One of the shiftiest and most gifted shot-makers in the NBA is calling it a career
Kemba Walker, a four-time all-star, announced his official retirement from basketball in a post to social media on Tuesday.
Walker, 34, spent 12 seasons in the NBA and put up career averages of 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists over 750 games.
His most productive years came with the Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats, the franchise he was drafted to in 2011 and spent eight seasons with. He is the franchise leader in win shares with 48.5 and led the team to the playoffs in 2014 and 2016, the only two times they’ve made it in the last 10 years.
The Bronx, N.Y., native also suited up for the Boston Celtics for two seasons, earning an all-star nod in his first season there, as well as the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks in the twilight years of his career.
He spent the 2023-24 season playing for Monaco in the EuroLeague, where he averaged 4.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists on 11.0 minutes per game, a clear decline in his abilities as he aged.
Despite his play slowing down, his basketball career is immortalized, particularly in the halls of the University of Connecticut.
“Cardiac Kemba,” as he was known in Storrs because of his heart-stopping, clutch plays, carried the Huskies to their third National Championship in 2011, putting up a whopping 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his junior year.
He won the NCAA Tourney Most Outstanding Player that year and was named to the Consensus All-America first team.
But what he might be most known for was his step-back game-winner over Pittsburgh in the 2011 Big East Tournament to help bring the nine-seed Huskies past the one-seed Pittsburgh en route to the Big East title.
Kemba was also a beloved teammate, twice winning the Sportsmanship Award in 2017 and 2018.
He earned his only All-NBA selection in 2019, finishing with a spot on the third team after averaging a career-high 25.6 points while notching 4.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.