Kemba Walker

Kemba Hudley Walker is an American professional basketball player who plays for the New York Knicks as a point guard. He is quite small for an NBA player, standing at 6’0 with shoes on, but is a great scorer and takes advantage of his speed. In college, he was christened “Cardiac Kemba” due to his knack for scoring in the clutch.

Early Life

Kemba was born on May 8, 1990 in Bronx, New York. He played his high school basketball at Rice High School in Harlem, New York. He was selected as a McDonald’s All-American during his senior year and chose to play his college basketball for the UConn Huskies. He would play three years in college, lighting college basketball up during his junior year. He led his team to the NCAA Championship and picked up the Bob Cousy Award (best point guard in the nation). After the successful season, he declared for the 2011 NBA Draft.

NBA Journey

The Charlotte Bobcats (now the Charlotte Hornets) selected Kemba Walker with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. The Bobcats had a terrible season during Kemba’s rookie year, finishing with a 7-59 record in the shortened season.

Kemba would make slight improvements during his first five years, breaking out in the 2016-2017 NBA Season. He made his first all-star team. On a bad team, Kemba was the only bright light. He made it to his first and only All-NBA team during the 2018-2019 season.

After years of frustration, Kemba requested to be traded. He was traded to the Celtics in the 2019 offseason via a sign-and-trade deal. He would make it to the Eastern Conference Finals with the Boston outfit. He re-injured his left knee and returned in the middle of the 2020-2021 season. He wasn’t able to return to his all-star level form and endured a tough season with the Celtics.

During the 2021 offseason, he was traded to the OKC Thunder who waived him. He then signed with his hometown team, the New York Knicks for whom he will play during the 2021-2022 NBA Season.

NBA Awards and Accolades

Net Worth

Kemba Walker has amassed a total net worth of $20 million over his 10 year career. His current contract will pay him $8,729,020 during the 2021-2022 NBA Season. He gave up $53 million to play for his hometown team. He has endorsement deals with 2K Sports, Body Armor, JBL, Levi Strauss & Co, Nike. His endorsements pay him $3 million. He is also a dancer and performed thrice at Apollo Theatre.

Family

Kemba was born in The Bronx, New York to Paul and Andrea Walker. He has three siblings: two brothers Akil and Keya and one sister Sharifa. He is dating Ashtyn Montgomery.