Once he knew his old home with the Charlotte Hornets wasn’t going to be his future home, now-Boston Celtic point guard Kemba Walker began his search for a new NBA team to call his own.
In a recent longform article covering how the UConn product ended up 90 minutes northeast of his alma mater this summer, the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach threads together an outstanding account of the path to the Celtics the Bronx native followed to Boston.
Walker never even considered his hometown team, the New York Knicks because of the distractions he believed would follow (it is unclear whether those distractions might be old friends, management, or both).
New: The tear-filled nights in Charlotte. A sudden goodbye to Michael Jordan at a Monaco resort. A phone call that changed everything.
My Globe longform inside a journey from the Bronx to Boston for Kemba Walker, the NBA's reluctant superstar. https://t.co/N1NGRMUdKz
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) April 9, 2020
The Dallas Mavericks held some appeal, and he even considered the Los Angeles Lakers and playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Even the Orlando Magic and old friend and former head coach Steve Clifford were a possibility.
But while speaking with his cousin Kedow Walker, a constant companion since his college days in all things basketball-related, the topic of the Celtics came up, with his cousin noting Tatum appeared poised for a breakout season soon.
Through a twist of fate, the Duke product just so happened to be in the same hotel for a Jordan Brand event (both Tatum and Walker remain part of the shoe brand empire built by his former boss Michael) at the time of the conversation.
“You know what’s crazy?” Walker said via Himmelsbach. “He’s actually here now, and he’s cool as hell.”
WATCH: Best of Boston Celtics All-Star Kemba Walker in 2019-20 https://t.co/V90aJx1Kmm
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 7, 2020
Conversation drifted to the legacy of the franchise, and how the former Husky enjoyed having Boston head coach Brad Stevens running the show at the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
After conferring with his mother Andrea — always his biggest fan — the decision was made, and the New Yorker had trouble keeping it to himself.
In fact, he even told a stranger at the Charlotte airport who recognized him, and asked where he was thinking of signing.
Walker told them Boston, without hesitation.
“He was telling whoever would ask,” said his sister Sharifa with a laugh. “He was just happy.”
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