Thank You Kemba

Thank you Kemba for 8 great years in Charlotte. Drafted in 2011 with the 9th pick by the then Charlotte Bobcats, Kemba would go on to become one of the best point guards, if not players in the NBA over the next 8 years that no one ever talked about. Playing in a small market like Charlotte, NC, Kemba was overshadowed by the likes of Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard and the likes.

Kemba's time in the teal and purple came to an end this evening as the Charlotte Hornets finalized a sign and trade with the Boston Celtics. 

Kemba Walker finishes his time in Charlotte with some impressive career numbers. He averaged 34.1 minutes, 19.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists while shooting 41.8% from the field and 35.7% from the 3 point arc. In 8 years, Kemba only missed something like 6 games.

I've been a fan of the Charlotte Hornets since the team's original inception during the '88-'89 season. At times it's been awfully hard to be a fan as the team has never really been able to compete against the upper caliber teams. Attracting free agents to Charlotte has been virtually non-existent so the team has had to rely on building through the draft. The Hornets had some early success in the 90's by drafting Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Kendall Gill and Baron Davis. However the team has had a lot of strike outs prior to drafting Kemba in 2011. 

The Hornets would only have a handful of players (7 to be exact) that would go on to be All-Stars. Kemba was named to 3 All-Star teams, tying the team record previously held by Glen Rice. 

Needless to say that Kemba was the face of the Charlotte Hornets. He is the team's all time leading scorer and holds many other of the franchise's records. To see him in another team's jersey will be odd, however I'm honest enough with myself to know he will have a much better chance to win a Championship in Boston than he ever did in Charlotte. As a Hornets fan it's hard to swallow mediocrity, but it's time to rebuild and that means a few seasons of bad basketball. This is the not to say basketball with Kemba was great. He literally had very few pieces around him to work with. Thanks to bad draft choices and the challenges to lure free agents, Kemba had to shoulder it all. 

I hope Kemba does well in Boston. He won't be soon forgotten for many Hornets fans, but for now the Buzz has turned around and stung the city of Charlotte and it's fans.