Sunday, June 30, 2019

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.

6 comments:

  1. I expected him to be a Hornet for life. Rozier is a very good player though, and he has a lot to prove. Might not be as bad as it seems. And as a Nets fan, I can say with some certainty that anything can happen in the future!

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    1. I too figured he'd finish his career where it started...but I can't blame a guy who won a National Championship in college to want to play for a team that has a better chance of winning an NBA Championship.

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  2. I was hoping we'd get him here in Utah. Instead, we got Mike Conley and his gigantic contract, and I'm a bit nervous about how that will shake out.

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    1. I'm really not a fan of these huge contracts and how it can handcuff a team in the future. The Hornets still have Nic Batum's massive contract that is keeping them from doing much in free agency, much like Conley's deal.

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  3. I don't follow hoops anymore... but I'm no stranger to fan favorites being traded. Hope Charlotte got something nice in return to lessen the sting of seeing Kemba wearing a Celtics jersey next season.

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    1. At the last moment Charlotte did a sign and trade and got Terry Rozier...so CLT and Boston essentially swapped point guards. Better than letting Kemba walk and getting nothing in return.

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