Lonnie Walker is on a quest to bring his basketball journey full circle

Lonnie Walker is on a quest to bring his basketball journey full circle originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON — Lonnie Walker IV always seems to be smiling. But his grin only grows wider when presented with an image he posted to social media after signing with the Boston Celtics in August.

It’s a snapshot of a young Walker, decked out in a Celtics winter cap, standing in the balcony at TD Garden. He is, of course, smiling.

“This is one of my first NBA games with my godfather, Geo,” Walker told NBC Sports Boston. “My godparents are Italian so they are hardcore Boston Celtics fans, to say the least. So I kind of grew up watching the Celtics and this is actually one of my first [NBA] games I got to watch.”

Walker, a native of Reading, Pa., made the 400-mile trek up to Boston to visit TD Garden during the most recent Big Three era.

“They knew how much I loved basketball,” said Walker. “Watching Paul Pierce and all of them play, this was really my first time watching the big leagues and I was like, ‘Wow. I have so much to learn, so much to grow.’”

Looking at the No. 12 Celtics jersey on his chest, Walker’s smile widens again.

“This is a very full circle moment for me,” he said.

Eyebrows across the league went skyward in late August when Walker committed to join the defending champion Celtics on an Exhibit 10 deal, which is essentially a training-camp invite for a player hoping to make a team’s roster.

Celtics brass was clear that, with 14 players already signed and the team set to navigate harsh luxury tax penalties, there was no guarantee they would fill their 15th spot. Walker came to Boston knowing a more likely scenario would be getting waived at the end of the preseason and landing with the team’s G-League affiliate in Maine.

There are dozens of players in camps this month on Exhibit 10 deals. Few have 322 games of NBA experience and have proven themselves to be reliable bench-scoring options at this level.

Walker, the 18th pick of the San Antonio Spurs in the 2018 NBA Draft, could have sat around waiting for a team to offer him a guaranteed spot, or simply sulked when nothing…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lonnie-walker-quest-bring-basketball-215015749.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-10-11 21:50:15

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