UConn great, four-time NBA All-Star Kemba Walker retires
UConn great, four-time NBA All-Star Kemba Walker retires
ByABC News
July 2, 2024, 3:29 PM
Kemba Walker, a champion at UConn and a four-time All-Star in the NBA, announced his retirement on social media Tuesday.
Walker, 34, last played for the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year deal in 2022-23. He spent this past year playing for AS Moncao in the EuroLeague.
"I know I couldn't have made it to this point without my incredible support system around me," Walker said in his statement. "There are so many people to thank -- my mom, dad and entire family, my teammates who have become family, and the coaches who believed in me and brought out the best in me."
Walker led UConn to its third men's basketball championship in 2011 before being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 9 pick in that year's NBA draft. Walker improved steadily in Charlotte before breaking out as an All-Star in 2016-17, averaging 23.2 points per game.
He made the All-Star team for three straight years after that, including his first year with the Celtics after Boston swung a blockbuster deal to acquire the point guard.
However, injuries derailed his time in Boston almost from the start, leading to him getting traded to Oklahoma City and then waived during the summer of 2021. After that, he only appeared in 46 games across his last two years in the NBA.