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Charlotte Hornets: Kemba Walker's All-Star Nod is a Big Deal
Kemba Walker might not admit it but making his first ever all-star game is a big deal for fans, the Charlotte Hornets, and for himself.
The NBA’s All-Star Game may be nothing more than a glorified exhibition game for the fans with almost no defense being played but it will mean more for the Charlotte Hornets this season. For the first time since 2010, fans of the Queen City team have a real reason to watch. Kemba Walker received his first ever selection as an All-Star reserve for the Eastern Conference and it is quite the honor for the point guard.
After the 2017 All-Star Game was relocated from Charlotte to New Orleans this summer, many Hornets’ fans felt robbed. Even with the game moved, the team can still take solace in Kemba receiving his first all-star bid. While it doesn’t completely make up for losing the all-star game, it is important for the team and the fans to be represented for the first time since Gerald Wallace made the game in the 2009-10 season.
The selection also marks the changing culture of the Hornets. After years of underperforming and underachieving, they did not deserve to have a player in the all-star game and not many of their players deserved to be there based on their play. Now that they are a playoff contending team in the East and Walker is becoming one of the best point guards in the league, both are deserving of recognition.
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The 26-year old is averaging 23.3 points per game, 5.5 assists per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game so far this season. He is also shooting 45.7% from the field and 40.5% from three. Kemba is enjoying a career year and despite his team having a losing record, he is carrying them in almost every game.
So while Walker might say that it’s “really cool” (TheCharlottePost.com) to be selected, it means much more than that for fans of the Hornets and for the franchise as a whole. Charlotte, the city and the organization, have been searching for a star for years now. They have found one in a 6’1 guard from The Bronx, New York.
As for the individual, this selection speaks volumes of the development and progression that Kemba has made over the years. He is a far cry from the score-first, low shooting percentage player that first entered the NBA back in 2011. Now Walker is a good decision making, three-point threat that is moving up the ranks of the league’s elite point guards.
With his play over the past few years coupled with this all-star selection, Kemba is in the discussion as a top-five, or so, point guard int he NBA.
So while many fans look at the All-Star Game as a meaningless exhibition and players like LeBron James are an automatic lock, this is a big deal for Walker and Charlotte Hornets’ fans. In the words of Kemba, “It’s Special.”
