Comeback Kemba Lighting It Up and Proving He Belongs in Knicks Rotation
Column - December 28, 2021
“Just under a month ago, Kemba Walker’s honeymoon return to New York appeared all but over.
While his entire team was struggling in just about every component of the game after their hot start to the season, Walker’s deficiencies were put under the Garden spotlight. His offensive numbers hit record lows of 11.7 points and 3.1 assists and his “cardiac shooting was down to a dismal 39% from the field. Defensively, his 6-foot-1 stature gave him problems in the Knicks’ defensive system valuing one-on-one matchups and getting over the screens of taller players.
Twenty brief games into his latest stint, Walker was displaced from the Knicks’ rotation and forced to watch the team’s “struggle bus” stretch unfurl from the bench. Once the December 15th opening of the trade market for offseason signees neared, the point guard seemed destined to be sent to another market as the Knicks’ issues at that position continued.
Walker had no such plans in mind, and neither did the latest surge of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the NBA. He refused to sit idle and sulk on the far end of the Knicks bench until his name was called again by head coach Tom Thibodeau or he was moved. The UConn prodigy went back to his roots, serving as a leader and supportive teammate for the young guys in the rotation while working on his pull-up shooting that made him famous at every stop in his career.
The 32-year-old’s patience, consistent effort and encouragement inspired the entire locker room and were a testament to his insatiable desire to play for his hometown team. Yet, little did anyone know that the unprecedented moment in his career would spark a new Kemba and open the door for an incredible return when Walker’s name was unexpectedly called back to action.
Called a “pro’s pro” by Thibodeau, Walker entered Madison Square Garden on December 23rd as the starting point guard and gave the Knicks a strong reminder of the everlasting grandeur of his athleticism with an unforgettable performance on the court he once gazed upon as a youth spectator.”
A follow-up column on Talking Points Sports stemming from a prior piece in my “Inside the Mecca” Series about Kemba Walker and his abrupt removal from the Knicks rotation just 20 games into the 2021 season. I covered Walker’s season-high 44-point performance at Madison Square Garden to help the Knicks beat the Wizards and what it took for him to return to the pedestal he dreamed of being on.