Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker finally in position to garner the recognition he deserves

After year’s of wallowing in relative obscurity with the underwhelming Charlotte Hornets, Kemba Walker is finally in the position to thrive in the limelight with the Boston Celtics.

Upon watching Team USA play in this year’s FIBA World Cup, one would recognize point guard Kemba Walker is assuming the role of “top dog” for a very young roster. Though all should be ecstatic about the point guard’s level of play this summer, Boston Celtics fans, in particular, should be chopping at the bit for seeing what the newly acquired free agent could bring to the green and white in 2019.

Walker has been greatly under appreciated throughout the entirety of his eight-year NBA career. This is thanks in large to the fact that the one team he’s ever played for — the Charlotte Hornets — always failed to provide him with an adequate supporting cast.

The closest they came to surrounding Walker with “elite” running-mates came in 2017-18 when the franchise traded for eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight Howard. Proving past peak and boasting a skill set best suited for the NBA days of old, the Howard experiment never seemed to pan out as the Hornets finished the season 10 games under .500 and placed 10th in the Eastern Conference Standings.

If Charolette could have pried Gordon Hayward away from the Utah Jazz in the summer of 2014, perhaps we’d be singing a different tune about Michael Jordan‘s franchise. However, recent history sings a different song.

Because of Charlotte’s lackluster market appeal, Walker’s time down south always seemed to fly under the radar. With this, though the 29-year-old often produced at an All-Star caliber level, the Hornets shallow pool of media coverage, as well as questionable roster development, took a hit on the point guard’s overall perception.

To put this into perspective, prior to his first All-Star nod in 2017, guys like Jeff Teague, Kyle Lowry and Kyle Korver were all selected to the mid season festivities despite putting up averages that were as good or, frankly, even worse than that of Walker’s. The reason: they played in larger markets and, thus, were covered significantly more often.

Now, with Walker slated to assume lead guard duties for the Boston Celtics for the next four seasons, in a much bigger market — ranked fifth in the NBA — we may finally see the three-time All-Star garner the recognition he’s been well deserving of throughout his time in the association.

If his level of play for Team USA means anything, it’s that Walker does not shy away from the limelight. With averages of 13.5 points, 5.5 assists 3.5 rebounds 2.0 steals a game on 50% shooting from the field and 36% shooting from deep, the Bronx native has proven to be one of the team’s most productive players thus far throughout the tournament.

In their last outing against Turkey (9/3), the point guard seemed like the team’s only consistent option as he put forth 14 points, 7 assists, 6 boards and 2 steals to go along with an efficiency rating of +20 and a victory for Team USA.

Think about it this way: if Kemba Walker can be this impressive while having the pressure of being the face of an entire country on his back, what’s to say he can’t do the same while being top-dog for the Boston Celtics come the NBA regular season?

If you’ve been following the buzz surrounding Walker since his arrival in Beantown, you’d know many expect him, and the Celtics, to have a great 2019 campaign. Though he has already proven to be a top-5 point guard in this league, with more coverage in a significantly bigger market than Charlotte, he’ll have more opportunities to prove this fact to the masses.

With the Boston Celtics, Kemba Walker is finally in a position to garner the top-tier recognition he deserves.