Sad news: Charlotte Hornets key player announce his retirement along side two others.
Kemba Walker, a former guard for the Charlotte Hornets, declared his retirement on Tuesday. Walker, the all-time top scorer with the Hornets, was a member of three All-Star teams during his eight seasons with the franchise. Tuesday marked Kemba Walker’s basketball retirement. The Charlotte Hornets should retire his jersey at this point.
Walker is the all-time top scorer for the Hornets at 34. Walker made three NBA all-star teams throughout his eight seasons as a player for Charlotte’s clubs, the Bobcats and Hornets. He also scored 12,009 points. Walker had an incredible grasp, and at six feet tall, he might be able to achieve that on tiptoe. It made it possible for him to slide past players a foot taller than him for an incredible layup or fire a stunning stepback jumper over them. He is not, however, the only former Hornet whose jersey ought to be retired. The team ought likewise plan jersey retirement ceremonies for Muggsy Bogues and Dell Curry, two all-time greats who have made enormous contributions to the team, while they’re at it.
There is only one lonely jersey hanging in the rafters if you have ever visited the Spectrum Center and looked up. In Bobby Phills’ honor.
Even though I was one of the many individuals who liked Phills, the main reason that jersey is there is because in 2000, Phills died in a vehicle crash in Charlotte, North Carolina, which devastated the Hornets and their supporters. Phills also damaged his Porsche. Phills only spent three NBA seasons in Charlotte, and most of the Hornets’ all-time lists don’t include him statistically.
Is Phills’ No. 13 jersey supposed to be in the rafters? Yes.
However, why is Phills the only number displayed there? It should include Walker’s No. 15, Bogues’ No. 1, and Curry’s No. 30. Legends of Charlotte, Curry and Bogues were part of the original Charlotte squads that ignited the Hornets’ teal-tinged frenzy. Curry is second only to Walker in Hornets scoring history. After all these years, Bogues continues to lead Charlotte in assists and steals all-time. Despite being only five feet three inches tall, he also managed to block 39 shots in the NBA. On social media, I stated that Walker’s jersey ought to be retired on Tuesday. Some fans were in agreement, but others weren’t.
The main thrust of the counterargument was that the Hornets, who have always been mediocre, shouldn’t have any numbers retired. The Charlotte Hornets have never advanced to the NBA Finals or even to the Eastern Conference Finals in their thirty-four NBA seasons. Why do good players on subpar teams get paid more?
Walker, for example, only qualified for the playoffs twice, both times losing to the team in the first round. Charlotte has been worse since Kemba left in 2019—although, to be fair, he had a lot of miles on his body by then and the Hornets did acquire Terry Rozier in exchange
But let’s not forget that, unless they’re LeBron, NBA players have no say in who they play with on the court. In 1995, Curry and Bogues both fervently wished that Alonzo Mourning had not been moved. Zo was, though. Had Zo stayed—he recently told me that he wanted to stay and would have accepted “a lot less money” than Miami offered him in order to do so—Charlotte might have advanced to the NBA Finals and maintained its core from the mid-1990s. perhaps even emerged victorious. Walker, too?
He was the best player for the Hornets for years, usually with 1-2 decent teammates on the floor with him and a host of forgettable ones. He had a tremendous heart. And his durability? Oh, man. In those eight seasons in Charlotte, Walker missed a total of 35 games. Think how ridiculously good that is — 35 total games, which is about 4.4 games a year. (LaMelo Ball missed 60 games last season alone due to injury and 46 games the year before that).
Those three have my sympathy if they don’t win more. I hold those responsible for team formation accountable for not surrounding those players with superior teammates.
