University of Connecticut Athletics
Kemba Walker Again An NBA All-Star
1/31/2020 9:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Fourth Straight Selection For Former Husky
UConn Athletic Communications
Jan. 31, 2020
Kemba Walker, the hero of UConn men's basketball's national championship run in 2011, may have changed his NBA address from Charlotte to Boston, but he has kept his title as an All-Star.
For the second consecutive season, Walker has been voted by the fans to be a starter in the annual NBA All-Star Game, this year scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 16, at the United Center in Chicago.
It is the fourth straight All-Star selection for Walker, whose previous three selections came as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. It marks the 22nd time a former UConn player has earned NBA All-Star honors. Among former Huskies, only Ray Allen, with 10 All-Star selections, has appeared in more All-Star Games than Walker.
The Bronx native, who signed a free agent contract with the Celtics before the current season after eight years with the Hornets, is averaging 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game this season and has led the Celtics to a 32-15 record, third in the Eastern Conference as of Jan. 31.
Although Boston is in the Eastern Conference, it remains to be seen on which All-Star team Walker will play. That will be determined when team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo pick their squads on Thursday, Feb. 6, in a televised draft. By virtue of the fans' vote, however, Walker is guaranteed to be a starter. He finished second among Eastern Conference guards in nationwide fan voting.
In three years at UConn (2008-11), Walker scored 1,783 points (9th all-time), with career averages of 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. In his All-American season of 2010-11, he set UConn records with 965 points scored (23.5 ppg) and 258 free throws made.
He is best remembered, however, for leading the Huskies on a magnificent postseason run in 2011, winning five games in five nights to capture the Big East Tournament championship, then sweeping the six games in the NCAA Tournament to bring home UConn's third national championship.
Besides being named an All-American, Walker was the named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 Final Four and the West Regional, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 Big East Championship, a two-time All-Big East Conference pick and named to the Big East All-Rookie Team. His No. 15 UConn jersey was placed in the Huskies of Honor on the wall of Gampel Pavilion at the end of the 2010-11 season. He was selected by Charlotte with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Besides Walker's four selections, the other former UConn players selected to the NBA All-Star game include Cliff Robinson (1994), Allen (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011), Richard Hamilton (2006, 2007, 2008), Caron Butler (2007, 2008) and Andre Drummond (2016, 2018).
