Kemba Walker Jumps to EuroLeague, Signs For AS Monaco

Kemba Walker signed a one-year deal with AS Monaco today, becoming the newest member of the EuroLeague team that reached the Final Four last season. The financial details of the agreement haven’t been revealed.

The French powerhouse wants to attack the EuroLeague title following its appearance in the last Final Four in Vilnius. They lost to the runners-up Olympiacos, squandering a massive lead and allowing the Greek team to come back and go to the finals. Later on, Monaco won the third-place game.

Walker is expected to team up with Mike James, the former Brooklyn Nets player and one of the best shooting guards in Europe, and form the best backcourt duo in the EuroLeague.

🚨KEMBA WALKER🚨

Signs with @ASMonaco_Basket 🇲🇨👀 pic.twitter.com/ur55kKVxtU

— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) July 21, 2023

The 33-year-old didn’t play too much in the league over the past two years, combining only 46 games, with the note that he appeared just nine times in the 2022/23 campaign. His last contract in the NBA was with the Dallas Mavericks.

The four-time NBA All-Star decided to go to Europe and try to revive his career. He experienced a very difficult knee injury which created enormous problems in the latest four years for once one of the best point guards in the league.

Back then, the Boston Celtics acquired Walker through a sign-and-trade deal with his former franchise, the Charlotte Hornets. He had a four-year $141 million contract inked, becoming one of the highest-paid players in his position.

Walker played 750 games in the NBA, averaging 19.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.8 boards. His best years were with the Hornets, where he frequently averaged more than 20 points per game, the most 25.6 in the 2018/19 season. He had 31 appearances in the playoffs, with 19.6 buckets per game in 36.5 minutes on the floor.

Kemba entered the league as the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, which saw Kyrie Irving going first, Jonas Valanciunas fifth, Jan Vesely sixth, while leaving Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and many more behind.

Before coming to the NBA, he won the NCAA title with the UConn Huskies, earning the Final Four MOP award and becoming the Consensus First-team All-American.

Some 2019-20 Kemba Walker highlights

20.4 PPG | 3.9 RPG | 4.8 APG on 43/38/86

Underrated season☘️pic.twitter.com/cRuZVQQi4Z

— CelticsNation (64-18) (7-2 🏆) (@CelticsTheis) July 14, 2023

He did well in the NBA, becoming one of the best point guards, but the injuries prevented him from becoming even better. In 2019, he was the All-NBA Third Team. Walker also holds the two NBA Sportsmanship awards in 2017 and 2018.

Monaco won the French title last season. The team led by the Serbian head coach, Sasa Obradovic, has plenty of former NBA players, like the above-mentioned James, Donatas Motijeunas, who was picked 20th at the same draft as Walker, Jordan Loyd, briefly a former Raptor, Elie Okobo who was with the Phoenix Suns, Donta Hall, etc.

EuroLeague is one of the most interesting basketball competitions in the world and, for many, the second-best after the NBA. Last year’s campaign has been a blast, with Real Madrid winning the title and Partizan Belgrade setting unreal attendance numbers for the European continent.

Kemba Walker’s arrival will only increase the reputation of this competition and make it more attractive for fans overseas.