What is Kemba Walker's Net Worth and Salary?
Kemba Walker is an American professional basketball player who has a net worth of $80 million. During his time in the NBA, Kemba Walker played for Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets. In college, Walker played with the UConn Huskies, and led the team to an NCAA championship title in 2011. In 2023 he began playing for the French LNB Élite club AS Monaco. During his NBA career, Kemba earned $195 million in salary alone.
Early Life and High School
Kemba Walker was born on May 8, 1990 in the Bronx borough of New York City to Andrea and Paul. His mother is from the United States Virgin Islands, and his father is from Antigua. He has two brothers named Akil and Keya and two sisters named Sharifa and Kayla. As a teenager, Walker attended Rice High School in Harlem. On the school basketball team, he averaged 18.2 points and 5.3 assists per game in his senior year, and was named a McDonald's All-American. Due to his prowess, Walker was able to play with the New York City Gauchos, the premier AAU basketball program for youth.
Collegiate Career
Walker played three seasons of college basketball with the UConn Huskies. In his freshman year in 2008-09, he helped the Huskies notch the number-one seed in the NCAA tournament and a finish in the Final Four. After a disappointing sophomore season, Walker had his breakout year as a junior, leading the nation in scoring with an average of 26.7 points per game. He went on to lead the Huskies to victory in the Big East Championship, earning MVP honors in the process. Walker and the Huskies proceeded to make it all the way to the 2011 NCAA championship game, where they defeated the Butler Bulldogs 53-41 to claim the national title. Moreover, Walker was named the MVP of the game, as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament.
Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
After graduating from UConn in three years, Walker entered the 2011 NBA draft and was chosen with the ninth overall pick by the Charlotte Bobcats. In Walker's rookie season, which was shortened by a lockout, the Bobcats only managed to go 7-59. The team improved the next season, going 21-61; for his part, Walker averaged 16.7 points and 5.8 assists per game. Walker went on to make his first playoff appearance with the Bobcats in the 2013-14 season as the team posted a 43-39 record. That season, he recorded a career-high 6.1 assists per game. Ultimately, the Bobcats were swept by the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. Walker had a strong season with the newly renamed Charlotte Hornets in the 2014-15 season, although he missed a number of weeks toward the end of the season due to knee surgery. He went on to have his best career season yet in 2015-16, averaging 20.9 points per game and setting a franchise record with 52 points in a double overtime win over the Utah Jazz in January. The Hornets made it back to the playoffs, but once again fell to the Heat in the first round.
Walker continued his success in the 2016-17 season, averaging 23.2 points per game and reaching 8,000 career points. He became only the second player in team history, after Dell Curry, to reach that milestone. Moreover, Walker earned his first All-Star selection. In the 2017-18 season, he broke Curry's record to become the career scoring leader in franchise history, and earned his second consecutive All-Star selection. Walker went out on a high note in his final season with the Hornets in 2018-19. In October, he passed 10,000 career points, and in November he scored a career-high and franchise-best 60 points in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Walker would go on to earn his third consecutive All-Star selection. Toward the end of the season, he broke the franchise record for 3-pointers in a single season, with 244. Walker finished the season with career-high averages of 25.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Getty
Boston Celtics
In the summer of 2019, Walker signed with the Boston Celtics. He made his debut with the team that October in a loss to the 76ers. The following month, Walker went down with a neck injury after colliding with his teammate Semi Ojeleye during a game against the Denver Nuggets; he was ultimately able to return the next week. After the season resumed following its suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Walker helped the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Heat. Although he was sidelined for the first part of the 2020-21 season on account of a knee issue, Walker returned in January and helped the Celtics make it to the first round of the playoffs. The team ultimately lost to the Brooklyn Nets in five games.
New York Knicks
Walker was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in mid-2021. A couple of months later, he reached a contract buyout agreement with the team, and on August 11 he signed with the New York Knicks. In 37 games with the Knicks in the 2021-22 season, he averaged 11.6 points per game.
Dallas Mavericks
In the summer of 2022, Walker was traded to the Detroit Pistons. A few months later, he reached a contract buyout agreement with the team, and in late November signed with the Dallas Mavericks to a one-year deal. After just nine games with the Mavericks, Walker was waived by the team in early 2023.
AS Monaco
Walker signed with the French LNB Élite club AS Monaco in the summer of 2023. He made his debut for the team that fall, scoring two points in ten minutes of play in a EuroLeague home win over the Serbian club Crvena zvezda.
