“Brought You Here to be Yourself”: Celtics Kemba Walker Reminisces Best Moment With Michael Jordan

Playing in the NBA is the ultimate achievement for an aspiring basketball player. And the biggest driving force is watching the greatest players of all time. But few things can be better than playing for the person you look up to. This is the story for Kemba Walker and his idol Micheal Jordon.

Micheal Jordon became the owner of the Charlotte Hornets in 2010. A year later, Kemba Walker was drafted by the then Charlotte Bobcats. Just being drafted into the team was a dream come true for Walker but the icing on the cake was Jordan owning the franchise he was going to play for.

Kemba Walker’s relationship with Michael Jordon

Kemba Walker played for the Hornets for eight years till he finally moved to the Boston Celtics. However, he has always taken every opportunity to thank his mentor. Walker was looked at as a very promising point guard during his time in the Hornets but played playoff basketball only twice with the franchise.

However, Jordan had already influenced him into the great player he is today and is considered one of the reasons for him soaring heights.

Reminiscing the Hall of Famer

In an interview with Ryan Ruocco and CC Sabathia, Kemba Walker comes to discuss his close call of almost signing with the New York Knicks. But when it comes to Walker, Michael Jordon always comes up. Ryan Ruocco asks Walker, “What’s your best MJ being around the team story?”

Kemba began by saying, “He was pretty chill because that’s MJ, he knows who he is”. The response makes Ryan and CC laugh because a personality like MJ can be really intimidating so him being chill is a little hard for people to believe.

Walker then talks about MJ being quite involved in the team meetings. “We might have had a few team meetings that he chimed in on.”

He then narrates his favorite moment with Jordon, saying, “When I was young, like my second year in the league, he pulled me into the office. When I was a young guy like I came in, I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes. You know I didn’t want to like be aggressive. I wasn’t being aggressive as I normally am. So yeah, he pulled me to the office and said yo I brought you here to be yourself. I brought you here to be aggressive and lead this franchise.”

Walker remembers that from that day onwards, his attitude changed and he started just being himself. “This is the GOAT right here telling me that he wants me to lead his organization and he expects a lot out of me”. 

Even though both of them are on separate paths now, Walker always remembers MJ fondly. He mentions that initially he doubted himself a lot but Jordan really changed that. Since then, he just wanted to be the best he could be.

SOURCE: The Ringer Youtube