Lethabo Nxumalo, KweséESPN 7y

Kemba Walker calls for Charlotte Hornets consistency

Between participating in Basketball Without Borders and addressing African media ahead of the NBA Africa Game, it has been a busy week for Kemba Walker.

But his hectic schedule has not deterred his focus from the upcoming season. Walker has been recovering from minor arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in mid-May. This is the third surgery on the same knee in three years, so the 26-year-old has been cautious with how he has approached this summer.

"I have been rehabbing a lot. I haven't been on the court much," Walker told KweséESPN ahead of Saturday's NBA Africa Game in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As soon as he is back to full health, the Charlotte Hornets point guard intends to spend time improving his game. "I want to continue to improve my shooting and focus on making my team better and be the best leader I can be," said Walker.

And Charlotte will need him to be just that after a disappointing 2016-17 campaign in which they finished with a 36-46 record for 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

Yet despite the Hornets' struggles, Walker had one of the best seasons of his career. The first-time All-Star recorded career highs in points per game (23.2), field goal percentage (44.4), free throw percentage (84.7) and player efficiency rating (21.3), while adding 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

He has made a concerted effort to improve his shooting from beyond the arc; ranking sixth in the league in three-pointers with 240 while shooting 39 percent.

However, it's not only Walker that has been busy during the off-season; the Hornets traded Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and their 41st pick in this year's draft for eight-time All Star Dwight Howard. They also signed Michael-Carter Williams and drafted sharp shooter Malik Monk from Kentucky and former Florida State guard Dwayne Bacon to add firepower to the offence.

Asked what the Hornets need to do to become more competitive in the off-season, Walker responded: "We've got to be consistent. I think that's the biggest thing for us. We can't take nights off, we've got to be consistent each and every day."

^ Back to Top ^