Should Kemba Walker Be An All-Star?
Should Kemba Walker’s career-best season result in an All-Star Game appearance?
The end of January means that All-Star season is nearly upon us. On Feb. 14, the best and brightest the NBA has to offer (or just the most popular) will do battle in an organized pickup game that features dunks galore and absolutely no defense.
Though the game is meaningless, there is a large significance placed on just making one of the rosters at all. We argue about perceived snubs for weeks on end and total All-Star Game appearances are referenced when comparing the careers of similar players.
Despite a short history as a franchise, the Charlotte Hornets have had their fair share of All-Stars. Larry Johnson made the team in 1993 and 1995. Alonzo Mourning made back-to-back All-Star Game appearances in 1994 and 1995, while Glen Rice made the team in three consecutive seasons in 1996, 1997 and 1999.
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Charlotte Hornets
Lesser heralded players Eddie Jones and Baron Davis also represented Charlotte in the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2002, respectively. Their most recent All-Star, and the only player to make the team in the modern era of Charlotte basketball (starting in 2004-05), is Gerald Wallace, who nabbed an All-Star nod in 2010. Will they add another player to this list in 2016?
If a Hornet makes the Eastern Conference roster this season it will be point guard Kemba Walker. Walker is having the best season of his career and has quietly been one of the best scoring point guards in the Eastern Conference.
Walker has played in 41 games this season and is averaging 19.9 points, five assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from three-point range with a PER of 20.68, all of which are career-high marks for Walker.
On Martin Luther King Day, Walker put on a show against the Utah Jazz. Walker set the Charlotte Hornets’ franchise single-game scoring record by dropping 52 points on Utah in a 124-119 double-overtime victory. The performance highlighted all the ways Walker has improved as a player in 2015-16.
Walker showed off his refined three-point stroke by shooting 6-for-11 from outside and he relentlessly attacked the basket, going 14-for-15 from the free-throw line. He’s far from perfect, but Walker has a scoring knack few can claim to possess and is capable of carrying the Hornets to victory on nights where everyone else is struggling to score.
All that is well and good, but does it mean he should be an All-Star? The Eastern Conference has a few other point guards with great All-Star cases, Most notably, Kyle Lowry, John Wall, and Isaiah Thomas are very deserving candidates.
Let’s take a look at Walker’s numbers compared to the aforementioned trio. It’s a very tight battle and you could make the argument that each player deserves to make the All-Star Game.
| Rk | Player | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Lowry | .420 | .381 | .452 | .505 | .879 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 21.0 |
| 2 | Isaiah Thomas | .422 | .340 | .467 | .483 | .897 | 3.0 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 21.8 |
| 3 | Kemba Walker | .433 | .376 | .458 | .489 | .856 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 19.9 |
| 4 | John Wall | .432 | .353 | .456 | .474 | .782 | 4.3 | 9.7 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 20.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/19/2016.
| Player | PER | TS% | TRB% | AST% | STL% | TOV% | USG% | BPM | VORP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Lowry | 23.2 | .572 | 7.9 | 31.4 | 3.2 | 13.8 | 26.5 | 7.5 | 3.6 |
| Isaiah Thomas | 21.8 | .561 | 4.8 | 35.0 | 1.8 | 12.6 | 28.9 | 3.4 | 1.9 |
| Kemba Walker | 20.6 | .547 | 6.4 | 25.2 | 2.4 | 10.4 | 25.6 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| John Wall | 20.3 | .516 | 6.7 | 45.8 | 3.0 | 18.5 | 29.2 | 2.9 | 1.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/19/2016.
Walker trails Lowry, Wall, and Thomas slightly when it comes to per game scoring, but he shoots more efficiently from the field than each of them, and he shoots better from outside than Wall. Lowry and Wall are unquestionably better defenders than Walker and Thomas, they struggle due to their smaller stature. At least that’s the perception.
Still, Walker’s defensive rating of 104 is marginally better than Thomas’ and Wall’s (105), but those three pale in comparison to Lowry (101).
Passing is where the gap widens to the detriment of Walker. He’s never been known as a pass-first point guard, while the others have shown a better balance of looking to score and being facilitators for their team. Walker’s assist rate is 25.2 percent, Lowry’s is at 31.4 percent, Thomas’ is at 35 percent, and Wall’s tops the list at a staggering 45.8 percent.
Wall changes the game as a passer in the ways the other three can’t come close to.
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Another thing that hurts Walker’s case at the moment is that his team’s record is currently the worst of the bunch. Charlotte’s struggles of late may leave a sour taste in the mouths of those that pick the team. While Walker deserves to make the team, I think that Wall and Lowry are slightly more deserving.
Overall they’re both having slightly better seasons and are more well-rounded players. If a third point guard were to make the roster Walker or Thomas would be fine choices. I have a hard time distinguishing between the two, but I’d lean towards Walker.
Of course, there’s the looming specter of Kyrie Irving. Despite missing over half of his team’s games it would not be shocking to see the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard be elected to start the All-Star Game by the fans.
As of Friday, Irving was on pace to be voted in as a starter. The starters will be announced January 21, so we will know soon enough if an Irving appearance means a more deserving player will be snubbed.
At the end of the day fans shouldn’t get too worked up about All-Star appearances. It’s just a popularity contest to see who gets to play in an unorganized mess of a basketball game on Valentines Day.
If Kemba Walker finds himself on the outside looking in of the All-Star Game Hornets fans can always skip the game and take their significant other out to nice restaurant to celebrate the holiday of love. Just kidding. Watch the game anyway and be happy than Walker gets time off to rest up for Charlotte’s second half run towards the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.