Kemba Walker was never supposed to be this successful as an NBA player. Players his size rarely are, and the ones that do succeed almost never do it playing basketball the way Kemba Walker does. Generously listed at 6’1″ and 185 pounds, Walker’s size doesn’t jibe with his aggressive, score first style of play. Even after he almost single-handedly dragged the University of Connecticut basketball team to an improbable championship run, there were doubts about how his play would translate to the next level. While it took some time, Walker developed into one of the game’s best point guards. Then he got better.

Kemba Walker put himself on the map during his junior season at UConn. That team was projected to finish tenth in the Big East by most media outlets. That projection wasn’t far off, with the Huskies entering their conference tournament as the nine seed.

That’s where the legend of Kemba Walker was born. He took that ninth seeded Huskies team and led them to five wins in five nights, culminating in a Big East Championship win in Madison Square Garden, just four miles from where Walker went to high school. The legend only grew further when that team kept winning games deep into the NCAA Tournament. When all was said and done, UConn were national champions and Kemba Walker was a college basketball hero.

Even after all the heroics, there were still questions about Walker’s game and how it would translate to the NBA. He wasn’t a particularly good shooter, and while not a selfish player, he hadn’t demonstrated much in the way of running an offense in the traditional point guard sense. His speed and ball handling were good enough, but shoot first guys that can’t shoot typically don’t last long in the league, especially if they’re barely six feet tall. Still the Bobcats front office (or at least Michael Jordan) were enamored by the moxie and took Walker with the ninth pick in the NBA draft.

The first leap

Kemba’s early days in the NBA were ugly. His rookie season was spent on the worst team in NBA history. His sophomore season was the lone NBA season coached by Mike Dunlap, who now coaches at Loyola-Marymount. In his first four seasons, the kid from the Bronx topped the 40% plateau from the field just once and never hit more than 33.3% of his 3-point attempts. He averaged over 17 points per game in seasons two through four, but it never meant much with such poor shooting efficiency.

The 2015 offseason was where the first leap was made. Hornets shooting coach Bruce Kreutzer suggested a minor tweak to Walker’s shooting form. He shifted Walker’s release point slightly to the right, and it made a world of difference. Walker’s 3-point percentage jumped to 37.1% in the 2015-16 season, by far the best mark of his career. The added threat from behind the arc opened up driving lanes for Charlotte’s franchise point guard and the increased efficiency pushed Walker’s scoring above 20 points per game for the first time in his career. As Kemba’s confidence in his new shot increased, so did his attempts. By the 2016-17 season, Kemba Walker was among the most prolific 3-point shooters in the NBA in terms of makes and attempts. The league took notice, and in his sixth NBA season, Kemba Walker made his first All Star team. He followed that performance with a near identical showing in 2017-18.

The second leap

Steve Clifford was relieved of his head coaching duties in May of this year. He was replaced by James Borrego. The Hornets’ new head coach made it very clear he was hitching his wagon to Kemba Walker, and Walker has responded.

Under Borrego, the Hornets have increased their pace of play and placed a renewed emphasis on perimeter players. Kemba’s usage is at an all time high, and its done nothing to hurt his efficiency. He’s become a lethal finisher around the basket, using all sorts of wrong footed layups, scoop shots, and reverses to keep help side defenders on their heels. He’s connected on 61% of his mid range jumpers this season. Only Stephen Curry and James Harden make more 3-pointers per game than him. He’s made a leap again, this time from and All Star caliber player to an All NBA caliber player.

Look no further than Saturday night’s performance against the Philadelphia 76ers for an example of the new and again improved Kemba Walker. With the rest of the team struggling and in dire need of a spark, the team captain went scorched Earth. He finished the game with 60 points, becoming only the tenth player this millennium to reach such heights. Eight of the other nine have made at least one All NBA team. Devin Booker is the lone exception, and there is likely at least one All NBA team in his future. Oh, and he followed it up with a cool 43 points to beat the Celtics.

After that performance Kemba Walker trails only LeBron James in scoring among qualified players. He’s almost been unarguably a top five guard this season. If he keeps up at this pace, he’ll be in the discussion for his first All NBA team.