Employee Number Eight
Chicago has been home to some of the most entertaining basketball players to ever play. Ask a bunch of locals who produces the best talent in basketball, and they’ll look at you like you lost your mind. Players like Dwayne Wade, Derrick Rose, and Anthony Davis all had their start in the Chi. But if you look back in history, you’ll come across one of the most flamboyant, and entertaining players to ever come out of Chicago.
That’s right, I’m talking about “Employee Number Eight” himself, Antoine Walker. Walker, who stood at 6'9" and weighed 250 lbs was a “Stretch 4” before they were even considered a thing, and on top of that, he had one of the easiest jumpers to time on NBA Live 07. Nah for real, the man was an absolute sniper from distance when he caught fire and had one of the hardest “shimmy’s” in the league.
Toine who was a McDonald's All-American played High School basketball at Mount Carmel High School, where in his senior season, he obtained All-State status and earned a full scholarship to play at Kentucky. His Sophomore year he was a starter on the ’96 NCAA Championship squad and averaged 15.2 PPG on 46% shooting from the field. He was also named All-SEC First, All-SEC Tournament and was named to the All-NCAA Regional Teams.
Later that year, Walker would enter the draft and would be selected in the first round with the 6th pick by the Boston Celtics. Toine would come out swinging his rookie season averaging 17.5 PPG & 9 RPG on 42/32/63 shooting splits. He would also be named to the All-Rookie First Team.
Sophomore slump? Nah Toine didn’t allow that. In his second season he was an All Star and averaged 22.4 PPG & 10.2 RPG on 42/31/64 shooting splits. This season also included a career high 49 point game against the Wizards.
In his third year, Walker who was paired next to star rookie Paul Pierce would see his averages drop slightly from last year. He averaged 18.7 PPG & 8.5 RPG, and would shoot a career high 36% from distance. Walker and Pierce would become a nice tandem for Boston, and in his fifth season (‘01-’02) Walker would make his first Playoff appearance as the Celtics would go all the way to the ECFs, but would lose in six games to the Nets. Walker averaged 22.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG & 5.0 APG in the regular season on 39/34/74 shooting splits. Another All Star appearance would be gifted upon Walker this season.
In the ‘02-’03 season, Walker would have his final All Star worthy season. After averaging 20.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG & 4.8 APG, and being eliminated from the playoffs once again by the Nets. The Celtics would decide that Paul Pierce would bring better success to the franchise if they traded Walker. Toine would go from Boston to Dallas and then be shipped to Atlanta. The Hawks would then trade Walker back to Boston in ’05 where he became apart of the biggest trade in NBA history when he was dealt to the Miami Heat.
Clearly Walker had a trade value like none other, but he would find a second home in Miami as he would become the Heat’s NO.1 option off the bench. He played both SF & PF during the ‘05-’06 season and averaged 12.2 PPG on 43/35/62 shooting splits. Miami would win the NBA Championship that season after Dwayne Wade would have “Mike moment after Mike moment” as my mom would say. Walker played a huge role on that squad, he struggled then adjusted to coming off the bench and become a deadly 6th man for Miami.
The Championship with Miami would be Walker’s greatest achievement in his NBA career and with being a kid from the streets of Chicago, you can’t help but be happy for him. A “Stretch 4” before they were even a thing, a bucket in Boston, and that key “Glue Guy” for a championship run in Miami. Yeah, he was frustrating to watch often from a shot selection standpoint, but a player before his time. Put him in this current era and he would be one of the best in the league based on his size and playstyle.
