The Charlotte Hornets haven't retired Kemba Walker 's No. 15 jersey, but you would be forgiven for thinking they had. No one has worn it since that fateful day in 2019 when the Hornets sent him to Boston in a sign-and-trade for Terry Rozier .
They have not had too many jerseys to retire, in all honesty. This isn't an illustrious franchise rich with elite players. As a result, just three have been retired: #6 for Bill Russell (league-wide), No. 13 for Bobby Mills, and No. 30 for Dell Curry.
With all due respect, Walker's status in Hornets/Bobcats history is significantly more notable than either of those two players. So, Walker's No. 15 may not be in use, but it should officially go up in the rafters at the Spectrum Center.
Walker, simply put, is the best player in franchise history. Yes, the bar is low for a franchise that's been mired in mediocrity for most of its existence, but Walker still stands at the top.
He leads in the following categories:
Minutes played
Field goals
Points
Win shares
Value over replacement player
He's also in the top 10 in games played, rebounds, assists, steals, PER, and box plus-minus.That absolutely sounds like someone who deserves to have their jersey retired, and the Hornets need to go ahead and do it.
Former NBA guard Kemba Walker watches warmups between the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Walker now serves as an assistant coach on Charles Lee's staff, making him the rare player to coach for his most notable franchise. He's obviously a Charlotte lifer, and repaying his loyalty and excellence by hanging up his jersey would be fitting.
Walker was perhaps even better than the box score numbers and franchise rankings suggest. The point guard was frequently the only player worth his salt on the floor for the Hornets, so he had the attention of the defense with little help ( like what LaMelo Ball dealt with frequently during his tenure).
Consider the fact that Walker poured in a franchise-record 60 points in an overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018. He had a 76.4% true shooting mark in that game. The rest of the roster combined to score 57, and the Hornets lost. That was emblematic of Walker's tenure.
The reason the Hornets were kind of stuck for so long in the middle of the NBA, a.k.a. purgatory, is that Walker was too good for his team to truly be bad and land top draft picks. Sure, that hurt the franchise, but it speaks to how impactful he was.
It's high time his jersey number was retired to address that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hornets/onsi as Should the Charlotte Hornets Retire Kemba Walker's No. 15 Jersey? .
