Kemba Walker has officially signed with AS Monaco Basket in the French LNB Pro A league. Walker, once seen as the savior of the Charlotte Hornets, has been teamless since being waved by the Mavericks in January 2023. The four-time all-star had seen his performance severely diminish over the last few seasons after a string of nasty injuries. He last played at least 60 games in an NBA season in the 2018-19 campaign, his last in Charlotte and arguably the best year of his career. He played 56 games in the bubble season and 43 in the 2020/21 campaign. After leaving Boston for the Knicks, he played just 37 games, again due to injury. His NBA career seemingly came to an end after the Mavericks waived him following just nine games of action in Dallas.
The move was announced by both the official EuroLeague account and confirmed by Monaco themselves. Walker joins the defending French champions after Monaco cruised to the Pro A title earlier this year. They ended the Cinderella run of the Victor Wembanyama-led Mets 92 with a 3-0 sweep in the finals. Meanwhile, Monaco also finished third in the continent-wide EuroLeague competition.
Walker Moves To France
Walker is by far the biggest far to move from the NBA to Europe in some time. In Europe, he will find a much different atmosphere, and workload, to what he experienced across 15 years in the NCAA and NBA. Despite playing in two competitions (Pro A and EuroLeague), Walker will, at a minimum, play less than a single NBA season. Both the Pro A and EuroLeague have 34-game regular seasons, meaning Walker will play a minimum of 68 games. Even with playoffs and the international travel, Walker is likely facing his lightest workload since his time at UConn.
Furthermore, Walker is far from the only American on the team. Monaco's current roster boasts seven other American players. However, while most went through the NCAA system, none have as much NBA experience as Walker. If he can stay healthy, Walker should enjoy a career revival in France. Last year, the All-LNB First Team point guard was former Cornell player Matt Morgan. He put up 20.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists for Le Mans. Those numbers are very similar to what Walker put up during the 2019-20 season with Boston. We wish Kemba all the best with this new chapter of his career.
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