When it appeared that he would have no opportunities in the NBA, Kemba Walker took the crucial choice to move abroad in order to pursue a professional basketball career. His one-year contract signing with the French team AS Monaco Basket was merely made public last week.
Few people have seen Kemba’s situation favourably given that he was an All-Star as recently as 2020. Nicolas Batum, a Frenchman and Walker’s former teammate, scorned the idea that this was a poor choice for Walker.
“It’s not given to every good player to move to the 3rd best team in Euroleague and live in South of France.
“Knowing the level of competition in Euroleague, it’s a pretty good move after what Kemba went through the last couples months.”
One of the best teams in Europe is, in fact, AS Monaco. By defeating Victor Wembanyama and his Metropolitans 92 in the championship game, they just won the French Pro League. Along with finishing third in the EuroLeague, they also won the French Basketball Cup and lost to Olympiacos in the semifinal.
This might have been as good as it could have been for Kemba if there had been no chance to play in the NBA. He will get an opportunity to shine on the biggest platform in Europe, and the level of competition will be very strong.
Not just Batum took issue with this post; another EuroLeague fan pointed out how Walker’s circumstances in Monaco is actually ideal.
It’s not given to every good player to move to the 3rd best team in Euroleague and live in South of France.
Knowing the level of competition in Euroleague, it’s a pretty good move after what Kemba went through the last couples months https://t.co/meQ9PmODvu
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) July 23, 2023
Walker is really eager to start this new phase of his life and is currently entirely focused on Monaco, but his long-term objective is to play basketball again in the NBA. Kemba believes that he still has a few years left to play in the league even if he is only 33 years old.