Charlotte Hornets: Kemba Walker Finished Third in Three-Point Shootout
In his first ever three-point contest, Kemba Walker represented the Charlotte Hornets and finished third behind Eric Gordon and Kyrie Irving.
Not only is Kemba Walker representing the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA All-Star game this year but he also participated in the three-point contest. Even though he was an underdog in the event, the point guard had a good showing and ended up finishing third. Eric Gordon came out on top in the final round with Kyrie Irving finishing second.
Kemba was only the fourth Hornet to ever compete in the competition and the first since Glen Rice in 1998. The team had a long drought but it was great to see it end with their star in Walker making it past the first round and almost winning the trophy. Still, no player from Charlotte has ever won the three-point shootout to date.
Kemba was competing against the likes of Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry, Wesley Matthews, C.J. McCollum and Nick Young. Walker started the event as the first player to shoot and he ended with a score of 19 in the first round. That was good enough for third best and just barely enough to advance to the finals.
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The reigning champion, Klay Thompson, failed to reach the finals as he only scored 18, one point short of Kemba, in the first. Matthews (11), Young (18), McCollum (10), and Lowry (9) were all eliminated as well. Only Gordon (24) and Irving (20) had more than Walker in the first round.
In the final round, Kemba’s 17 wasn’t enough to beat either Eric or Kyrie who tied with 20. Those two went to overtime and Gordon came out on top with 21 points which were more than Irving’s 18.
Walker’s weekend isn’t over just yet as he will still take part in the All-Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference team. No one ever would’ve thought Kemba could’ve hung in this contest a few years ago but he’s work hard to develop his shot since entering the league and the results speak for themselves.
After the event was over and a champion was crowned, TNT and the NBA brought out NBA players and celebrities to attempt to make three-point shots with each make counting for $10,000 towards the Sager Foundation.
Walker helped the group contribute $130,000 in total but with the help of Craig Sager’s son, the donation was upped to $500,000. (Thanks for nothing Stephen Curry.) <- This is a joke. Nobody get mad.
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Even though Kemba didn’t win, he still had a good night as he took home $25,000 with the third place finish. The All-Star Game might not have been in Charlotte this year but the Hornets were still represented well by Walker.