Swarm and Sting
Fansided

My day with Charlotte Hornets’ point guard Kemba Walker

By Giovanni Spillman

CHARLOTTE, NC - FEBRUARY 2: Kemba Walker
CHARLOTTE, NC - FEBRUARY 2: Kemba Walker /
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I got the opportunity of a lifetime to not only visit the home of the Charlotte Hornets but also hang out with all-star Kemba Walker.

On a chilly night in the Queen City, I was treated to a very nice time at the Spectrum Center. You may be asking, “How was I able to do what I did?” Well, that answer comes with a funny story. It turned out that I was not the first person to be selected to play a round of NBA 2K with Charlotte Hornets‘ point guard Kemba Walker.

Many of people had entered the contest and were not even real Hornets fans. Some people were Cavalier fans, and some of them just wanted to talk trash to Kemba. You maybe be wondering how they knew this, though. The Hornets selection team who selected me, looked through a variety of Twitter accounts to see if the winner was indeed a die-hard Hornets fan.

I was told, on the morning of January 19th that I had won the contest. They were not able to get ahold of me directly on the phone, but then I realized they had sent me a message on Twitter saying that I had won. The selection team chose me, because of my passion for the Hornets, as they read my tweets. It was quite a coincidence because that morning I had been ranting about how the Hornets should not trade Kemba. I was told that my tweets were shown to the entire selection team and that ultimately led to me winning the contest.

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My Experience

This was my first visit to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. When I arrived, I was treated to a nice tour of part of the arena and got to walk around on the court. I spent about twenty minutes soaking it, as I stood mid-court on the Hornets logo. I could almost feel as if I was a part of a game. At the same time, I was very surprised when Kemba then walked out to meet me and my little brother who accompanied me.

Kemba was very nice and seemed like a cool and normal person. We took some time to talk, before finding a seat to play our game of 2K. Kemba selected the Oklahoma City Thunder, while I picked my Hornets. I started the game very confident, as I held a 10+ point lead, but that didn’t last long after half-time, as Kemba got a hold of the game then. I ultimately lost the game, but at the same time, I did not care because I was enjoying the moment.

Kemba then gave the controller to my brother, and let us play a game on the Jumbotron (He was not supposed to do this). This proved to be that Kemba was truly a great guy. In my second game, I chose the New Orleans Pelicans, because we played them the next day.

During that game, I got a nice assist with Rondo, and you would not believe who pointed at me when Kemba told me to look who was on the court. It was Rajon Rondo, the starting guard for the Pelicans. Rondo and another player were getting some shots up for the game on Wednesday.

Following that quick game, Kemba then signed anything that I had, including my new Swingman Classic Hornets Jersey.  Ultimately this was a great trip, and I am very thankful to those in the Hornets organization who picked me for this.

Next: Re-drafting the 2014 NBA Draft

Fun Facts from Kemba

  • Kemba is a big New York Giants football fan.
  • Kemba’s favorite player in the NBA is Carmelo Anthony.
  • Kemba thinks that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist can knock down an open three.
  • The cutscene that shows up in NBA 2K of Kemba talking, is actually something he said from his rookie year.
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