Swarm and Sting
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Profiling the Hornets’ new assistant coaches

By Evan Birchmore

Feb 1, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; A basketball rest on the court in the first half of the game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Memphis Grizzlies at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; A basketball rest on the court in the first half of the game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Memphis Grizzlies at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: Head coach Rex Walters of the San Francisco Dons signals his players during a quarterfinal game of the West Coast Conference Basketball tournament against the San Diego Toreros at the Orleans Arena on March 8, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. San Francisco won 69-60. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: Head coach Rex Walters of the San Francisco Dons signals his players during a quarterfinal game of the West Coast Conference Basketball tournament against the San Diego Toreros at the Orleans Arena on March 8, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. San Francisco won 69-60. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Rex Walters

There are two degrees of separation between Rex Walters and Steve Clifford, as Walters was an assistant alongside former Clifford assistant Bob Beyer with the Pelicans in 2021.

Walters enjoyed a four-year college career, first at Northwestern and then at Kansas. After spending a decade in professional basketball, Walters entered the coaching ranks as an assistant with the Valparaiso Beacons. Walters had his first foray into being a head coach in 2006 with the Florida Atlantic Owls and would go on to become the head coach of the San Francisco Dons before becoming the head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive in the G-League. Walters compiled a 183-182 head coaching record between Florida Atlantic, San Francisco, and Grand Rapids.

Walters entered the NBA ranks in 2017 as an assistant with the Detroit Pistons, leaving after one season to re-enter college coaching with the Nevada Wolfpack. At Nevada, Walters coached current Hornets guard Cody Martin for Martin’s senior season in 2019. After spending the 2019-20 season in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Walters took the Pelicans job.

Walters also has a familial coaching tree; his daughter, Addison Walters, currently serves as a video associate for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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