Antoine Walker

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Walker attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, where he played with future NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb and attained all-state status as a senior, earning a full scholarship to play for Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky. He was a starting forward on the Wildcats' 1996 NCAA championship-winning team. As a sophomore at Kentucky he was named SEC Tournament MVP. In his sophomore year, Walker was also named All-SEC First, All-SEC Tournament and to the All-NCAA Regional Teams. After his sophomore season, he declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was picked sixth overall by the Boston Celtics. In the 1996–1997 season, Walker made the All-Rookie First Team and led the team in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.0), as the team had its worst season in franchise history, 15–67. The following season, Pitino was reunited with Walker as the new coach of the Celtics and he made the All-Star team as a reserve while averaging 22.4 ppg and 10.2 rpg. He also scored a career-high 49 points in a win against the Washington Wizards on March 19, 2001. Walker's success led to his appearance on the cover of NBA Live 99. In the 1998 draft, the Celtics had the 10th pick and chose swing man Paul Pierce. In the 2001–2002 season, Walker had his best overall season by helping lead the Celtics to a 49–33 record and their first playoff berth in seven years. He was second on his team in scoring (22.0), first in rebounds (9), and first in assists (5.0). Pierce and Walker took the team to the Eastern Conference finals, where they fell to the New Jersey Nets in six games. The next season, Walker made his third All-Star team. On February 20, 2002, former Kentucky teammate Tony Delk was traded to the Celtics, reuniting Walker with him. Ten days before the start of the 2003–04 season, Walker was traded with Delk to the Dallas Mavericks for Raef LaFrentz, Chris Mills, Jiří Welsch, and a 2004 first-round draft pick. On August 8, 2004, Walker and Delk were traded again, this time to the Atlanta Hawks for Jason Terry, longtime Hawk Alan Henderson and a conditional 2007 first-round draft pick. As the pick did not convey, Dallas received cash considerations from Atlanta instead. On February 24, 2005, Walker was traded back to the Celtics in a deal that sent Gary Payton, Tom Gugliotta, Michael Stewart, and a first-round draft pick to the Hawks. (Payton was released by the Hawks and re-signe

In Their Own Story

The narrative of the Nets involves a nomadic beginning as the New Jersey Americans in 1967, a move to Long Island as the New York Nets, and a return to New Jersey where they became the New Jersey Nets from 1977 to 2012. It was during this New Jersey era that Antoine Walker's Boston Celtics served as their primary foil. The story of their clashes includes specific moments like the 2002 conference finals altercation involving Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, and Kris Humphries years later, but Walker himself was not on the court for those 2012 incidents. The franchise eventually moved to Brooklyn in 2012, becoming the first major sports team there since the Dodgers left in 1957. Throughout these relocations and roster overhauls involving Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving, Antoine Walker's name never appeared on a Brooklyn or New Jersey Nets roster.

Reader's Guide

Walker was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. He attended Mount Carmel High School. Walker was engaged to reality star Evelyn Lozada of Basketball Wives from 1998 until 2008. Walker was a basketball analyst on 120 Sports. Walker was also hired by SEC Network as a basketball analyst. In 1997, Walker's roommate Michael Irvin, as well as NBA players Ron Mercer and Chauncey Billups, Walker was identified in a lawsuit by a woman who said she was raped in Walker's home. Walker was also named in the lawsuit, and although he was not alleged to have participated in the assault, he was accused of walking through the room while it took place. The case was settled in 2000. On January 5, 2009, Walker was arrested for driving under the influence in Miami Beach, Florida. On July 15, 2009, Walker was charged with three felony counts of writing bad checks stemming from over $800,000 in gambling debts he had incurred at three Las Vegas casinos. Walker was arrested on July 15 at Harrah's Casino in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada. He was in South Lake Tahoe to play in the American Century Celebrity Golf Classic the following day. On June 30, 2010, Walker entered a plea of not guilty on felony bad check charges stemming from his failure to pay $770,000 in gambling losses to Caesars Palace and two other casinos in Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. One year later, he pleaded guilty to one felony count of passing a bad check. Under the plea agreement, he did not face a prison term, and was put on probation and worked towards repaying the debt. In July 2000, Walker and former University of Kentucky teammate Nazr Mohammed were robbed outside a South Side Chicago restaurant. On July 9, 2007, Walker and another individual were robbed at gunpoint by two offenders in his own house. The assailants made off with close to $200,000 worth of merchandise, including Walker's Mercedes. His car was later recovered having been stripped of its expensive aftermarket wheels and stereo system. Four men were charged in this robbery; two of them were also linked to the similar robbery of fellow NBA player Eddy Curry. On May 18, 2010, Walker filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Florida (Miami) with total assets of $4.3 million and debts of $12.7 million. The filing listed four pieces of real estate including a $2.3 million Miami home that was under

Did You Know?

• Walker was a three-time NBA All-Star.
• He won an NCAA championship with Kentucky in 1996 and an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006.
• Walker appeared on the cover of NBA Live 99.
• He was engaged to reality star Evelyn Lozada from 2008 to 2009.