Entertainment
Former Spur Lonnie Walker enjoys the second act in Hollywood
Lonnie Walker slid through the paint in the second quarter Friday night, seeking a ray of daylight.
Finding a seam in the defense, his fast-twitch muscles fired and he exploded towards the edge, contorting his body in the air to perform a lay-up.
It’s the kind of thing Gregg Popovich saw on a semi-regular basis during Walker’s four years in San Antonio.
From day one, he’s always been a phenomenal athlete, Popovich said. He has gifts that many players don’t.
Walker, in his first season as a starter for the Los Angeles Lakers alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, scored 18 points in his return to the AT&T Center, helping his team to a 105-94 win over the Spurs.
He is thriving in his new role and his new life in Los Angeles, finally free to be the player he always thought he could be.
Walker, 23, is happy with his starring role in one of basketball’s biggest markets. Rather than faze him, the glitz of playing in Hollywood seemed to energize his game, elevating it to new heights.
There is only one problem.
I kind of thought I was going to be a Spur for life, Walker said.
The Spurs selected Walker 18th overall in the 2018 draft. Like most rookies joining the team at the time, club management put him on a slow, deliberate path to NBA minutes.
He seemed to find his niche late last season as a scorer off the bench, finishing with a career-high 12.1 points per game.
Entering free agency last summer, Walker thought there was more than a decent chance he would return to San Antonio.
In fact, I expected to come back, Walker said.
It did not materialize.
Instead, the Lakers offered Walker a one-year contract worth $6.4 million. Spurs could have offered Walker a similar or better offer, but didn’t.
More than that, the Lakers offered Walker a consistent role as a starter, the Spurs were also not ready to bid.
Even so, the decision to move on was a difficult one.
Walker grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania, and spent a year in college in Miami. During his four seasons with the Spurs, Walker began to call San Antonio his home.
No player was as active in the community as Walker. He was a fixture in town, especially at his favorite taco haunts such as Taquitos on West Avenue.
Walker even moved his mother, Tamica Wall, to San Antonio. She still lives here, even though her son has moved out west.
Upon returning to the AT&T Center on Friday, Walker became emotional during a pregame tribute video shown on a large screen above the field.
It was a sentimental feeling that didn’t subside even after Walker helped his new team defeat the old one.
I’m still a little emotional, just got home, said Walker, whose Lakers were set for Game 2 at the AT&T Center on Saturday. It’s still kind of my home. The bond between us, with the city of San Antonio and within the organization, is always a family.
What Walker has learned this summer is that sometimes families have to break up.
He’s now a Laker, a supporting actor in the circus who stars in one of the NBA’s brightest spotlights.
In many ways, this is the opportunity Walker has been waiting for.
I love playing in that kind of environment, with those kind of players,” Walker said. I’m just trying to show off my skills. I’m not sure a lot of people really know my game. It’s finally starting to come.
Prior to Saturday, Walker had started 15 games for Los Angeles, averaging 17 points while shooting 46.8%, both career highs.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham was also impressed with the Walkers’ commitment to playing defense.
I always thought he was a phenomenal athlete,” Ham said. Seeing him up close every day, he has a multi-faceted skill set.
Those who knew Walker in San Antonio aren’t surprised that he’s finally starting to put things together in Los Angeles.
He has played very well for them this year, said Spurs point guard Tre Jones. We knew what kind of season he would have there when they got him.
Walker scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half on Friday as the Lakers took a 20-point lead heading into intermission.
He tied a season-high with four 3-pointers and had three interceptions.
Combined with the 14-point night he notched in the Lakers 123-92 thrashing of the Spurs in Los Angeles last Sunday, Walker has 32 points against his ex-team in the span of a week.
Popovich sees a different version of Walker than the one who left San Antonio last summer.
He always depended on his athletic ability because it was so ridiculous compared to others, Popovich said. Now he understands the mental side of the game more with each passing year.
Walker would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the field day he had in his first game back in San Antonio on Friday.
He relished it, but only up to a point.
I know a lot of people want to frame this as a revenge game, Walker said after Friday’s contest. There is no rematch with this team. It’s nothing but family.
After her career path took a life-altering turn last summer, Walker sought solace in a way that has always been her main source of solace.
He took a book.
It’s called Returning to Silence, by a Zen teacher named Dainin Katagiri.
The gist of the book is that people can find peace and enlightenment in the daily routine, even when life changes.
For Walker, the book itself is now part of that routine.
I read it a second time, he said, just to remind myself.
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN
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