The ex-NBA guard is settling in well in Kaunas
Lonnie Walker loving life with Zalgiris after big win
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 11 of 34
Group Regular Season
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One of the biggest signings of the season so far has undoubtedly been Zalgiris Kaunas’s acquisition of Lonnie Walker, and on Friday evening the star guard celebrated his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague coming-out party in the best possible manner.
The 25-year-old was a shock pickup by Zalgiris last month after starting his professional career with six seasons in the NBA and averaging 9.8 points per game during his time with the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets.
Understandably, it took the new recruit a while to adjust to the new environment of European basketball. His Zalgiris debut, a Round 8 loss at FC Bayern Munich, saw Walker miss all 8 of his field-goal attempts, finishing with 0 points, 2 turnovers and a PIR of -9. A player of such clear class would never stay that cold for long, though, and Walker soon started to hit his stride with 8 points against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and 19 against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.
Both of those games resulted in losses, however, so Walker was understandably eager to grab his first victory in the EuroLeague with a prestigious visit from reigning champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on Friday. And he did just that, starring with 24 points in an 84-77 triumph.
Walker made his intentions clear with a stunning play after just 65 seconds, driving to the rim and lifting off for a brutal two-handed slam which got the sold-out Zalgirio Arena crowd rocking. And that was just the start… he added three more baskets in the next 4 minutes, firing his team into a stunning 20-9 lead midway through the first quarter.
The scoring heroics continued, as Walker drained a pair of three-point strikes in the second quarter to help his team enjoy an 18-point advantage, 44-26, sparking a party-like atmosphere as the Zalgiris fans got their weekend started early and their new hero smoothly advanced to 17 points by halftime.
And he wasn’t done. Although Panathinaikos fought back and briefly led in the third quarter, Walker was back in the thick of things in the fourth quarter to score 5 consecutive points, netting a crucial triple and then grabbing a steal for an open-court dunk, reestablishing a double-digit advantage which would never be seriously threatened the rest of the way.
After the game, Walker admitted that he had been feeling anxious to enjoy the sweet taste of EuroLeague victory, saying: "We were all dialed in. We weren’t feeling too well coming off three losses, and I wasn’t feeling too well because I hadn’t got my first win in the EuroLeague, so we came in with a chip on our shoulders.
"I just wanted to get the first win, for the fans in Kaunas, and for my teammates. I’m really happy to be here, I love the team, love the organization, and it was more about the team win than anything else."
Considering his talent and reputation, it’s only inevitable that Walker is surrounded by high expectations. And he appears to be perfectly prepared to rise to that challenge.
"I knew I had to bring energy," he stated. "My teammates have been trusting in me and instilling a lot of confidence within myself."
His coach, however, is clearly expecting more. Rather than lauding the game’s leading scorer with praise for his decisive contribution, Andrea Trinchieri restricted himself to a cautious mixture of praise and encouragement.
"Lonnie’s a good player," said the Zalgiris boss. "I believe that he had great sparks. I believe that he can do better, especially on the defensive end and rebounding, but he’s a good player. The team helped him, and he helped the team."
If they keep on helping each other like they did on Friday night, Walker and Zalgiris could go very far.