Four-time NBA All-Star and NCAA champion Kemba Walker announces retirement from basketball

Kemba Walker was selected to four NBA All-Star teams and was the Most Outstanding Player on UConn's 2011 national championship team. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) — Kemba Walker was selected to four NBA All-Star teams and was the Most Outstanding Player on UConn’s 2011 national championship team. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)

Kemba Walker retires from basketball.

A four-time NBA All-Star and national champion at UConn, Walker announced his decision to retire from the game Tuesday at age 34.

Walker played 12 NBA seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. He spent his final professional season playing for AS Monaco of the Euroleague. Now he’s taking the next step.

“I am here to announce that I am officially retiring from basketball,” Walker wrote in his retirement announcement. “This was all a dream. When I look back, I still can’t believe what I have accomplished in my career. …

“Basketball will always be a part of my life, so this is not goodbye. I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

At his best, Walker was one of the most prolific point guards in the game. A five-star recruit coming out of high school, Walker delivered in three seasons at UConn. He earned consensus All-America honors as a junior and led UConn to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies beat Kentucky and Butler on their way to the Final Four to capture the program’s third national championship.

He joined the Charlotte Bobcats as the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He helped Charlotte to two playoff appearances and made three All-Star teams in eight seasons with the franchise.

The Hornets traded Walker to the Boston Celtics before the 2019-20 season. Walker made another All-Star team in his first year in Boston and went on to play three more NBA seasons. A nagging knee injury that required three surgeries throughout his career limited him to nine games in his final NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks. He saw limited playing time with Monaco last season and is now ending his career.

In 12 NBA seasons, Walker averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. He shot 41.8 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range. At his peak, he averaged 25.6 points and 5.9 assists per game in his final season in Charlotte.

He leaves a legacy in basketball as a UConn great and the face of the Hornets’ renaissance after the Bobcats returned to Charlotte. He retires as the Hornets’ all-time leading scorer.