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Antoine Walker (born August 12 , 1976 in Chicago, Illinois , USA) is a professional basketball player with the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association . He has played for four different teams during his NBA career. Walker grew up in Dolton, Illinois and went to Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, the same school as current several other professional sportsmen including Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb , Chicago Bears tackle Steve Edwards , and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive End Simeon Rice . He was a key factor in the University Of Kentucky Wildcats 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship -winning team. As a freshman at the University Of Kentucky he was named SEC Tournament MVP. In his sophomore year Antoine was 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 . Walker later teamed with Paul Pierce to help Boston play at a relatively high level, and was selected to three NBA All Star Game appearances during this time. Nine days before the start of the 2003-04 season, Antoine Walker was traded to the Dallas Mavericks . Walker was used in a relatively limited capacity on the his new team due to the plethora of high-caliber players populating the Mavericks' roster. Included on that team was Antawn Jamison , newly acquired from the Golden State Warriors . On August 8 , 2004 Walker and Tony Delk were traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Jason Terry , longtime Hawks member Alan Henderson and a draft pick. 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. Gary Payton was released by the Hawks and re-signed with Boston for the remainder of the season. On August 2 2005, Walker was involved in a 5-team, 13-player deal (the largest trade in NBA history) that sent him from the Celtics to the Miami Heat . CRITICISMS Over the years, Walker's game has been widely criticized, mainly because of his questionable shot selection. Though no more than an average three-point shooter, by the 2000 - 2001 campaign he had become the NBA's leader in three point attempts. Throughout that season, Walker shot 37% from beyond the arc and 41% overall, a poor field-goal percentage for a power forward. Walker's penchant for shooting three-pointers is thought to stem from his playing for coaches Rick Pitino and Jim O'Brien , whose offensive techniques of shooting high volumes of three-pointers became known as the "Bombs Away Offense" among Celtics fans. Walker again led the league in 3PA's in 2001 - 2002 with 645 (and finished shooting an anemic 39% overall). In 2002 - 2003 he attempted 582 three-point shots. However, Walker has improved this in his days with the Miami Heat, shooting a 43.3% from the field. This is due to the fact that teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade often draw double-teams, so Walker frequently has wide-open shots. During his seven year tenure as team leader of the Boston Celtics (1996-2003), Walker was a lightning rod for criticism and was mercilessly derided by some fans and members of the media as the primary reason for the Celtics' yearly inability to return to the postseason. However, this criticism was largely unfair and misleading. It was Walker, along with cocaptain Paul Pierce, who returned the Celtics to respectability by leading the team to the eastern conference finals in 2002, the team's first conference finals appearance since 1988. Their 2002 regular season record of 49-33 was the team's best since Larry Bird's final season in 1992. Several of these forty-nine victories were a direct result of Walker's playmaking and his ability to knock down big shots late in games. In December of 2001, for example, Walker scored a season high 42 points against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, three of these coming in the final seconds of regulation when Walker hit a game tying 3 pointer to force the contest into overtime, in which the Celtics ultimately prevailed. In that same month, Walker forced overtime against the Phoenix Suns when he tipped in a missed shot by Paul Pierce, and the Celtics then pulled away for the victory in the extra session. Against the world champion Lakers in Los Angeles, Walker tallied a triple double and inspired his team to overcome a late 12 point deficit, and he capped the comeback with an incredible 3 point bank shot over the outstretched arms of Robert Horry which gave the Celtics the lead with a second to play. The 2001-2002 Celtics had the "fight like wolves" attitude which allowed them to achieve many of their victories in a come from behind fashion. As mentioned above, the Celtics came from behind against Phoenix, New York and the Lakers, but the team also had impressive come from behind victories against New Jersey in the team's 14th game of the season, and road games later in the season against Indiana and Memphis. Walker also knocked down memorable game winners in other seasons during his career, examples including at Detroit (4/3/98), versus Miami (4/16/99). As a member of the Mavericks he forced overtime at Memphis (11/15/03) and hit a game winning shot at the buzzer at Seattle (1/27/04). Also during Jan of 2004, Walker tallied the 14th and 15th triple doubles of his career in consecutive games, both of which ended in overtime victores for the Mavericks (1/12/04 at NY, and 1/14/04 vs Philadelphia). As a member of the Atlanta Hawks, Walker hit a game winning shot against the Magic (1/31/05). Walker did not hit any game winners in the spring of 2005 after he was traded back to Boston, and he has yet to hit a game winning shot as a member of the Miami Heat. But in many games he has knocked down game clinching 3 point field goals, including road victories against Philadelphia (12/16/05), Boston (3/1/06) and most recently against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home (3/12/06). Walker holds two NBA records. In the 2002 playoff first round series against Philadelphia, Walker knocked down six 3 pointers in the second quarter alone, the most ever in one quarter of a playoff game. His other record is a more dubious distinction: In a game against Cleveland during the 02-03 season, Walker shot 0-11 from 3 point range, the most 3 point attempts by a player in one game without a successful conversion. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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