Lonnie Walker

Lonnie Walker

25-Year-Old GuardG
 Free Agent  Foreign  
Free Agent
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Despite showing some promise early in his career, Walker's role took a backward step last season, finishing as the 283rd-ranked player in standard leagues. He averaged just 9.7 points and 1.8 three-pointers in 17.4 minutes per night, numbers that he could struggle to replicate given he is now playing for the reigning champion Celtics. Walker will battle Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard for backup minutes, who've both carved out niche bench roles and played critical minutes last season. At best, Walker should be viewed as a potential three-point streaming option in deeper formats only when those ahead of him miss time due to injury. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Current Season
From Preseason
#70
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $2.61 million contract with the Celtics in August of 2024. Waived by the Celtics In October of 2024.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary

Lonnie Walker IV was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He attended Reading High School, where he played basketball on the varsity team each of his four years. As a freshman, he averaged 8.1 points per game. Walker upped his scoring each subsequent season, and in his senior year he averaged 18.4 points per contest. That season, he was the leading scorer for a Reading team that won its first state championship in school history. Walker received a number of accolades for his performance on the court. He was a McDonald's All-American and earned co-MVP honors at the Jordan Brand Classic. He was also named Mr. Pennsylvania Basketball. Walker has appeared in a PETA campaign with his dog, Zola, reminding people to refrain from leaving their dogs in hot, parked cars. In 2018, he donated 200 pairs of shoes to his hometown youth league. Learn more about Walker by following him on Twitter (@lonniewalker_4) and on Instagram (@buddah). Walker was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team and the All-ACC Honorable Mention List for the 2017-18 season. He ranked sixth among ACC freshmen in scoring and led the University of Miami in that category (11.5 points per game) as well. Additionally, Walker led the Hurricanes in total points (368) and field-goal attempts (318). He also was second on the team in field goals (132), three-pointers (56) and three-point attempts (162). The Reading, Pennsylvania native helped Miami qualify for the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Walker announced he would enter the 2018 NBA Draft after his freshman season at the University of Miami. He was chosen in the first round (18th overall) of the draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

Headed to Lithuania
GFree Agent
October 30, 2024
Walker agreed to a contract Wednesday with Lithuanian team BC Zalgiris, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
Walker's deal includes an NBA buyout clause that will enable the 25-year-old to return to North America before Feb. 18 if an opportunity opens up. The 6-foot-4 wing attended training camp with the Celtics, but he was unable to win a spot on the team's season-opening 15-man roster. A 2018 first-round pick, Walker struggled to find his footing with the Nets during the 2023-24 season, appearing in 58 games and averaging 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 three-pointers and 1.3 assists in 17.4 minutes while shooting 42.3 percent frmo the field. Walker will presumably look to impress overseas before potentially exploring a return to the NBA if a team has a need for a scoring threat off the bench.
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Stat Review
How does Lonnie Walker compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
  • True Shooting %
    An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
  • Effective Field Goal %
    A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
  • 3-Point Attempt Rate
    Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
  • Free Throw Rate
    Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
  • Offensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Defensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Total Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Assist %
    An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
  • Steal %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Block %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Turnover %
    An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
  • Usage %
    An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
  • Fantasy Points Per Game
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
  • Fantasy Points Per Minute
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
54.5%
 
Effective Field Goal %
52.8%
 
3-Point Attempt Rate
55.1%
 
Free Throw Rate
12.0%
 
Offensive Rebound %
1.4%
 
Defensive Rebound %
12.7%
 
Total Rebound %
6.9%
 
Assist %
11.5%
 
Steal %
1.4%
 
Block %
1.8%
 
Turnover %
7.9%
 
Usage %
0.0%
 
Fantasy Points Per Game
16.1
 
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.9
 
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Total
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NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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Historical ADP
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Despite a couple of standout moments last season, Walker still finished well outside the top 200 in standard leagues. To this point, his career has been underwhelming, to say the least. Although he has averaged double-digit points in three of his five seasons, he does nothing on the defensive end and rarely contributes in the assist column. Now residing in Brooklyn, Walker will once again assume a backup role. Given he has not been on the radar when afforded 20-plus minutes per night, there is no reason to think anything will change moving forward.
Over four years in San Antonio, Walker started only 56 of 208 games. Despite the Spurs entering into a rebuild, they failed to pursue re-signing Walker with any aggression. The guard now takes his talents to a Laker squad desperate for young talent. The 23-year-old still has room for upside and is battling Austin Reaves, Patrick Beverley and Troy Brown for minutes at shooting guard. Reaves finished the season strong for LA and seems like the early leader for the spot. Brown is more of a small forward, but the Lakers have more options at that position. A concern for Walker is that his three-point shooting has declined each of the past two seasons. After draining a promising 40.6 percent of his three-pointers in 2019-20, Walker shot an ugly 31.4 percent from behind the arc last season. Of course, some easy catch-and-shoots from LeBron should help. Expect the Lakers to tinker with lineups throughout the season. And should King James and AD suffer more injuries, opportunities will abound for gunners like Walker.
With Derrick White out for the start last year, Walker was thrust into a starting role with the Spurs to begin the season. After seeing just 16.2 minutes per game in the previous year, the high-flying guard saw his workload jump up to 25.4 minutes last season. Walker played decent in his new role, posting figures of 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last year. This was the most aggressive version of Walker we'd seen yet, as his 10.2 field goal attempts per game were nearly double his average from the previous season. However, in games where Derrick White was back starting, Walker saw his role drop down to 20.5 minutes per game. Entering this season, the Spurs are shaping up to be a much different team due to the departure of DeMar DeRozan. Dejounte Murray and Derrick White are looking healthy and ready to be the starters in the backcourt, which leaves Walker fighting for minutes as a reserve. The Miami product is a part of a fairly deep backcourt with the emerging second-year-pro Devin Vassell as well as the return of Bryn Forbes to San Antonio. For now, it seems like Walker has the backup shooting guard spot on lock, but with a healthy team entering this season, it will be interesting to see how the 22-year-old's minutes will be affected. Walker has proved to be a capable scorer when given the minutes, as his scoring average jumped to 17.9 points per game when he saw 30-39 minutes last year. However, the question is if that type of playing time will be available to him this year. Walker has improved each season he has been in the league, and it won't be surprising to see him continue that trend, but with a more crowded and healthy backcourt, it is tough to imagine a true breakout fantasy season as he enters his fourth season.
After missing much of his rookie campaign due to injury, Walker had a solid sophomore campaign. He began to pick things up in mid-December, and during his final 45 appearances (12 starts), he averaged 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 19.1 minutes. He saw significant run in the NBA bubble, averaging 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 27.6 minutes, showing off a little more upside. For 2020-21, Walker could make for an interesting flier in deeper leagues. To be fantasy-relevant in standard leagues, he'll likely need to consistently see 30-plus minutes, which might be tough given the current context of the roster, especially with DeMar DeRozan still in the fold. If DeRozan gets moved, there will be more of a reason to roster Walker, but that may not happen until mid-season. As it stands, Walker is mostly best suited to dynasty formats.
Walker's rookie season certainly did not go as planned, as the former University of Miami standout tore his meniscus in the preseason, which put his NBA development on hold for a couple of months. Walker spent a large portion of the season playing for the Austin Spurs in the G League and only appeared in 17 NBA games. Encouragingly, Walker was impressive in his 29 G League appearances, averaging 16.6 points per game while shooting 35.8 percent from behind the arc. While Walker showed off his capabilities as a scorer, his all-around game is still a work in progress, and it's unclear how many minutes will be available for him. With Derrick White and Bryn Forbes both coming off solid 2018-19 campaigns, Dejounte Murray returning from a torn ACL and the Spurs signing DeMarre Carroll this offseason, the team has quality depth in the backcourt and on the wing, leaving Walker potentially on the outside looking in to start next season.
Walker took to the hardwood for just one collegiate season with Miami (FL). In 32 games (18 starts), he posted averages of 11.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.9 steals across 27.8 minutes. He also added shooting percentages of 41.5 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from deep. Those numbers didn't necessarily scream first-round draft pick, but Walker's upside still resulted in him being selected by the Spurs 18th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. His measurables are excellent for his position. Walker stands 6-foot-5 and has a 6-foot-10 wingspan, which should give him a chance to exceed defensively against opposing shooting guards and even small forwards. He's also got a 40-inch vertical and a solid looking shot, which means he could turn into a 3-and-D type of wing eventually. At this point, the 19-year-old is likely just a developmental project for coach Gregg Popovich and he'll be stuck behind newly added DeMar DeRozan on the wing. He'll likely be brought along slowly and isn't going to be drafted in many standard leagues. That said, Walker will definitely be a potential target in dynasty and keeper leagues, as he's joining an excellent organization that knows how to develop talent and clearly has the tools to become a contributor in the NBA.
More Fantasy News
Parting ways with Boston
GFree Agent
October 19, 2024
The Celtics waived Walker on Saturday, Bobby Marks of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to bench
GBoston Celtics
October 15, 2024
Walker will return to the bench for Tuesday's preseason game against the Raptors, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.
ANALYSIS
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Scores 20 points Sunday
GBoston Celtics
October 14, 2024
Walker scored 20 points (8-15 FG, 4-9 3Pt) and dished out one assist across 30 minutes in Sunday's 115-111 preseason win over the Raptors.
ANALYSIS
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Enters starting lineup Sunday
GBoston Celtics
October 13, 2024
Walker will start Sunday's preseason game against the Raptors, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.
ANALYSIS
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Reaches deal with Boston
GBoston Celtics
August 28, 2024
Walker agreed to a one-year contract with the Celtics on Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Interest from Denver
GFree Agent
November 6, 2024
Walker is a player the Nuggets are said to be "monitoring," NBA writer Marc Stein reports.
ANALYSIS
The 25-year-old guard signed a contract with Lithuanian team BC Zalgiris in late October, but the deal contains an NBA buyout clause that seems increasingly likely to be exercised. The Celtics are also said to be interested in bringing in Walker, but either team would have to open up a roster spot before signing him and have limited flexibility cap with which to offer him a contract. Walker might have to be content with something like the NBA veteran's minimum. In 17.4 minutes over 58 games for the Nets last season, Walker averaged 9.7 points, 2.2 boards, 1.8 threes and 1.3 assists while shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the arc.
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