Lonnie Walker IV

Lonnie Walker IV

Walker with the Lakers in 2022.
No. 12 – Brooklyn Nets (currently a free agent)
Position:	Shooting Guard
Personal information
Born:	December 14, 1998 (1998-12-14)  Reading, Pennsylvania
Listed height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight:	204 lb (92.5 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft:	2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th
Career history
San Antonio Spurs (2018-2022) Los Angeles Lakers (2022-23) Brooklyn Nets (2023-24)
Career highlights and awards
ACC All-Freshman Team (2018) McDonald's All-American (2017)

Lonnie Walker IV (born December 14, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named Mr. Pennsylvania Basketball and earned McDonald's All-American honors. Walker played college basketball for the Miami Hurricanes.

After being named to the all-freshman team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), he was selected in the first round of the 2018 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs with the 18th overall pick. He played four seasons with the Spurs before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has also played for the Brooklyn Nets.

High school career

Walker was born December 14, 1998, in Reading, Pennsylvania. He attended Reading Senior High School in Reading. Walker made his varsity basketball debut as a freshman and played 27 games averaging eight points per game, and later as a sophomore he averaged 16.9 points per game in a short season due to injury. In 29 games, as a junior, he averaged 17.1 points per game.

During his senior year, Walker was named a McDonald's All-American and voted Mr. Pennsylvania Basketball. He averaged a career best 18.4 points per game and surpassed Reading High grad and former NBA player Donyell Marshall's school record in points by finishing with 1,828 total points scored. On March 25, 2017, Walker led Reading Senior High School to their first state championship in the program's 117-year history in a 64-60 win over the Pine-Richland Rams. Walker finished the game with 22 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists.

During the season, Walker signed with the Miami Hurricanes, passing on other scholarship offers from Villanova, Kentucky, Syracuse and Arizona.

College career

Walker made his collegiate debut with Miami on November 10, 2017, recording 10 points and a season-high five assists coming off the bench in a 77–45 blowout win over Gardner-Webb University. He created new highs of 12 points and 5 rebounds on December 2 in an 80–52 blowout win against Princeton University before recording season-highs of 26 points and 7 rebounds during his first collegiate start three days later in a 69–54 win over Boston University. Against Louisville, he scored a game-high 25 points including an acrobatic layup in traffic to force overtime. In a game against Boston College, he hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to win 79-78. Walker finished the season averaging 11.5 points per game and was named to the ACC all-freshman team.

After his sole season with Miami concluded, Walker declared for the 2018 NBA draft.

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs (2018–2022)

On June 21, 2018, Walker was selected with the 18th overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2018 NBA draft. Walker was later included in the 2018 NBA Summer League roster of the Spurs. On July 11, 2018, the Spurs announced that they signed Walker. On October 6, 2018, Walker was revealed to have a right medial meniscus tear. On November 25, 2018, the San Antonio Spurs assigned Walker the first time of the season to the Austin Spurs. Walker made his NBA debut on January 3, 2019 in a 125–107 win against the Toronto Raptors, scoring three points and grabbing one rebound in five minutes of play.

On December 3, 2019, Walker scored a career-high 28 points, including 19 in the 4th quarter, in a 135–133 double overtime win over the Houston Rockets with four rebounds, three steals and a block.

Los Angeles Lakers (2022–2023)

On July 6, 2022, Walker signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year, $6.5M contract. He began the 2022–23 season playing in 32 games, all starts, before being sidelined beginning in late December with knee tendinitis. At the time, he was averaging 14.7 points in 29.8 minutes per game and shooting 45.5% from the field and 38.9% on 3-pointers. He seemed to be the Lakers top scorer after LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. Walker returned after missing 14 games, but his playing time was limited with the development of Austin Reaves and particularly after the Lakers acquired D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura before the trade deadline. After playing in a bit shy of 28 minutes through the first eight games of the 2023 playoffs, Walker returned to the rotation and scored 12 points in 25 minutes in a 127–97 win over Golden State, giving the Lakers a 2–1 series lead in the conference semifinals. In Game 4, he scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers overcome a seven-point deficit and win 104–101.

Brooklyn Nets (2023–2024)

On July 10, 2023, Walker signed with the Brooklyn Nets.

On June 29, 2024, Walker said after the season finale he was unsatisfied with the disrespect he received from the Brooklyn Nets' coaching staff and became a free agent after the season.

Boston Celtics (2024–present)

On August 30, 2024, Walker signed with the Boston Celtics.

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	San Antonio	17	0	6.9	.348	.385	.800	1.0	.5	.4	.2	2.6
2019–20	San Antonio	61	12	16.2	.426	.406	.721	2.3	1.1	.5	.2	6.4
2020–21	San Antonio	60	38	25.4	.420	.355	.814	2.6	1.7	.5	.3	11.2
2021–22	San Antonio	70	6	23.0	.407	.314	.784	2.6	2.2	.6	.3	12.1
2022–23	L.A. Lakers	56	32	23.2	.448	.365	.858	1.9	1.1	.5	.3	11.7
2023–24	Brooklyn	58	0	17.4	.423	.384	.763	2.2	1.3	.6	.3	9.7
Career		322	88	20.3	.422	.356	.795	2.3	1.5	.5	.3	9.8

Play-in

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021	San Antonio	1	1	17.3	.250	.000	1.000	5.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	8.0
2022	San Antonio	1	0	16.5	.556	.500	–	1.0	.0	.0	.0	12.0
Career		2	1	16.9	.412	.286	1.000	3.0	.5	.5	.5	10.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2019	San Antonio	6	1	3.5	.375	.000	—	.3	.5	.0	.0	1.0
2023	L.A. Lakers	13	0	13.8	.483	.382	.750	.9	.8	.5	.1	6.2
Career		19	1	10.5	.471	.371	.750	.7	.7	.4	.1	1.0

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	Miami	32	18	27.8	.415	.346	.738	2.6	1.9	.9	.5	11.5

Personal life

Walker is the son of Lonnie Walker III who moved from New Jersey to Reading, Pennsylvania, to play basketball at Alvernia University. Walker III dropped out of university when Walker IV was born in 1998 and he had to raise his son as a single parent while working multiple jobs. Walker IV was encouraged to read after school by his father and maintains reading as part of his pregame ritual.

Walker has a dog named Zola, who appeared with him in a PETA ad campaign, reminding people not to leave their dogs in hot, parked cars.

In June 2020, Walker revealed he had been the victim of sexual abuse by family members when he was little, and had grown out his trademark long hairstyle since the 5th grade, as a coping mechanism. In deciding to cut his hair, Walker described the act as having "shed my skin mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually."

External links

• Los Angeles Lakers bio
• Miami Hurricanes bio