Kemba Walker wore No. 15 on the Charlotte Hornets for eight years, but this number was unavailable to him with the Boston Celtics because it's retired to honor Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn.
So, he found another good one to wear instead.
Walker will wear No. 8, and he explained why during his introductory press conference Wednesday alongside new Celtics signing Enes Kanter at the Auerbach Center.
"It was hard. There's no numbers available," Walker said with a laugh. "Every number is retired. The reason I wear No. 8 is because my birthday is May 8, and No. 8 was available. So I went with No. 8. It's cool to wear Antoine Walker's number. I spoke to him, so he gave me the blessing as well, so I'm excited."
The All-Star point guard will be the 14th player in Celtics history to wear No. 8. The last two players to wear this number were Shane Larkin and Jonas Jerebko. Antoine Walker, however, is the most recognizable recent player. to wear the number. Antoine made three All-Star appearances in his C's career and formed a very good duo with Paul Pierce in the early 2000s.
Walker signed a four-year, $141 million contract to join the Celtics in NBA free agency. He will replace Kyrie Irving as the team's starting point guard and primary scorer.
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