Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
The New York Knicks announced guard Kemba Walker will miss the team’s New Year’s Eve matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sore left knee.
Walker was plagued by injuries throughout the 2020-21 campaign on his way to 43 games and missed time during the Boston Celtics’ first-round playoff loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
He didn’t make his season debut until Jan. 17 as he recovered from a knee injury and also missed time because of an oblique strain. It was the fewest number of games he played in a season since he entered the league as the No. 9 overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft.
The 2020-21 season was an inconsistent one for Walker even when he was on the floor.
He averaged a solid 19.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, but his 42.0 shooting percentage was his lowest since 2014-15. He was more of a secondary option alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown than the go-to playmaker he was in his prime.
Walker signed with the Knicks this past offseason after being bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder following a trade with Boston. While he had a rocky start to the season and fell out of the rotation, he’s been red hot of late, one of the rare bright spots in a disappointing overall season for the Knicks.
Walker missed time with an injury in early December and had been out of the Knicks’ rotation before averaging 19.3 points and 5.3 assists and 35 minutes over the last six games.
Expect Immanuel Quickley to see more playing time on Friday night.