James Michael "M. J." Walker Jr. (born March 28, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

High school career

Walker attended Jonesboro High School in

Jonesboro, Georgia Jonesboro is a city in and the county seat of Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,724 as of the 2010 census. The city's name was originally spelled Jonesborough. During the Civil War, the final skirmish in the Atlanta Cam ...

. He initially played football but he decided to focus on basketball after the summer of 2016. As a sophomore in 2014–15, Walker averaged 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 steals leading Jonesboro to a 32–1 record and the 2015 Georgia Class 4A state championship. As a junior in 2015–16, Walker averaged 22.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists leading Jonesboro to a 28–5 record, regional title, and 2015 state title. As a senior in 2016–17, Walker averaged 27.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists leading Jonesboro to a 23–6 record.

Recruiting

Walker was a five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

who received offers from

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. Walker committed to playing college basketball for Florida State.

College career

As a sophomore, Walker averaged 7.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Florida State compiled a 29–8 record and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. At the conclusion of his junior season, Walker was named All-ACC Honorable Mention. As a senior, he averaged 12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, earning Second Team All-ACC honors. Following the season, he declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA us ...

, forgoing the additional season of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional career

Westchester Knicks (2021)

After going undrafted in the

, Walker signed with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

on August 20, 2021, but was waived on October 16. In October 2021, he joined the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in Whit ...

as an affiliate player. Walker averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Phoenix Suns (2021–2022)

He signed a 10-day COVID-19 hardship exemption contract with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

on December 30, 2021. He appeared briefly in two games for the Suns that season.

Return to Westchester (2022–2023)

On January 9, 2022, Walker was reacquired by the

. On September 22, Walker resigned with the Knicks on a training camp deal but was waived a day later. On October 24, 2022, Walker was named to the training camp roster for the Knicks.

Vancouver Bandits (2023)

On June 6, 2023, Walker signed with the

Vancouver Bandits The Vancouver Bandits are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley, British Columbia, that compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). The Bandits play home games at L ...

of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. However, he was released on July 8 after averaging 11.2 points through 9 games for the club.

Brampton Honey Badgers (2023)

On July 29, 2023, Walker signed with the

Brampton Honey Badgers The Brampton Honey Badgers are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Brampton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. They play their games at the CAA Centre. The team was founded in 2018 as the Hamilton Honey ...

ahead of the postseason.

Saint-Quentin (2023–2024)

On August 3, 2023, Walker signed with Saint-Quentin of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

Greensboro Swarm (2024)

On January 19, 2024, Walker joined the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. The team became ...

Canterbury Rams (2024–present)

On March 12, 2024, Walker signed with the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) for the 2024 season.

National team career

Walker played for the United States national under-18 team at the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

, Chile. In four games, he averaged 2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, helping his team win the gold medal.

Career statistics

NBA

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 1 , , 18.8 , , .379 , , .345 , , .754 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 34 , , 25.9 , , .340 , , .328 , , .778 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .2 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 24 , , 25.2 , , .371 , , .361 , , .803 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .2 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 23 , , 29.0 , , .436 , , .423 , , .797 , , 2.5 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , 12.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 120 , , 82 , , 24.3 , , .380 , , .361 , , .785 , , 2.0 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .2 , , 9.0

Personal life

Walker is the son of James and Jackie Walker, and has an older sister, Amoni, who plays for

Miles College Miles College is a private historically black college in Fairfield, Alabama. Founded in 1898, it is associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME Church) and a member of the United Negro College Fund. History Miles College bega ...

. His father, James, played

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

basketball at Norfolk State University and his mother, Jackie, played women's

for

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, M. J. 1998 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American men's basketball players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Brampton Honey Badgers players Canterbury Rams players Florida State Seminoles men's basketball players Greensboro Swarm players McDonald's High School All-Americans Phoenix Suns players Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Jonesboro, Georgia Undrafted NBA players Vancouver Bandits players Westchester Knicks players