Watch: Lonnie Walker punches slam over 5 Sixers turning Brooklyn Nets' arena into madhouse
In his first season with the Brooklyn Nets, Lonnie Walker has proven to be a nice addition to the team's young core. On Sunday, he had arguably his best highlight of the year thus far.
Late in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers, Lonnie Walker found himself driving downhill on a fastbreak. Despite most of the defense being back, he did not let up in his pursuit of getting to the rim. In a shocking turn of events, he ended up rising up and throwing down a viscious dunk over four Sixers' defenders.
The dunk sent the crowd, and the Brooklyn Nets' bench into a frenzy. They were able to capitalize on this play and flip the momentum in their favor. However, it was enough to fully take care of business. Led by strong performances from Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers were able to walk out of Brooklyn with a 121-99 victory.
How did Lonnie Walker perform against the Philadelphia 76ers?
Aside from him monster dunk, Lonnie Walker had a strong showing against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. He managed to come alive off the bench and do everything he could to try and lift his team to a victory.
In 32 minutes of action, Walker finished with a team-high 26 points to go with six rebounds and two assists. He shot an efficient 9-for-17 from the field, including 6-for-11 from beyond the arc. Sunday marked his fourth 20-point performance with the Nets and his six made threes is a new season high.
Walker had a strong season with the LA Lakers last year, and he has carried that momentum into his tenure with the Nets. Even in a bench role, he is providing a consistent scoring punch on offense.
Through 12 games this year, Walker has scored at least double-digits in all but one. What has stood out the most from his play through the first month of the season is how efficient he is shooting the ball. His 50.8% FG and 43.9% 3P are both career-highs.
After trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last season, the Nets now find themselves in a re-tooling phase. They already have a ton of interesting young players, but Walker is looking like one of their best pick-ups from this offseason. If he can continue to play at this level, the Nets will have no choice but to keep him around long-term.