The Sixers’ narrow win over the Utah Jazz Wednesday was thanks in large part to a 22-point effort from Jabari Walker. He came into the game hot, making his first four three-point attempts. That last one to fall wasn’t even a clean swish — he got a friendly bounce off the rim to get the corner three to fall.
“When I saw that one go in,” Walker said after the game, “it was rattling around the rim and I was like, ‘yeah, this is my day today.’”
Walker said he was in some type of zone when he first checked
into the game. What’s incredible is how he was able to achieve that state despite a rough day off the court.
Earlier in the day Walker got a brand new car. After driving it for 30 minutes, Walker said he scratched it while backing up. He hasn’t been driving much since moving here and said he still has to get used to the tight spaces in Philadelphia (which, fair enough, Jabari).
Talking about it with someone before the game seems to have helped him go from one headspace to another.
“I talked to somebody coming in, I told him the story,” Walker explained. “They’re like ‘it’s gonna get better for you today.‘ And I was like, ‘alright, OK, I’m in my zone right now, I’m in basketball world.‘”
The basketball world has been kind to Walker, at least over the past two games. This was his second straight 20-point performance. Despite shooting just 29% on his 1.5 three-point attempts per game, the team has all the belief in his jump shot and has been encouraging him to get more up since the beginning of the season.
“I mean obviously, we’ve been trying to get him to play like that,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “You just have to get used to the NBA feel and having enough [space] to pull the trigger.”
Nurse described the ways they try to instill that confidence in Walker. Making a big deal out of his takes and makes in practices and shootarounds is his most tried and true method.
“Even in our workouts and walkthroughs, even when you think it doesn’t count, he’s on me to shoot it,” Walker said, “and those things are very motivating.”
Of course it was nice for both Walker and the Sixers for these contributions to come in a winning effort. The first of his 20-point performances came in a 40-point blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Walker didn’t even check into that game until the third quarter when it was well in hand.
These two performances may very well vault Walker back into the rotation. On top of having to sit out some games while the Sixers had him in two-way/standard contract limbo, Walker’s been in a battle with Trendon Watford for those backup four minutes.
“He’s been fantastic, even last night when the game was so far out of reach, he came in with the right mindset,” said Quentin Grimes after the Jazz win. “If he keeps playing like that, it’s going to be big time for us.”
It would be easy for Walker to feel like he has earned the right to play more, but that is far from his mentality. He’s more concerned with playing his role correctly as opposed to keeping his spot when the team gets healthier.
“If my minutes have to go down, I’ll take it,” he said. “My job is to fill in and do exactly what I’m doing when they’re out. If I can help the team along with those guys, which I have before when everybody was healthy, then I’ll get those minutes.”
Not only has Walker been a quiet, reserved guy around the media, he’s much more frank about his role than the average NBA player. On the court and around his teammates, he’s just as energetic as his rebounding efforts would suggest.
“I’m actually kind of crazy … yeah, I talk a lot. Something’s really wrong with me,” Walker said as he smiled, “but I get a chance to let it out on the court and I’m just glad I’m able to contain it during times like this, but there’s something different about me that you see during those plays.”
Not only has Walker given the Sixers two straight 20-point performances off the bench, but he’s given their fans one of the most relatable quotes from an athlete of all time.
