Kemba Walker emerges as key player for USA Basketball

Kemba Walker said “no” four times to get his point across.

The Boston Celtics point guard insisted he hasn’t taken over Team USA in his first camp with the national team. He isn’t pushing to become a leader just because he’s one of the older and more talented players on the roster.

His protests may not matter though. After a rash of dropouts from USA Basketball’s Las Vegas training camp this week, Walker looks poised to become one of the team’s key players ahead of the upcoming FIBA World Cup in China.

“I’m just here trying to do what I can to help this team win,” Walker said. “I haven’t been named a captain. I haven’t been named a leader or anything so I don’t know about all that stuff. I’m just here, I’m talking as much as I can. I just want to be here, play hard and play my role.”

Walker, 29, may be the biggest star left at USA Basketball’s camp at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center. He has more All-Star honors (three) and All-NBA awards (one) than the rest of the healthy players on the roster combined.

He has a new four-year $141 million contract he received from the Celtics this offseason. The only thing the 6-foot-1 playmaker lacks is international experience, because he last donned a Team USA jersey at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship in 2008.

Since then, he’s won a national championship with the University of Connecticut and turned himself into one of the best offensive players in the NBA.

“It’s so hard to guard him,” Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox said. “He plays so low to the ground. That’s something I try to take from his game. His ability to get wherever he wants on the floor. (He may) not be that tall but he gets to his spots and can still get everything he wants off.”

Those bona fides have caused players to gravitate towards Walker at camp, even if he downplays it. In addition to Fox, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell picked Walker’s brain at Tuesday’s practice, and Celtics guard Marcus Smart admitted he’s trying to learn as much as he can from his new teammate.

“He’s an elite, elite basketball player,” Smart said. “Especially on that offensive end. For a guy like me, who on the defensive end is tremendous but is trying to increase my offensive game, what better player to look at than Kemba?”

Even if the spotlight shines on Walker as he tries to lead Team USA to its third straight World Cup win, he’s likely to be unfazed. Earlier this offseason he showed he’s unafraid of a challenge when he agreed to replace six-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who left the Celtics in free agency, in Boston.

His next step: Proving to coach Gregg Popovich he’s also up to the task of replacing Irving, who won gold at the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

“This is an honor,” Walker said. “It’s a blessing. I’m super excited to be here. Super excited to get the opportunity. I’m just trying to make the best of it.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.