[Trending News] Former Celtics guard describes vital lessons learned from Boston stint

BOSTON — While Lonnie Walker IV’s time with the Celtics was short — just one training camp and preseason — he still picked up some crucial lessons. The longtime pro got to immerse himself with the reigning champions, seeing how greatness is earned every day behind the scenes.

So even though he’s with the rival 76ers now, the former C’s guard spoke about what he learned from his brief time in Boston. Walker showed off his skills Thursday while the C’s beat the Sixers at TD Garden. He scored 17 points in 28 minutes as the Sixers were shorthanded, much like the Celtics.

“When you’re a part of a championship organization and how they approach the game, it gives you a little bit more motivation and inspiration,” Walker said. “You want to be the best. You want to see how everyone has proceeded to be the best and why they’re such a great team. There’s definitely some motivation that was given playing with the Celtics.

“It definitely made me want to go a lot harder because I want to be in that position that they are in. So it definitely instilled something as far as like, let my work ethic be the hardest working man on the team as much as I can.”

Walker, 26, has been through a chaotic season before landing in Philadelphia. He was originally signed to the C’s on an Exhibit 10 contract, essentially a tryout for the reigning champs. While he showed flashes of his NBA skills, the Celtics waived him as they didn’t have space on the roster to keep him around.

So, Walker had a choice to make. He originally spoke about being willing to play with the Maine Celtics in the G League, showing some humility despite playing in more than 300 career NBA games. But instead of the G League route, he chose to go overseas. Walker played the majority of the season with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania as part of the EuroLeague.

While Walker had a buyout to return to the NBA, no team had signed him close to the deadline despite some interest. Walker admitted he already accepted that he was going to stay overseas the rest of the season. But the Sixers swooped in to sign him to a two-year contract, landing the hometown Philadelphia kid.

“For the most part, I kind of told my agent, ‘Don’t tell me anything if it’s not certain,’” Walker said. “I was just trying to stay present. I wasn’t really trying to go all over the place and think about coming back to the NBA. … I didn’t really expect to come here at the last minute.”

Now, Walker gets a chance to stick around the NBA once again. The scoring capabilities are there, but he’ll look to round out his game more going forward. The Sixers will have available minutes for the rest of the season due to injuries.

Celtics fans developed a rooting interest in him during the preseason since he was a veteran and a new face. But considering the roster situation back then, it was going to be difficult for Walker to earn a standard roster spot. Fortunately, it all worked out for the guard as he takes some of his Boston lessons to his next stop.

“In my time with the Celtics, I just worked my tail off,” Walker said. “I think I took it to a whole new level as far as my mental capabilities as far as understanding what I can do. I put myself in a lot of uncomfortable situations. They’ll tell you, I was the first one there, usually the last one out. I was doing cold water plunges.”

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