Video: Kemba Walker Reveals 'Pep Talk' from Michael Jordan During Hornets Tenure

Former four-time All-Star Kemba Walker said his early career was impacted by a pep talk from NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Jordan, the owner of Charlotte when the team traded up to draft Walker out of UConn in 2011, pulled him aside for a talk during the 2012-13 season, Walker said on an episode of 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony & Kid Mero.

"This was my second year in the league, and we got a couple new players, I'm young, we got a couple of older guys," Walker said (1:03:30 mark.) "I don't wanna step on anybody's toes, so I'm kind of deferring a little bit.

"I guess he realized that. So he called me into the office... he looked me in my face, he said, 'I didn't bring you here to defer. I drafted you myself, I didn't draft you here to defer. I want you to be aggressive. I want you to play how you played at UConn."

Walker finished his second NBA season having led Charlotte in points, assists and steals.

He left the NBA in 2023 as Charlotte's all-time leader in points, field goals, three-pointers and minutes played.

"He gave me the key. That was it," Walker said about his talk with Jordan. "He gave me the keys right there, I'm like, that's what I need to hit... I ain't gonna lie, in my head, I'm like, I ain't letting this man down. I'm not letting him down.

"He picked me himself, he traded up in the draft to get me, and he gave me that pep talk, I'm like yeah. This man must really believe in me."

Although Jordan sold his majority stake in the team last year, Walker remains connected to the franchise. The Hornets earlier this week announced the former point guard would be joining the team's coaching staff as a "player enhancement coach."